Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen” is the Greatest Love Song of Our Generation

Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen” is special. Released back in February 2014, it’s one of those #rare tracks that demands infinite playback. It's a safe, yet no less addictive, alternative to cocaine and sounds like it’s been beamed down from another planet. It’s perfect. I’m fairly certain the only problem with “Trap Queen” is that it isn’t long enough. The track’s been out for over a year now. And between playing it incessantly, I’ve been thinking about how it’s earwormed itself into my constant rotation. What makes it bang so hard?

On the surface, “Trap Queen” is a turnt-up romper-stomper. Anticipation builds, the beat bubbles under your toes, and your body’s about FourFiveSeconds from wildin’, ready to flail its arms like the Hindu goddess Kali. By the time Fetty raps, “in love with the money, I ain’t never letting go”, and the chorus drops, it’s a spiritual exercise in gleeful insanity. Like Drake, “Trap Queen” makes you feel rich – it has a certain bounce that’s capable of turning the mundanities of life into a prosperous tapestry where your outfit’s on point, situations occur with serendipity, and you feel like a trapped out, strutting Leo Di.

The reasons behind its ascent - from a local hit in New Jersey to a monolithic endorphin rollercoaster that’s even been covered by people with guitars - are obvious: it sounds great and it’s a dogmatic prerequisite to the “turn up”. But let me wage in with another theory behind why I'm in love with it so much. While it's on par with the likes of Rich Gang’s “Lifestyle”, Bobby Shmurda’s “Hot Nigga”, O.T Genasis’ “CoCo” and Rae Sremmurd’s “No Flex Zone” in terms of replayability, there's a quality to "Trap Queen" which none of the others have. It's great in the club; and it's also great when sat at home thinking about your baby. Essentially, "Trap Queen" eclipses Brian Wilson’s damp romanticisation of cohabitation, Whitney’s “I Will Always Love You”, and the Boyz II Men discography as the song to encapsulate a generation of star-crossed lovers. Underneath the song’s mood-enhancing potential, there’s a love story: the obvious bond between Fetty and his Trap Queen. He gets high with his baby; he gets fly with his baby; and when he gets home he’s cooking pies with his baby (literally; in the video, and metaphorically; in the terms of packing "pies", a kilo of coccaine, in the traphouse). Although he talks about his other loves in the song – money, the bando, smoking backwoods – it’s clear Fetty feels life just wouldn’t be as great if his Trap Queen wasn’t riding alongside him. You can hear it in the song’s prodigious chorus. In an interview with Complex, Fetty Wap explained “I was just dealing with somebody at the time, and she was holding me down”. Other rap songs usually negate woman to a recreational activity, but on “Trap Queen” it’s clear Fetty and his girl are on a balanced scale. They support each other. They hit the strip together. They’re partners in crime and the turn-up. It’s a true #RelationshipGoal. Most of the 21st century’s best-known love songs exist on another plane to “Trap Queen”. On “Hero”, Enrique Iglesias nauseatingly suggests he’s the one to take his woman’s pain away; James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful” is the confession of a stalker; and “Just the Way You Are” is basically Bruno Mars foolhardily believing his god-level compliments are the cure to his girl’s insecurities. They’re all told from the perspective of the supposedly life-changing, saviour of everything - man. “Trap Queen” is different. Fetty knows the “Trap Queen” keeps him grounded and places himself on the same level; they count money to buy “matching lambos”; he treats his girl like a team member – not a support system. “Trap Queen” eschews the pittances of romantic songwriting and updates them with something that feels more real. It doesn’t get you down; it’s not cheesy and upbeat; it’s a portrait of how things should be. And it’s better than other “love” songs because it sounds like right now.

I’m not alone in my thoughts about “Trap Queen” being a monolithic, eternally lit banger. The video’s clocked in over 40 million views, Kanye West called Fetty “his favourite new artist” before welcoming him on stage in New York, and it reached Number Four on the Billboard chart, going Gold – an incredible feat, considering it’s Fetty’s only single to date. There’s even a video of a Jewish wedding band serenading celebrity plastic surgeon Dr Miami and his wife with an acapella version of the track – which is surely the pinnacle of the song’s slow burning rise. Maybe it’s because I’ve listened to “Trap Queen” fifteen times in a row while writing this piece or it could be because all other love songs crush me with the weight of every poorly authored Valentines Day card that’s been sent since the fifth century. I don’t know. But I’m fairly certain it is also the greatest love song of our generation. It’s a banger; it’s on point; it’s about a balanced, healthy relationship.

Let it be the feeling we all strive toward going forward, sending introductions through our geolocated technology apps. I never want to hear about Rihanna and Calvin Harris again.

You can find Ryan Bassil on Twitter: @RyanBassil