“Poland” by Lil Yachty 83 seconds long, repeated in a jarring and purposeful way. However, in the hands of TikTokit became a slam, cracking the top half of the Billboards Hot 100 and became the pride of the country of the same name.
Not that Yachty intended any of this. “The song is a joke,” he said in one reaction video with Youtuber ZIAS! “Like, I’m just trolling.” The hook – “I brought Woooock to Polaaaaand” – was something he improvised one night after seeing someone sipping a bottle of Polish Spring in the studio. So the Polish he’s singing to could technically be Poland, Maine. (“Wock,” if you were wondering, was it a nod to Wockhardt cough syrup.) As the song went viral, internet regulators tried to figure out when Yachty might arrive. Central European countries and most of arrived empty-handed. 25 year old rapper from Atlanta not even planning to release the trackbut he ended up putting it on SoundCloud after it came online.
The leak proved to be accidental. After “Poland” hit SoundCloud, TikTokkers turned the song’s malleable chorus into jokes about sending action stars abroad (“”I brought Rock to Poland) And staples return to the burrito chain (“I took guac to Chipotle“). Someone even made one Bread embellished with lyrics. It inspired more than 20,000 creations in a week.
Not a few of them are from Poland. A video called Yachty’s drop-drop a “Top 10 moments in Polish history. “Rapper Pat Written“This is the proudest thing I have been as a Pole since [soccer player Robert] Lewandowski scored five goals within 9 minutes”. Other users mention it as Poland’s new national anthem.
Nikodem Rachoń, a spokesman for the Polish embassy in Washington, DC, said that he hopes the rapper will visit the country one day and that the embassy will be happy to facilitate the trip. He even added a bit of musical criticism: “I’m pretty sure on such an occasion he’d have plenty of opportunities to find some new inspiration for the next lines that the song seems to be. as still needed.”
Rapper Kinny Zimmer said that as soon as he heard the song, he was “sure that it was going to go viral.” As a lover of modern Polish culture, he hopes that Yachty’s song will root his homeland in American minds and teach his countrymen that “our Polish aesthetic How beautiful am I?” Rapper Pezet confesses to prefer “old school sound” to “Polish” but prefers “great new vibe” and hopes it can inspire collaborations between Polish hip-hop artists and the United States.
Others are taking the song more fully. Bedoes dropped a “Polish” remix; in the video, he’s topless a boat with an ax and a shield that glows in the dark. “Lil Yachty mentioning my country is a meme for me,” he said, “but it’s also kind of surreal, because he’s a top artist, known around the world, rapping about my country is really special. I know all the ways it’s probably random when he mentions Poland, but still, it’s really special. He also hopes the uncanny success will help strengthen an appreciation of Polish culture. “Perhaps pierogis with Wock?” he joked.
Unexpectedly for such a fun nightingale, there is a more thorny geopolitical angle regarding “Poland”. As Lil Yachty’s song went viral, messages began circulating on Twitter that Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki had died. invited rapper visiting his country. Local media soon debunk rumours. Anyone who fears rising authoritarianism in Europe can be pleased to know that Yachty has not actually been in contact with Morawiecki, who represents the ruling Justice and Law Party, which has be censured for a crackdown on the independence of the judiciary and a general slip away from democratic principles.
As of the time of this writing, TikTok videos tagged #lilyachtypoland are moving closer 6 million viewssearch results for song top 1 billion. Yachty’s own video “Poland” has been viewed more than 14 million times. Ultimately, it’s not clear if his song will have a lasting impact on appreciation of Polish culture worldwide, but in a message from the artist on that video. YouTube pagethe rapper makes it clear this is a song for the common man: “You’re welcomed by the Poles, you’ve got Wock.”
