In 2004, Petey Pablo and Lil John dropped “Freek-A-Leek.” The song struck a chord with me for a number of reasons. One in particular was the list of women’s names that Pablo declared “freaks.” Among them was Neicy — my mother’s nickname.
But there were other parts of the song I remember rolling over in my 13-year-old head, too. “Earring in her tongue and she know what to do with it,” Pablo raps.
What? What does she do with it? I asked myself.
Later, when I heard the uncensored version, I sat stunned by a revelation a few lines later: “Love to get her pussy licked, by another bitch, cuz I ain’t drunk enough to do that.”
It was the first time I remember hearing someone being hesitant about having sex.
But times have changed. Now Cardi B raps in her platinum, chart topping track “Bodak Yellow,” that some guy wants to “swim with his face” in her pussy that “feels like a lake.” On the other end of the spectrum, A$AP Ferg’s “Plain Jane” track has a whole section telling some girl to “suck a nigga dick or something.”
Given the diversity of its portrayals in pop music, we decided to identify the best songs ever about oral sex. We drew up a list of more than 50 songs — okay, fine, it was originally 69 — that centered on the act (i.e., more than just a one-line mention) and painstakingly whittled those down to a mere 10. Those songs…
“Head” by Prince, 1980
Teaser Lyric: “You know you’re good girl, I think you like to go down. You wouldn’t have stopped but I came on your wedding gown.”
Off an album called Dirty Mind. (What else would we expect from the Purple One?) At the time, the song was so controversial that Gayle Chapman left Prince’s band because of it. And you might too, if you were expected to get on stage and sing about getting head until you’re red or dead — whichever comes first.
“Candy Licker” by Marvin Sease, 1986
Teaser Lyric: “I wanna do the thing that your lover never did before, girl, baby let me be your candy licker, girl”
As this song dropped back in the mid-1980s, Sease capitalized on the fact that female pleasure wasn’t typically part of the conversation by dedicating an entire song to bragging about making a woman cum by eating her out.
“Like a Prayer” by Madonna, 1989
Teaser Lyric: “I’m down on my knees, I want to take you there in the midnight hour, I can feel your power, just like a prayer you know I’ll take you there”
You could be excused for not knowing that this song was about Madonna wanting to blow some guy — talk of prayers will do that to you. But as Madonna once said in a line that’s certainly not from Sunday school: “When I get on my knees, it’s not to pray.”
“Not Tonight” by Lil’ Kim, 1996
Teaser Lyric: “The only way you seein’ me is if you eatin’ me”
Lil’ Kim is the only artist to be mentioned twice on this list—and for good reason. The lyrics she let loose on “Not Tonight” are some of the most aggressive we’ve ever heard when it comes to a woman getting hers from sloppy toppy. In fact, at one point, she makes the song as simple as possible by saying, “The moral of the story is this: If you ain’t lickin this, you ain’t stickin’ this.”
“Put It in Your Mouth” by Akinyele, 1999
Teaser Lyrics: “Creamin’ your teeth like dentists as I’m rubbin’ them with an erection like injections”
As the narrative of this X-rated track goes, some dude left his girl, and next thing we know, she’s meeting his best friend and telling him to put his dick in her mouth. It’s a hell of a turn for everyone involved, no doubt.
“My Neck, My Back (Lick it)” by Khia, 2002
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDJu7r6OUvk
Teaser lyric: “You might roll dubs, you might have Gs but fuck that get on yo’ knees”
There’s not much to say about Khia’s Thug Misses track, which eventually got a male remix by Too Short. In it, she’s pretty clear about what she wants and what she needs—the licking of her pussy and crack.
“How Many Licks” by Lil’ Kim featuring Sisqo, 2005
Teaser lyric: “Anthony, he was Italian, and he ain’t give a fuck, that’s what I liked about him, he ate my pussy from dark to the morning”
Though Sisqo sings his soul out on the chorus, asking the age-old question of how many licks it takes to get to the middle, Lil’ Kim walks us back through her little black book. Among her favorites there’s one defining characteristic: None of them were afraid to get face-to-face with her cat.
“Lollipop” by Lil Wayne featuring Static, 2008
Teaser lyric: “But man I ain’t never seen an ass like hers, that pussy in my mouth has me lost for words”
Though there’s tons of oral sex songs that use dessert or candy as stand-ins for hummers (hello “Peaches & Cream” and “Candy Shop”) there’s something about the monotony and simplicity of Wayne’s “Lollipop” that gets us. Maybe it’s how he starts off the track by using “wrapper” as a double entendre for himself—or just how Static drives home the point by continually repeating “she licked me like a lollipop”—but the song definitely got a lot of 1990s babies going.
“Becky” by Plies, 2009
Teaser lyric: “Drop that spit, right on that head, squeeze that meat and hit that head”
There are few tracks that change something in culture like Plies’ “Becky” from his 2010 album Goon Affiliated. In three minutes and 21 seconds, the Florida-based rapper turns the nickname Becky from simply being a name for basic white girls (see Sir Mix-A-Lot employing the name in “Baby Got Back”) to mean white girls who have an affinity for giving blow jobs.
“Watch n’ Learn” by Rihanna, 2011
Teaser lyric: “Just because I can’t kiss back, doesn’t mean you can’t kiss that”
It’s easy to get so lost in the infectious beat of this Talk That Talk track that you don’t realize you’re repeating lyrics about kissing lips that don’t kiss back, Rihanna getting so enraptured that she’s wiped off all of her lipstick and is making sure that her skill level matches yours. But now that you’ve said those lyrics, here we are.
“Slob on My Knob” by Three 6 Mafia, 2011
Teaser lyric: “Know a little freak in Hollywood, sucks on dick, does it real good, she’ll give you money, fill up your tummy”
There are few songs more explicit than this 2011 hit. Given new life recently when the “suck a nigga’ dick or somethin’” hook was sampled for A$AP Ferg’s “Plain Jane,” the song told a story. The part we always wanted to know more about? The girl from Hollywood who paid to give you head — and fed you before you left.
