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Poland (song)

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"Poland"
Single by Lil Yachty
ReleasedOctober 11, 2022 (2022-10-11)
Recorded2021–2022
GenreRage rap
Length1:23
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Lil Yachty singles chronology
"Slime Them"
(2022) 		"Poland"
(2022) 		"One of Those Days"
(2023)
Alternate cover art
Original cover art
Music video
"Poland" on YouTube
Audio sample
Lil Yachty - "Poland"

"Poland" is a song by American rapper Lil Yachty. It was released on October 11, 2022, through Quality Control Music and Motown Records.

Background and release

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Lil Yachty had been working on a "non-rap album" intended to be a "psychedelic alternative project", which he announced in January 2022.[1][2] The song was originally recorded in 2021.

In October 2022, a snippet of "Poland" leaked to the Internet. Shortly after, the song was met with positive reception from listeners and other artists. Wiz Khalifa, DDG, and Denzel Curry were all cited as referencing the song in a positive manner.[1][3] Drake, Steve Lacy, and Offset were also cited as posting videos of themselves listening to or singing along to the song.[4] The song achieved virality, being popularly used on TikTok and spawning various Internet memes.[2][5]

The song was officially released to all music streaming platforms on October 11, marking his first official solo track of 2022.[1][6] @kurtoart, a Twitter user, drew art depicting Lil Yachty's fictional journey to Poland, accompanied by Wockhardt cough syrup (the "wock" referenced in the song's chorus).[7][8] While the song's cover art was originally a map of Poland, shaded in a "cough-syrup purple," Yachty announced he would change the cover art to @kurtoart's drawing.[7]

Composition and lyrics

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Produced by Lukrative, Lucian, and F1lthy of Working on Dying,[1] the song features a synthy beat with a "cyber-vibrato" effect on Yachty's voice.[2][9] A dissonant trap song,[8] The Washington Post's Chris Richards wrote that "Yachty makes his voice — a melodized yawn that has chafed low-imagination rap purists from the start — do something new, elongating the most flexible syllables and allowing them to tremble with Auto-Tuned vibrato."[10]

"Poland" has been noted by media outlets for its brevity and simple lyricism.[2][10][11] In the song, Lil Yachty discusses "fiending" and battling his demons, and references the Nickelodeon comedy television series Kenan & Kel and its lead actors Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell.[8][10] When going viral online, the lyric "I took the wock to Poland" was particularly singled out by listeners and garnered considerable media coverage.[11][12] The term "wock" references Wockhardt, a pharmaceutical company known for producing types of cough syrup found in a cup of lean.[2][3][11] Lil Yachty sings the lyric in "a manner somewhere between an operatic recitative and singing through a fan".[11]

Prior to the release of "Poland", Yachty previously mentioned "wock" on his song "Wocky My Lover".[11] The rapper has never performed in the country of Poland prior to the song's release,[11] however the rapper revealed the mention of Poland in the song originally came about as trolling from the day when he had some wock and noticed someone else was drinking a Poland Spring water bottle.[13] However, in 2023 Lil Yachty did visit Poland, and performed the song "Poland" six consecutive times in his concert at Poland.[14] This follows a reported invitation of Yachty to Poland by the country's Prime Minister Morawiecki, which was reportedly accepted by Quality Control CEO Pierre “Pee” Thomas who discussed arrangements to bring Yachty to Poland.[15][16]

Critical reception

[edit]

The song was praised by music journalists for its simplicity, with many outlets calling the song a "catchy", "hypnotic", or "mystifying" earworm.[note 1] Its chorus featuring the "I took the wock to Poland" lyric was particularly lauded.[2] Serge Selenou of Pitchfork opined that these factors are implemented in the rapper's best songs and wrote: "Over a churning F1lthy beat that wouldn't be out of place on Whole Lotta Red, Yachty croons "I took the Wock to Poland" in a garbled yodel that probably has Mason Ramsey jealous"; Selenou added that the song helped recapture the "light-heartedness that won Yachty fans."[17]

Eric Skelton of Complex wrote that the hook on Poland is "so unique that we can't stop thinking about it," adding that Yachty's performance on the song is akin to "singing through a fan as he belts out "I took the wock to Poland" with extra warble in his voice."[18] Skelton called the song "bizarre",[2] and added that "Poland" is "weird as hell, strangely addictive, and ridiculously fun to sing along with."[18]

Chris Richards of the Washington Post praised the Auto-Tune vibrato effect applied to Yachty's voice, writing that "in this funny, freaky, emotionally extravagant, tragicomic gush, he sounds like a machine that’s learned how to cry."[10] Richards also positively received the song's concise nature, opining that "Yachty's brevity is casually artful, highly playful and totally real. "Poland" isn't short, it's fleeting, and you might even find the meaning of life in the difference between the two."[10]

Recognition

[edit]

On October 12, 2022, Quality Control Music CEO Pierre Thomas shared an alleged text conversation with Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. The conversation shows Morawiecki inviting Lil Yachty to Poland.[4][11]

Music video

[edit]

An accompanying music video was produced by Lyrical Lemonade and released onto YouTube on October 11, 2022.[19][20] Directed by Cole Bennett, the music video has received over 10.2 million views as of October 20.[21] The video was filmed on the streets of Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood and in the Broadway–Lafayette Street/Bleecker Street station of the New York City Subway.

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for "Poland"
Chart (2022-2023) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[22] 49
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[23] 53
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[24] 15
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[25] 58
Germany (Official German Charts)[26] 52
Global 200 (Billboard)[27] 29
Ireland (IRMA)[28] 26
Lithuania (AGATA)[29] 24
Netherlands (Single Tip)[30] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[31] 27
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[32] 35
South Africa (TOSAC)[33] 19
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[34] 70
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 62
UK Singles (OCC)[36] 30
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[37] 11
US Billboard Hot 100[38] 40
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[39] 18

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Poland (ZPAV)[40] Gold 25,000‡
United States (RIAA)[41] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes

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  1. ^ Sources that share such an opinion include:[2][3][7][8][11][17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Neale, Matthew (October 12, 2022). "Lil Yachty officially releases viral song 'Poland'". NME. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Skelton, Eric (October 6, 2022). "Lil Yachty Took the WoOoOOoOoock to Poland". Complex. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Ech, Joey (October 7, 2022). "Lil Yachty 'Poland' Lyrics – Listen to Viral New Song". XXL. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Saponara, Michael (October 12, 2022). "Lil Yachty Gets Invite From Polish Prime Minister Following Viral 'Poland' Song". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  5. ^ Coleman II, C. Vernon (October 12, 2022). "The Funniest Lil Yachty 'Poland' Memes". XXL. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  6. ^ Schube, Will (October 11, 2022). "Lil Yachty Shares Official Version Of Viral Song 'Poland'". UDiscoverMusic. Yahoo! News. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Russell, Scott (October 12, 2022). "Lil Yachty Drops "Poland" Music Video". Paste. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d Pellot, Emerald (October 11, 2022). "TikTok's favorite song 'Poland' by Lil Yachty is now officially on Spotify and Apple Music". In the Know. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  9. ^ Sundaresan, Mano (October 11, 2022). "Lil Yachty, 'Poland'". NPR. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d e Richards, Chris (October 18, 2022). "What if Lil Yachty's 'Poland' contains the meaning of life?". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Curto, Justin (October 12, 2022). "Okay, But When Did Lil Yachty Take the Wock to Poland?". Vulture. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  12. ^ Lipshutz, Jason; Robinson, Kristin; Unterberger, Andrew (October 12, 2022). "Trending Up: Lil Yachty Is Huge in 'Poland', Fleetwood Mac Is 'Everywhere' on TV & Thundercat Gets Big Going Fast". Billboard. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  13. ^ Ahmed, Insanul (October 14, 2022). "Lil Yachty Is Taking Rap By Storm With "Poland," His Weirdest, Catchiest Song to Date". GQ. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  14. ^ I PERFORMED POLAND IN POLAND 6 TIMES, retrieved January 16, 2024
  15. ^ "Lil Yachty Gets Invite From Polish Prime Minister Following Viral 'Poland' Song". HipHopDX. October 12, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  16. ^ "Lil Yachty's 'Poland' May Have Just Earned Him An Invite To The Countr". UPROXX. October 13, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Selenou, Serge (October 11, 2022). ""Poland"". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Skelton, Eric (October 7, 2022). "The Best New Music This Week: Unc & Phew, G Herbo, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and More". Complex. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  19. ^ Strauss, Matthew (October 11, 2022). "Lil Yachty Releases Video for Viral New Song "Poland": Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  20. ^ Helfand, Raphael (October 11, 2022). "Lil Yachty's "Poland" gets a video". The Fader. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  21. ^ Lil Yachty - Poland (Directed by Cole Bennett). Lyrical Lemonade. October 11, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022 – via YouTube.
  22. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  23. ^ "Lil Yachty – Poland" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  24. ^ "Lil Yachty Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  25. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 42. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  26. ^ "Lil Yachty – Poland" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  27. ^ "Lil Yachty Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  28. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  29. ^ "2022 42-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. October 21, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  30. ^ "Dutch Single Tip 22/10/2022". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  31. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  32. ^ "ČNS IFPI". IFPI ČR. Note: Select SK SINGLES DIGITAL TOP 100 and insert 202242 into search. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  33. ^ "Local & International Streaming Chart Top 100 Week 42-2022". The Official South African Charts. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  34. ^ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 42". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  35. ^ "Lil Yachty – Poland". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  36. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  37. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  38. ^ "Lil Yachty Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  39. ^ "Lil Yachty Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  40. ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista wyróżnień" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 22, 2023. Click "TYTUŁ" and enter Poland in the search box.
  41. ^ "American single certifications – Lil Yachty – Poland". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
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