Swae Lee has an impressive discography that dates back to 2015, where he first left his mark as a featured artist through tracks for The Weeknd and French Montana. With every feature, Swae Lee definitely gained steady momentum and public acclaim, but it really wasn’t until 2018 that he hit the Billboard jackpot with “Sunflower,” a single from the soundtrack for Oscar-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. In a collaborative effort with Post Malone, “Sunflower” sweeped the Billboard Hot 100 and charted in the Top 10 songs for 33 consecutive weeks, a record then shared only by Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You (feat. Cardi B)” and Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You”.
Many fans speculated that Swae Lee could not take on another soundtrack feature for a few years, thinking any film producer would avoid guiding a soundtrack that needed to live up to “Sunflower”. However, fans were pleasantly surprised to find Swae Lee collaborating with yet another animated film, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, to produce a single with Tyga and Lil Mosey. Their latest collaboration, titled “Krabby Step,” is the second soundtrack to drop on streaming platforms out of an estimated list of 15 original soundtracks for the animated film.
The song itself may sound familiar to ex-Vine followers and long-time Spongebob fans, as some were quick to point out the resemblance between “Krabby Step” and 2015 hit meme remix, “Spongebob Trap Remix: Krusty Krab”. However, these two songs may sound similar because both songs mesh the original Krusty Krab theme song with elements of trap, and many should be hesitant from labelling “Krabby Step” as blatant plagiarism of the beloved meme remix from 2015. Regardless, “Krabby Step” definitely adds an elevated level of fun and funk through creative rap verses–– something the 2015 trap remix didn’t offer.
Although the verses were entertaining from a college student perspective, it is understandable to see the lyrics facing some backlash from concerned parents. All three rappers have definitely put in significant efforts to cut back on their usual levels of overt profanity, but parents did not care to hear that these rappers’ lyrics were ‘far less inappropriate’ than their other releases.
Ayy, big racks, I need that […]
“Krabby Step” –– Swae Lee, Tyga, Lil Mosey
See Sandy Cheeks (Yeah), I’m burstin’ her bubble […]
but Mrs. Puff, but she givin’ it to me
Despite these minor hiccups, “Krabby Step” is still managing to gain a small but steady public following for its interesting combination of fond childhood memories and trap bops.
The movie is set to release around early 2021 for US residents via Paramount+, but the song itself can still be found on all streaming platforms. The official music video can be found on Tyga’s YouTube channel, while the animated lyric video can be found on Lil Mosey’s YouTube channel. Swae Lee has yet to upload the song onto his YouTube channel.
