Song You Need to Know: Cookiee Kawaii, ‘Vibe (If I Back It Up)’

If you have spent any amount of time on TikTok this year, you have certainly encountered Cookiee Kawaii’s breakthrough hit “Vibe (If I Back It Up).” It’s a song accidentally tailor-made for TikTok fiends: a sharp earworm full of playful sounds (bed creaks and snare cracks) and a stop-start Jersey club beat perfect for the edited jump-cuts on the app.

Clocking in at less than 90 seconds, “Vibe” is a breezy summer jam that was gaining traction even before the humidity hit. Kawaii’s track is the perfect twerk anthem solely about twerking: “If I back it up/Is it fat enough?/Baby when I throw it back/Is it fast enough?” she coyly poses. Just in time to prove her point, the beat hits a delicately uptempo stride meant to help her answer her own questions.

While the song dropped last year, the video was released earlier this week. Directed by Frank and Ivanna Borin, it sets the tone for Cookiee Kawaii to exceed more than a viral moment. Referencing Azealia Banks and Missy Elliott’s inventive, style-forward visuals, she goes beyond the trends her song has spawned to re-contextualize it on her own terms. No twerking duck needed.

@hartyt_

Shout out to my wonderful family for helping with this 😂#throwit #chicken #chickenforthrowit

♬ Vibe (If I Back It Up) – Cookiee Kawaii

Find a playlist of all of our recent Songs You Need to Know selections on Spotify.