"Poppin" is a song by British YouTuber and rapper KSI, featuring American rappers Lil Pump and Smokepurpp. It was released on 27 March 2020 through RBC Records. It is the third single from KSI's debut studio albumDissimulation. The song charted at number 43 on the UK Singles Chart.
Background
The song's instrumental was produced by American producers Go Grizzly and Diego Ave, and it features a sample from producer OG Tint. Smokepurpp recorded a hook to the instrumental, but "left it because he didn't really know where he was doing with it". KSI was played the instrumental with Smokepurpp's hook during a studio session with the song's producers in Los Angeles. He thought it was "sick" and asked if he could "do something with it". KSI recorded a hook and a verse for the song, which Smokepurpp "liked a lot". KSI and his team thought about having an additional artist feature on the song in order to "make it even bigger", resulting in the addition of Lil Pump's verse, since they "wanted something playful" and "it made sense to have him on the track".
Promotion and release
On 18 March 2020, KSI announced via social media that he would be releasing a new single in the next week, and on the same day, he posted the song's cover art to his social media pages, revealing that the song is titled "Poppin" and that it features Lil Pump and Smokepurpp. The song was made available for pre-order on the same day. "Poppin" was released worldwide for digital download and streaming via all platforms on 27 March 2020 through American independent record label RBC Records, under BMG Rights Management. KSI explained the song's lyrics and meaning as part of a Genius Verified video interview, which was released on 8 May 2020.
"Poppin challenge"
On 30 March 2020, KSI announced via social media that he would be hosting a competition called the "#PoppinChallenge". He asked people to record their own verses for "Poppin", and the best verse, decided by public vote, would replace Lil Pump's verse on a remix of the song which would appear on the deluxe edition of KSI's upcoming album Dissimulation, which was later released on 25 May 2020. On 17 April 2020, American YouTube rapper Crypt was announced as the winner of the competition.
Critical reception
Mitch Findlay of HotNewHipHop called the song "gaudy", and said, "Lil Pump sets things off on an energetic note. His flow is in fine form, outlandish in its disregard to etiquette yet all the better for it". He continued, "KSI has already proven himself to be a capable emcee, and he does it once more on this go-around, boasting the most dexterous flow on the track". Grungecake called "Poppin" "a bouncy record" and noted that there are "stellar lyrical deliveries from all artists". GRM Daily said that the song "carries a punchy vibe as a result of the bass-heavy production and the sharp delivery from KSI, Lil Pump and Smokepurpp". Luke Morgan Britton of NME described "Poppin" as "hyperactive mumble rap", with Insider's Kat Tenbarge summarising the song as "all about flexing, mostly money and expensive jewellery". Nick Duerden of i concluded that "Poppin" is "a curiously convincing slice of hyperactive Californian hip-hop for someone who was born and raised in Watford".
Commercial performance
"Poppin" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 43. The song dropped to number 56 the following week, before dropping out of the top 100. The song spent a total of three weeks on the UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart, peaking at number 23. On 10 July 2020, the Official Charts Company reported that "Poppin" is the 23rd-best-selling single to not reach the UK top 40 of the first half of 2020.
Music videos
An audio visualiser video for the song was uploaded to KSI's YouTube channel on 27 March 2020. It has 7.5 million views. A trailer for the song's music video was released on 1 April 2020. The music video was filmed in Los Angeles on 16 March 2020 and was uploaded to KSI's YouTube channel on 3 April 2020, one week after the release of the song. It has 12 million views. The video is directed by American director TajvsTaj and stars all three artists. The video is set in "an underground club scene" and is "filled with dancing". It features cameo appearances from Asian street dancer Bailey Sok, American actor and comedian King Bach, and two of the song's producers, Mally Mall and Diego Ave. A behind-the-scenes video of the filming of the music video was uploaded to KSI's YouTube channel on 10 April 2020.
