The Top 10 Songs About Butts

Last year Vogue declared that we had entered “the era of the booty,” and while it’s hard to deny the increasingly prominent place of the badonkadonk—from Kim Kardashian’s to Justin Bieber’s—in our cultural consciousness, it’s also worth noting that the appreciation of a big beautiful butt is nothing new. Men and women alike have been singing about our fudge machines practically since the dawn of civilization (or at least since the 1970s). To honor that, we present you with the top 10 best songs about butts (in no strictly particular order), spanning nearly five ass-shakin’ decades.

10. “Ms. New Booty” — Bubba Sparxxx ft. Ying Yang Twins (2005)

Bonus: this mash-up with “Under the Sea,” because we all know Sebastian the crab was a butt guy.

9. “Back That Azz Up” — Juvenile (1999)

Yes, that’s ass with two z’s.

8. “Big Ole Butt” — LL Cool J (1989)

Ladies Love Cool James, and Cool James loves leaving his ladies for the next lady with a bigger butt.

7. “Anaconda” — Nicki Minaj (2014)

Bonus: this bluegrass version, because nothing compliments a big butt like a big bass and a banjo.

6. “Milk Milk Lemonade” — Amy Schumer (2015)

In this musical sketch that opened the latest season of her show, Amy reminds us that while butts are all the rage and plenty sexy, they’re also where our poop comes out.

5. “Da Butt” — EU (1988)

Spike Lee commissioned this joint for his movie School Daze, and put go-go on the map with an easy to learn booty dance. Ain’t nothing wrong if you wanna do the butt all night long.

4. “Big Bottom” — Spinal Tap (1984)

Leave it to a parody band from a Christopher Guest movie to have some of the most elegant language for “talkin’ about bum cakes.”

3. “Bootylicious” — Destiny’s Child (2001)

By now, I think most of us are ready for Beyonce’s jelly, but I don’t know if I’m ready for the exploration of early 2000s fashion that is this music video.

2. “Baby Got Back” — Sir Mix-A-Lot (1992)

If you don’t have at least the first couple of verses of this tune memorized, you’ve probably spent the past 20 years living under a rock. Despite being the song most often rapped by white people, it’s actually a fairly poignant commentary on the racial tensions inherent in our society’s beauty standards.

1. “Fat Bottomed Girls” — Queen (1978)

Queen’s chorus-rousing, curve-celebrating classic is not only one of the earliest booty songs on the record; it is also one of the most fun karaoke songs of all time (especially, perhaps, for us fat bottomed girls at the bar). Fun fact: I once knocked over and broke a bunch of shot glasses with my ass while dancing too enthusiastically to this song at a party. There are occasional hazards to making the rockin’ world go round.

 Runners Up:

“Shake Your Booty” — KC & the Sunshine Band (1976): not exactly a celebration of the butt so much as a call to get up and put it to good use on the dance floor, but a classic nonetheless.

“Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” — Trace Adkins (2005): proving that white guys in cowboy hats are into butts too, with lines like “lord have mercy, how she even get those britches on?”

“All About That Bass” — Meghan Trainor (2014): I see you, girl, and I totally share your love for oversized bow headbands as well as your pride in your curves, but as this playlist proves, nobody’s “bringing booty back” in the 21st century—booty’s been here all along.

What’s your favorite big booty anthem? Comment below or tweet us at @litdarling.

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