At #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 we have the first song I’ve already featured on the blog — Taylor Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero.’ I didn’t do the song any justice at the time, sliding it in without comment as a last-minute substitution during a disrupted theme week. I did give it another mention during my countdown of all the tracks on Swift’s Midnight.
Moving on, the #10 song on this week’s chart is the delightful ‘Players’ by singer/rapper Coi Leray. This song samples Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s 1982 hip-hop classic ‘The Message‘ to deliver a very different sort of message, namely that “girls is players too.”
Apparently Grandmaster Flash registered his approval of the song by gifting Leray a hoodie embroidered with that phrase.
This is a fun song that showcases Leray’s charisma as a rapper and singer, and it’s proof that a 40-year-old beat can sound as fresh as something recorded yesterday.
Yeah, ’cause girls is players too
Uh, yeah, yeah, ’cause girls is players too (Keep it player, baby)
‘Cause girls is players too
Bitches gettin’ money all around the world ’cause girls is players too
[Verse 1]
What you know about livin’ on the top?
Penthouse suites, lookin’ down on the opps
Took him for a test drive, left him on the lot
Time is money, so I spent it on a watch
Hold on, lil’ titties showin’ through the white tee
You can see the thong bustin’ out my tight jeans (Okay)
Rocks on my fingers like a nigga wifed me
Got another shorty? She ain’t nothin’ like me
[Refrain]
Yeah, ’bout to catch another flight
Yeah, the apple bottom make him wanna bite
Yeah, I just wanna have a good night
I just wanna have a good night
Hold up, if you don’t know, now you know
If he broke, then you gotta let him go
You could have anybody, eeny, miny, moe
‘Cause when you a boss, you could do what you want
[Chorus]
Yeah, ’cause girls is players too
Uh, yeah, yeah, ’cause girls is players too (Keep it player, baby)
‘Cause girls is players too
Bitches gettin’ money all around the world ’cause girls is players too
[Verse 2]
I go on and on and on again
He blowin’ up my phone, but I’m ignorin’ him
He thinkin’ he the one, I got like four of him
Yeah, I’m sittin’ first class like valedictorian
Uh, came a long way from rag to riches
Five-star bitch, yeah, I taste so delicious
Let him lick the plate, yeah, I make him do the dishes
Now he on News 12 ’cause a bitch went missin’, sheesh
[Refrain]
Yeah, ’bout to catch another flight
Yeah, the apple bottom make him wanna bite
Yeah, I just wanna have a good night
I just wanna have a good night
Hold up, if you don’t know, now you know
If he broke, then you gotta let him go
You could have anybody, eeny, miny, moe
‘Cause when you a boss, you could do what you want
[Chorus]
Yeah, ’cause girls is players too
Uh (And it’s time that we let ’em know that—), girls is players too (Keep it player, baby)
‘Cause girls is players too
Bitches gettin’ money all around the world ’cause girls is players too
Meet Me In Montauk 
Thanks for including the link to The Message. I wasn’t sure I knew that song from the title, but, upon listening, I do recognize it. Nice throwback to rap history with this homage.
Would have been interesting to read a full entry reconciling your initial observations of Anti-Hero and then seeing how it registers all these months later as it still sits in the top 10. Believe it was just yesterday that her two re-recorded “Taylor’s version” albums both out sold/ streamed the originals she no longer owns. Imagine that.
Meanwhile, glad to have today’s song now on my radar.