ABSTRACT

Ironically for the hit single ‘‘Wait (The Whisper Song),’’ hip hop is broadly conceived as

never being about waiting for anything, always about sex, and seldom about whispering. So

how did ‘‘Wait’’ achieve such an effect in the popular imagination? What made it the radio

and club hit of the summer? The anecdote of my first hearing of the tune demonstrates

several important tenets of hip hop. This music is portable, easily separated from its original

local context. It thrives in public and private transcripts, with ‘‘secret’’ versions of songs easily

available to fans in the know. ‘‘Wait’’ demonstrates a laughable misogyny, at once humorously

boastful and patently rude. It is not precious – it flashes into and out of pop consciousness

aggressively, making its statement and generating buzz before moving, just as quickly, out of

making way for the next cycle of hits and misses.