Heartwarming or cynical? You choose…
[Video]
[5.29]
Jessica Doyle: Okay, I know, this is a Dr. Luke concoction with some off-putting false-note soft-porn moments in the video that nonetheless wants to sell itself as firmly in the feminist zeitgeist, it’s rotten at the core, I know. But Saweetie sells her lines beautifully: I do believe she was thinking of her actual best friend, whoever that person is, when she recorded. And knowing about all the rottenness has failed to dislodge my affection for “I ain’t dumb but motherfucker, she’s my Tweedledee.”
[6]
John Seroff: I generally like Saweetie’s penchant for retro-minimal rap, clean flow and stacked verses, but I’ll pass on this all-but-unfinished beat from noted prosecuted asshole Dr. Luke. Even at 2 1/2 minutes, this made for Tik Tok track is just too long, wearing out its welcome right around Doja’s verse. That’s probably not a coincidence.
[4]
Katherine St Asaph: There should be a rule: for certain non-offensive but newly loaded terms, you get one last shot at using them, so make it good. Because how else but “virtue signaling” does one describe the oozing necrotic cynicism of having a skit about “‘fake woke misogynists'” as the intro to a song produced by Dr. Luke? Mind you, there’s plenty of the regular kind of cynicism too, like the verses about each best friend sounding entirely interchangeable, such that you could swap any two bars and get little difference in personality; or the comment-for-a-car!!! giveaway designed to force a meme into existence; or the sense that both artists have long careers ahead of joyless would-be bangers.
[3]
Oliver Maier: Doja is nothing if not a formidable feature machine. Her blasé tone meshes well with Saweetie, who sounds less polished but is working harder here to make up for it. “Best Friend” runs like a well-oiled machine, from its brisk, diet bhangra beat to its neatly-portioned flows, and would probably be pretty disposable were it not for the absolute bounty of quotables. It’s been a couple of months now and the phrase “Is that my bestie in a Tessie?” will not leave my brain.
[7]
Dede Akolo: Is that my bestie in a tessie? – Shakespearian
[4]
Alfred Soto: Charisma isn’t all, but it’s a lot, and Saweetie and Doja Cat inhabit their characters without fuss: I believe them as friends. Snapping consonants over that electro-twang, they make themselves difficult to approach.
[7]
Thomas Inskeep: Doja Cat’s okay, Saweetie’s much better, the track itself bops along amiably enough to support them, and more than anything I love the gist of this: we don’t do anywhere near enough to support friendship in our culture, let alone female friendships. More, please.
[6]