The news that Hostess is going out of business has been met with sadness from nearly everyone who’s enjoyed a sugar-filled, individually-wrapped cupcake or the spongy cream-filled goodness of a Twinkie. In honor of the brand, which has been around since 1930, Brow Beat takes a look at the pop songs that have given shout-outs to our favorite Hostess snacks.
Twinkies especially are a favorite among rappers (the word is slang for 20-inch rims), along with Wonder bread (bread = money, of course, and Wonder often = Stevie). But hip-hop artist are hardly the only lyricists to name-drop the confections: James Taylor and Regina Spektor are also big fans. Some of our favorite Hostess allusions are below.
Ding Dongs & Twinkies
Larry Groce, “Junk Food Junkie”
“I’m afraid someday they’ll find me / Just stretched out on my bed / With a handful of Pringles potato chips / And a Ding Dong by my head”
“Where nobody else can see / I open that door so slowly / Take a peek up north and south / Then I pull out a Hostess Twinkie / And I pop it in my mouth”
Twinkies
Juelz Santana, “Cashing Out”
“But she a bad bitch, like Nicki / Keep two of those like Twinkies”
Damian Marley, “And Be Loved”
“Well it’s no co-inky-dinky / Oh so much young gal come to lick me / Jenday ragamuffin feel a pound a stinky / Even one good spliff off a the sweet life Twinkie”
50 Cent, “Fat Bitch”
“Them Twinkies got your ass gettin’ fat fat”
The Pharcyde, “Somethin’ That Means Somethin’”
“Time is just a faze and/ Life is just a riddle like / If you build a Twinkie there’s / A man in the middle with a / Chick on the side that’s along / For the fun so I see / Her as a stallion and I / Ride everyone”
The Notorious B.I.G., “The What”
“[They] know they soft like a Twinkie filling / Playing the villain, prepare for this rap killing”
LL Cool J, “Cheesy Rat Blues”
“That Twinkie looks good / So mister don’t tempt me”
Jay Z feat. Big Boi, Killer Mike & Twista, “Poppin’ Tags”
“What would you do if you was in my shoes? / Leave dudes in the rearview / V-12 engine, corners spinnin / Twinkies shinin’, pinky ring”
Trick Daddy ft. Big Boi & Cee-Lo, “In Da Wind”
“Drop the top and let the sunshine in / With the wood grain, let the Twinkies spin”
The Clipse, “Hello New World”
“Hello new world, here we come / On them Twinkie trains / With the hood screaming, ‘We’re on our way’”
No Doubt, “A Little Something Refreshing”
“Pies, chips, candy apples / Twinkies, frosted flakes / Donuts, french fries …”
John Fogerty, “Nobody’s Here Anymore”
“He got the latest software / He got the latest hardware too / He got the latest gizmo / Up in his room / He’s feeling so connected / But he don’t talk to a soul / He got a stash of Twinkies / Up in his room”
Dead Kennedys, “I Fought the Law”
“Twinkies are the best friend I ever had”
Wonder Bread
The Tubes, “Wonderbread Bodies”
“Wonder Bread / Wonder Bread bodies / Wonder Bread bodies / Got a Playboy brain”
Tyga, “Get Silly Freestyle”
“Bread like wonder / Make her wonder why they flourish”
Fabolous,“Dope Bitch”
“You know I’m getting bread / No wonder you walked up looking wonderful”
Punjabi MC featuring Jay-Z, “Beware of the Boys Remix”
“All I do is get bread, / Yeah I take Wonder”
De La Soul, “Supa Emcees”
“Emcees be kneading / Needing dough while I make bread like Wonder”
Nas, “America”
“With a face like he wonder where I got my bread”
Regina Spektor, “Samson”
“Samson went back to bed / Not much hair left on his head / Ate a slice of wonder bread / And went right back to bed”
James Taylor, “Chili Dog”
“Make my bed out of Wonder Bread / Spread some mustard upon my head / I don’t want no onions or sauerkraut, Mamma / Hold on to the bun baby, work it on out.”
Hostess cupcakes
Big Daddy Kane, “Looks Like a Job For…”
“Cause I take the cake like Hostess / No, not the one you wanna play high post with”
The Donnas, “Skintight”
“I saw you standin’ by the Slurpee machine / White studded belt and skintight jeans / I tried to buy a hostess cupcake / baby you’re so sweet I got a toothache”
E-40, “Spittin’”
“I ain’t no cupcake (I ain’t no cupcake) / So don’t call me hostess (hostess)”