Big Guy (song)
| "Big Guy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Ice Spice | ||||
| Released | November 14, 2025 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:30 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | RiotUSA | |||
| Ice Spice singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Big Guy" on YouTube | ||||
"Big Guy" is a song by American rapper Ice Spice. It was released on November 14, 2025, by 10K Projects and Capitol Records. Produced by RiotUSA, it is featured in the 2025 animated film The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, in which the rapper also makes a voice appearance. The song's lyric "SpongeBob big guy pants okay" became a meme soon after the song's release and received praise from critics.
Background
"Big Guy" was recorded as part of the soundtrack to the 2025 animated film The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, in which she also has a voice role as a student at Bikini Bottom High School.[1] She called appearing on the soundtrack "such a full circle moment" due to the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise being a part of her own childhood. The song was released on November 14, 2025.[2] She stated that she was required to include certain "SpongeBob-related words" in its lyrics.[3]
Composition
Lyrically, "Big Guy" includes puns about the ocean and references to SpongeBob SquarePants, such as in the lyrics "I blow bubbles so big like Mrs. Puff" and "Ain't a jellyfish, but I'm the catch". It features no profanities.[1] In its chorus, Ice Spice repeats the phrases "big guy" and "SpongeBob big guy pants okay", which references SpongeBob's attempted growth, both in height and in bravery, within the film.[4] On the song, Ice Spice raps in a "demure" monotone.[5][6]
Critical reception
Jeff Ihaza of Rolling Stone wrote that "Big Guy" was an "impossibly catchy bop" with "cleverly adapted" lyrics and the "wholesomeness of a Bronx drill Cocomelon".[1] For Paper, Tobias Hess called the song "classic Spice" and "an exciting, if not a bit confounding return to form".[6]
The lyric "SpongeBob big guy pants okay" went viral online shortly after the song's release. Mathew Rodriguez of Them wrote that the lyric was "so confident in its simplicity — and yet, confounding in its complexity", while Hess called it a "simple, yet effective line that [Ice Spice] chants like a political slogan" and a "poetic puzzle".[4][6] For Vulture, Fran Hoepfner wrote that the lyric was "so poetic yet so simple" and "struck [her] to [her] core", but that the question of if it was "a 'good' lyric" was "complicated".[5]
Music video
The music video was released on November 14, 2025.[7] It depicts the rapper riding an underwater roller coaster,[8] and also features her animated character and scenes from the film.[9] Rodriguez called it "a fairly standard, if not somewhat lackluster, visual".[4]
References
- ^ a b c Ihaza, Jeff (November 18, 2025). "I Can't Stop Listening to the Ice Spice SpongeBob Song 'Big Guy'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
- ^ Zemler, Emily (November 14, 2025). "Ice Spice Drops Fast-Talking Single 'Big Guy' for 'The SpongeBob Movie' Sequel". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
- ^ Hurtado, Yamillah. "Ice Spice Wants to Star in Hello Kitty and Betty Boop Movies After Her SpongeBob Experience". People. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
- ^ a b c Rodriguez, Mathew (November 19, 2025). "Ice Spice and the Viral 'SpongeBob Big Guy Pants OK' Meme, Explained". Them. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
- ^ a b Hoepfner, Fran (November 19, 2025). "Ice Spice's SpongeBob Song Should Win an Oscar". Vulture. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
- ^ a b c Hess, Tobias (November 19, 2025). "Ice Spice's 'SpongeBob Big Guy Pants Okay' Is a Revolution". Paper. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (November 14, 2025). "Watch: Ice Spice Debuts 'Big Guy' Music Video & Track from 'The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
- ^ Williams, Aaron (November 14, 2025). "Ice Spice Drops 'Big Guy' From 'The SpongeBob Movie: Search For SquarePants'". Uproxx. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
- ^ Trapp, Malcolm (November 14, 2025). "Ice Spice Ventures Into Bikini Bottom In SpongeBob-Themed Music Video For "Big Guy"". Rap-Up. Retrieved November 24, 2025.