How Many Licks? VH1 wrote that the single and other tracks from "The Notorious K.I.M." have a "glossier and far more commercial" sound than the rapper's previous releases. The lyrics of "How Many Licks?" are part of a movement in 1990s hip hop music to express sexuality positively. Sexuality studies professor Thomas A. Foster wrote that Lil' Kim reverses a trend in hip hop music which objectifies women for the male gaze and celebrates male sexuality. Gender studies scholar Aine McGlynn described "How Many Licks?" as one of the most sexually-explicit songs to receive airplay. The lyrics describe a woman's interest in oral
How Many Licks? and a bling accessary". Lil' Kim and Sisqó also exchange pick-up lines during the song. The chorus refers to the advertising slogan for Tootsie Pops ("How many licks does it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll centre of a Tootsie Pop?"), and ties sexuality to consumerism according to media studies professor Scott Wilson. For the track's remix, Lil' Kim associates her rapping abilities with oral sex: "Ya neva seen this stroke of genius / [I] put tha cleanest, meanest lips on ya penis!" She is also noted to popularize the word "gangstress" which she had previously used in "Spend