Songfacts®:

• This name checks ex-Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel, while another Vampire Weekend track "Oxford Comma" mentions the Atlanta crunk rapper, Lil John. Drummer Chris Tomson explained this name-checking to State magazine: "I think that it can be very helpful describing something by using someone's name, as opposed to an emotion. Hopefully it will bring up different things for different people."
• Frontman Ezra Koenig told the Daily Mail May 23, 2008: "The beats make this one of our most African sounding songs, but I think it also sounds Irish. I was listening to accordion music when I wrote it."
• Peter Gabriel is such a fan of Vampire Weekend that he covered this song in collaboration with the British electropop band Hot Chip. He paid tribute to Vampire Weekend in Q magazine: "They have a unique style. It's very exciting for them to introduce African influences to a whole new audience. They do it with intelligence and enthusiasm. And a sense of humor."
• Kwassa Kwassa refers to a dance rhythm from the African country of Congo.
• Ezra Koenig told Mojo magazine that when he wrote this song and name checked Peter Gabriel, "I wasn't thinking of him as a person, I was almost using his name as an adjective."
• Mojo asked Gabriel what he understands of this song's lyrics and his part in them. He replied: "I've got no idea why they stuck me in there other than it was sort of African-ish and I've done some African-ish things."