It was written by Meghan Trainor, Theron Thomas, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Gamal "Lunchmoney" Lewis, Henry "Cirkut" Walter and Dr. Luke, while production was handled by the latter two.

Lyrically, "Ain't Your Mama" deals with themes of female empowerment, where the protagonist will not accept a partner who needs to be taken care of.

Though it peaked within the top ten of record charts in a variety of countries, and received Diamond certifications in France and Poland, it stalled at 76 in the United States.

"[2][3] "Ain't Your Mama" is the first single Lopez released since resigning with Epic, and was originally expected to precede her ninth studio album.

'"[6] Lopez described the concept behind "Ain't Your Mama" as "very empowering", and explained: "Guys have this tendency, once they love you in the beginning and you're the hottest woman on Earth, and then all of a sudden, it's like, 'Okay... where's my food?'

[9] It was written by Meghan Trainor, Theron Thomas, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Gamal "Lunchmoney" Lewis, Henry Walter and Lukasz Gottwald.

[10] The song's production features percussion,[11] drums,[12] minimal synths and a "head-bobbing, hip-swaying" Latin beat,[13] with a reggae groove.

[14] According to Forbes' Hugh McIntyre, "the track has a hint of Latin flare, which nobody does better, though it doesn't focus too much on any one sound, instead leaning much more towards typical top 40 fare.

"[15] Sara Geffen of MTV News described it as "minimal but upbeat", stating that Lopez's voice takes "center stage".

[16] Lyrically, the song "celebrates a woman who is independent and won't accept a partner who needs to be taken care of",[17] with Lopez "putting her man in his place for not pulling weight in their relationship".

[19] Lopez announced "Ain't Your Mama" during a live video chat on Facebook while promoting the series finale of American Idol, where she played a short preview of the song.

[21] Discussing the preview, Mike Wass of the website Idolator called the song a "sultry banger" and said: "There's definitely a Latin flavor, but this sounds like a return to urban J.Lo of This Is Me... Then and Rebirth".

[22] Sasha Geffen from MTV News remarked, "Don't expect her to get domestic" and noted that "In what we're able to hear of the track so far, J.Lo totally rejects patriarchal gender roles".

Many fans were outraged by the news as the song had been released less than a few hours after it was announced that singer Kesha's lawsuit against Luke had been thrown out by the judge presiding over the case.

[13] Jessie Morris of Complex labelled it "an infectious anti-housewife anthem", observing that "the track's hot beat mixed with that searing hook makes 'Ain't Your Mama' a radio-ready hit.

[28] Alexa Camp of Slant Magazine noted that "the song's subtle reggae groove recalls that of Lopez's slept-on 2011 single 'I'm Into You'," highlighting "its instantly memorable hook" and that it "finds the former Fly Girl flipping gender roles on their head, something she also did with the music video for 2014’s 'I Luh Ya Papi'.

[30] "Ain't Your Mama" reached number 5 in Germany, becoming one of the highest-peaking singles of Lopez's career and her first top ten hit since "On the Floor" (2011).

[47][48] It opens with the news anchor Lopez having a heated conversation in a phone booth, stating: "I'm tired, I've been working all day!

[48] Leila Cobo of Billboard praised the video as "vastly entertaining", observing that it depicts the "history of women's fight for independence", with various pop culture and social references.

[52] Complex magazine writer Suzannah Weiss commended its "powerful plot line", noting: "It's an anthem for women dealing with man-children everywhere, and the music video ties it into larger issues of sexism contributing to these relationships.

"[54] Of the video, Dave Quinn of People said, "she's not mincing words when it comes to the song's feminist message",[55] while Richy Rosario of Vibe wrote: "Like many other women who have showcased their plight in gender inequality through art, Ms. Lopez is definitely making a statement.

[58] 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, whose speech was sampled in the opening sequence, thanked Lopez for the music video, responding: "Women are so much more than the roles they've been assigned.

[22] Lopez wore a "sparkly" French maid costume while singing "Ain't Your Mama", surrounded by several backup dancers.

[61] On May 2, 2021, Lopez headlined Global Citizen's VAX Live: The Concert to Reunite the World, a campaign aimed at promoting the COVID-19 vaccine, where she closed the show with "Ain't Your Mama".