Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion Set the Stage on Fire at 2023 MTV VMAs
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion set the stage ablaze with their electrifying performance of “Bongos” at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12.
In matching blue bodysuits, Cardi B, aged 30, and Megan, aged 28, debuted their new single in style. Not just their outfits, even their curly hairstyles synced up.
Their performance was packed with energetic twerking that even got a nod of approval from Cardi B’s husband, Offset, a 31-year-old member of Migos. He gave his wife a standing ovation at the end of their show.
This marked the first time the dynamic duo, Cardi B and Megan, shared the VMAs’ main stage. Both had previously appeared individually on the pre-show, with Cardi in 2017 and Megan in 2019. The performance also marked the live debut of “Bongos,” which was released on September 8.
Both rappers were nominated at the awards show. Cardi B’s collaboration with GloRilla, “Tomorrow 2,” was in the running for Best Hip-Hop Video, while Megan’s song “Her” received nominations for Best Direction, Best Choreography, and Best Art Direction.
A Fashion Show on the VMAs Red Carpet
The 2023 MTV Video Music Awards were a grand spectacle held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It marked a triumphant return to the venue and was aired live.
Remember, Cardi B and Megan’s first collaboration, the 2020 hit “WAP,” made history as the first female rap collaboration to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Cardi B recently shared how their second duet came to life.
Cardi’s Creative Process
“I had the beat for a minute, and then I had the record for a minute,” Cardi B explained on SiriusXM’s Hip-Hop Nation. She revealed that she had already crafted several lyrics but felt something was missing. “But it still sounded incomplete. So then I started putting my verses on it where, like, the parts where Megan is at … but it just sounded to me like a long-ass song.”
That’s when she envisioned the song as a duet. “I’m like, ‘This song needs dynamics, so it needs a feature. Like, it just cannot sound like me, me, me, me, me, me, me. ‘Cause it just feels like a long, long sentence,” she said.
Bonds Beyond the Music
Cardi B also shared insights on her bond with Megan through their collaborative work. “We put in our sweat and everything,” she said. “It’s like on some ‘Bitch, you jump, I jump. If you wit it, I wit it. We’re gonna do it.’ We worked so hard on the music video. You’re gonna see. … That’s thought put into that.”
As for the music video, Cardi initially wanted to shoot it in another country to avoid leaks, but hurricane season forced a change of plans. The project ended up costing $2 million because of her efforts, including geofencing to monitor mobile devices and in-ears to keep the music private until its release.
“Malibu always [has] paparazzi and everything, so we hired about 20 guards, 15 guards just guarding the whole area,” she explained. “This type of stuff cost a lot of money for the videos and rehearsals every day — it cost a lot of money, it’s a lot of work.”