Joe Budden has made a living sharing his outspoken opinions with anyone willing to listen. As the titular host of The Joe Budden Podcast, he dishes them out left and right—and nobody is off limits. On the latest episode of the show, Budden lays into Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s new collaboration, “Bongos,” which arrived on Friday (September 8).
“This record don’t seem like it has lasting power,” the podcaster said. “It’s that hard-ass beat, the hook is not hooking for me, there’s nothing in it to make it stay, one, and two, I know y’all think Sexyy Red is paying me she’s not, but this commercialized ratchet has passed. It’s ghetto ratchet time. Neither one of them are ghetto ratchet on this song. I think they both have potential to be, and Cardi normally smokes ghetto ratchet, but she’s too big.”
He added, “And neither one of them are ghetto ratchet on this song. We need a ‘Bodak Yellow’ now. This sounds like two women who can’t make a song.”
“Bongos” debuted at #70 on the Global Spotify charts and had a Top 50 Billboard projection after just 24 hours. Release on Atlantic Records, the track marks the beginning of Cardi B’s rollout for her sophomore album. The accompanying music video features Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion at a beach wearing over-the-top accessories and custom fits. Ahead of its arrival, Cardi B claimed she tricked her fans into thinking the collaboration would be something as salacious as “WAP.”
“Let me tell you something,” Cardi B said last week. “Me and [Megan Thee Stallion], we tricked y’all. We tricked you muthafuckas. These covers we tricked you b##ches. You wanna know how we tricked ya?” she continued. “Because this is not the theme of the song or the video. We want y’all to believe that it’s giving something that it’s not [laughs].”