Safe to say that Joe Budden isn't a fan of "Bongos". The podcaster dropped his opinion of the new Cardi and Megan Thee Stallion collab during the latest episode of his show. "The hook is not hookin' for me. There's nothin' in it to make it stay, one. And two...this commercialized ratchet has passed, it's ghetto ratchet time. 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," Budden said. Furthermore, Budden suggested that MTS and Cardi hit up their former writers and producers to help them create some fresher sounds.
It's certainly some harsh criticism, although some people online have noted that "Bongos" shares a lot of markers with their last major collab, "WAP". However, Budden's criticism has not reached the years of the two artists' fans. Most fans are over the moon about the high-energy track with a slightly Afrobeat flavor to it. For many people, it's one last hoorah before fall officially begins. Furthermore, early projects suggest that the song could end up being a top-ten hit if sales and streams continue. It debuted at #70 on the Global Spotify charts and had a top-50 Billboard projection after just 24 hours. However, Budden isn't the only person going after "Bongos".
Barbz Celebrate "Bongos" Modest Debut
One topic of conversation has dominated the song's release on social media - a victory lap from Nicki Minaj fans. The Barbz have taken over sites like X, formerly, to rejoice in the fact that "Bongos" debuted lower than Minaj's release from two weeks ago, "Last Time I Saw You".
Searching "Bongos" on X brings up a bevy of posts to this effect. "Bongos" debuted on the Global Spotify Chart at #70 with around 1.9 million streams. Meanwhile, "Last Time I Saw You" debuted at #52 with 1.95 million streams. Furthermore, the Barbz also pointed to the success of other recent Nicki hits like "Endless Fashion", "Barbie World", and "Princess Diana (remix)" as further proof of Nicki's dominance over her perceived rival Cardi B. Of course, there were more than a few people praising the song. However, the Barbz had far and away dominated the searches.
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