Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion to debut ‘Bongos’ live at 2023 MTV VMAs

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion are set to give their new collaboration ‘Bongos’ its live debut at next week’s 2023 MTV VMAs.

The track was announced earlier this week and landed on Friday (September 8). It’s the first time that the two have joined forces since their global hit ‘WAP’, which dropped back in 2020.

On September 12 at the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey, the pair will play the song live for the first time alongside other performers including the recently-announced Olivia Rodrigo, Måneskin, Doja Cat, Fall Out Boy and more.

Taylor Swift, Doja Cat and SZA lead the list of nominations for this year’s VMAs, which was revealed last month.

Swift is leading the way with eight nominations, SZA earned six and Doja Cat, Kim Petras, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj and Sam Smith have all earned five each. The entire group of artists are also in the running for this year’s Video Of The Year category.

🚨 THIS IS NOT A DRILL: @IAMCARDIB & @THEESTALLION ARE PERFORMING AT THE 2023 #VMAS 🚨

Don’t miss their first-ever performance of “Bongos” – TUESDAY at 8p on @MTV!!! pic.twitter.com/o6IVK9VSBe

— Video Music Awards (@vmas) September 9, 2023

Elsewhere at the 2023 VMAs, Shakira is set to be presented with the Video Vanguard Award, which was won in 2022 by Nicki Minaj, while other past winners include Madonna, Janet Jackson, LL Cool J, Jennifer Lopez and Missy Elliott. Diddy will also receive the Global Icon Award and perform at the event.

Discussing ‘Bongos’ with DJ Whoo Kid on the Whoo’s House radio show on SiriusXM, Cardi said: “I wonder how people are gonna react to this vibe because they’re really like expecting ‘WAP,’ like, ‘oh, here they go again talking this and that… We are talking a little, you know, about some pussy, but not like ‘WAP’-type of stuff.”

“It feels good [to get back into the game],” Cardi added, saying of Megan: “It makes me feel good that she trusts me. I’mma give my all. Not only am I doing this for myself, [but] ‘I want you to trust me.’ We trust each other.”

Of the track’s video, which you can watch below, Cardi said: “It’s a different theme, and the video is like a whole complete different type of theme… We worked so hard on the music video. You’re gonna see… that’s thought put into that.”

The song arrives on the heels of Cardi B’s recent singles, ‘Hot Shit’, which arrived last year, and 2021’s ‘Up’.