Cardi B’s Viral “Bongos” Video Cost Millions To Make

Cardi B‘s comeback gave fans what they wanted on “Bongos” with Megan Thee Stallion, and now we have details on how much the endless summer vibes visuals cost and the premiere performance of the song.

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The dynamic duo delivered a fun, twerktastic and eye-popping video to accompany their high-energy single. Fans still can’t get over the visuals and production put into delivering such a high-quality video.

According to Cardi’s camp, her label pushed out $2 million for the colorful Brazillian beach bonanza that has the entire internet talking. The video was directed by Tanu Muino and currently has 7 million views on YouTube.

“I feel like this video is just very beautiful; like, it has choreography, but it’s a location video. I always do inside production, so this is more of, like, a location and just like really the little things. Of course, the video looks very expensive. It was very expensive to do!”

Cardi revealed that the visual was largely filmed in Malibu, California. However, she initially wanted to film outside of the US. Unfortunately, hurricane season overpowered those plans, so the “Bongos” set was in a Southern California enclave.

Cardi B Breaks Down The Budget For Her $2 Million “Bongos” Music Video With Megan Thee Stallion

Source: Prince Williams/ WireImage/ Tim Mosenfelder / Wireimage

Cardi went into detail that they hired between 15 to 20 security personnel to guard the location. The team also used geofencing to prevent paparazzi and others from taking photos. According to Revolt News, a person on set secretly snapped and posted an image on social media. Because of the technology, they were able to identify exactly who leaked the top secret photo. As a result, the individual lost their job.

“Stuff like that costs a lot of money. We also did things like when we do videos, we hear the song out loud; we did these things, like, with our ears, where we would hear the song clean in our ears only… So, that right there cost a lot of money.”

Due to all the love and positive feedback, Cardi delivered a behind-the-scenes reel featuring Meg, her baby boy Wave and others on Instagram from the making of the Bongos music video. In the caption, she used a lyric from one of her verses in the song, writing, “The way they watch me need to be monetized.”

Fans of the musical pair can catch their first live performance of “Bongos” at the upcoming 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. The event, which is airing live from the Prudential Center in New Jersey on September 12 at 8 p.m. EST, will be hosted by Nicki Minaj.

The girls performed their 2020 smash hit WAP, which has more than 500 million views on YouTube, at the 2021 Grammy’s. “Bongos” will be the pair’s follow-up, and fans can’t wait!

Check out the video below!