By Michaela Maxey

There’s no denying that Bruno Mars has an angelic voice that could make any girl swoon, and that Cardi B is an amazingly talented rapper. In fact, Cardi made history at the Grammy’s last week winning Best Rap Album for her 2018 album Invasion of Privacy, making her the first female solo artist to win this award. So to find out that the two were releasing another collab after such a good year was music to my ears. I eagerly awaited for the release of “Please Me”, yet I was disappointed once I heard it.

Now it’s not as if the whole song is a trainwreck, that is the song opens and a catchy beat is set. Bruno’s voice comes in beautifully as he longs for someone to “please and tease” him. I’m all for it, and then Cardi comes in and although her rapping/singing is great, I’m surprised at her lyrics. It’s not that I didn’t expect vulgar lyrics to come up in this song, but I did underestimate the level of intensity.

As the song continues, I realize that my main issue is that their vibes don’t match up. As Cardi comes forward with strong and risqué lyrics, Bruno opts for more sensual and, in a way, “subtle” lyrics (that is he doesn’t blatantly reference his genitals). It’s almost as if they’re trying to give you the best of both worlds, the implied versus the full-blown “this is what I’m going to do to you tonight”/ no mystery whatsoever.  

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I hate Cardi B or Bruno. It’s just that in this song they are on two different wavelengths that I just can’t seem to get on board with. Hopefully we’ll get another collab by them in the near future that will be more cohesive.