If you’re a faithful member of the Bardi gang, by now, you know that Cardi B’s collaboration with Ozuna has been a long time coming. A casual review of the Bronx rapper’s Instagram proves that she was hooked on Ozuna’s massive hit “Tu Foto” this year, regularly belting the song in her stories and on the grid. It should come as no surprise, then, that the pair finally came together for a collaboration; as a leading figure in the pop-reggaeton movement, and an artist who isn’t afraid to dip his toes into trap en español, too, the union of Cardi and Ozuna was a natural evolution of this, the year of addictive, bilingual, and globally popular hits.
Today, their collab “La Modelo” finally sees the light. In the video for the single, the two stars head to Jamaica, lounging in a luxe waterfront mansion as shots of locals and lush aerial landscapes flash across the screen in glitchy splashes. True to form, Cardi drops some bilingual rhymes, and even sings in Spanish. “Y de pensar/de yo contigo quiero estar/quiero probar algo de ti/para no olvidar.” In a later verse, she spits in English. “For me to think/that you are the one for me/like your baby mom/now Cardi’s your wife to be.”
In the year that saw renewed Latino visibility in the mainstream, Cardi B’s link-up with Ozuna proves that she is putting in work when it comes to exposing non-Latinos to reggaeton and Latin trap. Watch the full clip above.