My little brother is obsessed with the City Girls. So, it is safe to say that I have been listening to them for a while. The duo ruled every mix during my freshman year of college. I memorized the lyrics to their song, “Take Yo Man,” and shouted it with the crowd at parties. I did not become a fan of their artistry until I saw them perform live on the Ciroc Stage at Rolling Loud Miami 2021. I am a fan of their work now; it is catchy, it makes people, especially women, feel empowered, and the girls’ personalities outside the music are entertaining.
“I don’t work jobs, I am a job,” is the infamous hook to the City Girls song titled, “Jobs.” Throughout the song, Caresha and Jatavia, also known as Yung Miami and JT, rap about men footing the bill for all their luxury expenses. Birkin bags, new teeth, and cash app payments are among the requests the duo makes to any men who are interested in courting them.
In real life, Caresha is in a mutually beneficial relationship with rapper and business mogul Diddy. Diddy has publicly reaffirmed his love for Caresha and spoils her more than a person can comprehend. The qualities the City Girls duo exudes are synonymous with the characters in Robert Townsend’s movie “B.A.P.S. (1997).”
“B.A.P.S” is in talks of being remade. The announcement to remake the film is not a surprise. With a recession lingering around the economy, people are leaning into nostalgia to distract them. “B.A.P.S.” was a comedy film based in Los Angeles. In the movie, the protagonists are a duo played by Halle Berry and Natalie Desselle. The girls are auditioning for a music video to raise enough money to open a hair salon that combines soul-food cuisines as a dining option too. Somehow, Berry and Desselle meet a billionaire and form a close relationship with him. Sound familiar?
The Miami natives started in 2017 with freestyle videos already uploaded on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. They quickly signed a deal with Quality Control and began generating mega-hits like their certified gold track, “Twerkulator.” Like the characters in the movie, Yung Miami and JT are women from the South with dreams of becoming rap stars. While their goals might be to open a hair salon with a soul food restaurant attached, the City Girls are on a mission to run up a bag at someone else’s expense.
Who is Townsend considering?
Rumors of the remake spread on Twitter. The details were Townsend was set to return as the director and Grammy Award-winning rappers Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion were being considered for the lead roles. The pair collaborated on their song W.A.P., which had a “B.A.P.S.”-esq vibe, especially with some hairstyles. It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first female rap collaboration to do so, and had the largest opening streaming week for a song in U.S. history. It gave Cardi B her fourth No. 1 single and Megan her second in the U.S. The single spent four weeks atop the chart and spent multiple weeks at number one in several other countries.
Cardi B has been on TV and in films. She was a reality star on VH1’s “Love and Hip-Hop: New York” from 2015 to 2017. She was great and hilarious, with some of the best one-liners in the series. Cardi B has also gone on to star in movies like “Hustlers” and “F9” in the Fast & Furious series.
Megan Thee Stallion was a judge on HBO Max’s series, “Legendary.” She has also done campaigns with commercials for Doritos and Hot Cheetos. Her social media, specifically TikTok and Instagram, contain videos of her sponsorships, voiceovers, and other evidence that she would be a natural talent on screen.
Why The City Girls?
The City Girls are an obvious choice for Townsend to cast in the “B.A.P.S.” remake because their brand and story are more closely aligned with the storyline of “B.A.P.S.” Their personalities are like the outspoken, feisty, and hilarious energy that the original cast duo, Berry and Desselle, had. The styling of Berry and Desselle on JT and Caresha would attract attention and immediately be transformed into a trend. The girls love Chanel and Birkin bags; can you imagine the looks they would serve in a tweed set? And the soundtrack—based on their platinum-selling track record and large fanbase—shows that the City Girls have proven themselves more than capable of producing and performing an original song that would embody the continuation of the cultural impact “B.A.P.S.” has on its fans. The City Girls is an obvious choice for Robert Townsend to cast in the “B.A.P.S.” remake.
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