“Bitch, I’m—uhhh!” It sounds a lot like a throwback to the moments in “Erotica” when Madonna sings in ecstasy, “I’ll teach you how to—uh uh uh uh.” That oozing-with-sex aura that drew audiences to Ms. Ciccone in the first place when she initially burst onto the scene (causing many to burst out of their pants) remains steadfast on a new remix of “Bitch I’m Loca” featuring Maluma. Wherein the word “loca” is more than occasionally “censored” with the aforementioned cry of delight, “Uhhh!”
For those who might think it’s a “random” song choice to cull from the Madame X album, it’s obvious Madonna selected it to reinvigorate the underrated banger (second to “Faz Gostoso” featuring Anitta) for the sake of promoting her “Musicians on Musicians” cover for Rolling Stone. And since they already released “Medellín” and its associated remixes in 2019, “Bitch I’m Loca” clearly felt like the fresher choice.
With an accompanying “video” (even if more of a clip show) that highlights the behind-the-scenes footage of their photoshoot together, taken at Williamsburg’s Caribbean Social Club (called Toñita’s, more often than not—and yes, Toñita herself is sure to make a cameo), the ItsMiggs remix accents the sweaty, claustrophobic feel of such a space where intimate activities like conversation don’t merely have to be a thing of the past (you know, before ‘rona). And, as anyone who knows Madonna’s work, as well as how she came up in the world, is already aware: tactility has always been of significance to her. For she was born anew on the crowded dance floors of 80s New York. Which is partially why she, like so many others in that town, can’t seem to give up the ghost of “the way it used to be.”
In the intimate setting of Toñita’s, we see Madonna toasting Maluma with her glass of rosé before he lights up her cigar (an old favorite prop from her Erotica-era aesthetic). Smoke fills the room as they both enjoy their “stogies.” Madonna then poses seductively on the pool table with a stack of cash in front of her, for yes, she still can’t help embodying the “Material Girl” doctrine (whether she’s being deliberately “ironic” or not).
The importance of money—not just in life, but to the photoshoot as well—will crystallize in the shot of Madonna outside of the social club with Maluma as she flashes the bills we’re to assume she just withdrew from the ATM. Maluma looks on, seeming to have no qualms about being her sugar baby, as is somewhat implied by the image. And, after all, Madonna has long been interested in subverting tropes. Where most would continue to expect the man to be the one to flash the cash because society is still indoctrinated to believe he’s the breadwinner, Madonna proves the ism she touted during the photo session, “I’m not a businesswoman. I’m a business, woman.”
Looking maternal as she stands over him, it’s clear from the interview that Maluma admires Madonna and trusts in any advice and insight she might have to offer him. Thus, he tells her, “You changed my vision in many ways. I’m still young and I’m still learning a bunch of things in this industry and my career, but it was an important thing to just be more confident in myself.” Something he gleaned while watching Madonna on the set of the “Medellín” video, in addition to just how much attention to detail goes into every endeavor from the Queen of Pop.
It’s not all seriousness and obsequiousness, though. Pantomiming a little hand job with an oversized spoon stuck into a bowl of rice, Madonna proves that some women only tend to get more sexually explicit with age—especially if they started out that way to begin with. For it is said that a person only becomes a more intensified version of themselves as they get older. Some might call that “loca,” and others might better understand it as giving less and less of a fuck as one grows more comfortable in their own skin (even if that skin might be slightly cosmetically tweaked).
