
Aaron J. Thornton/WireImage/Prince Williams/WireImage
Yung Miami has shared a message amid the chatter over her song ‘Spend Dat,’ and she is thanking Monica for her support. ‘The Boy Is Mine’ singer performed at the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans on Saturday, July 4, and she incorporated the controversial hit into the show.
Monica delighted the crowd at the ESSENCE Fest when she incorporated ‘Spend Dat’ into her performance on Saturday night.
The move comes amid the controversy surrounding Yung Miami’s latest single, ‘Spend Dat,’ which features about spending money and scamming. As previously reported, one critic called out the song for being “degrading to our culture.” And India Arie’s weigh-in response prompted an online debate.
Several backup dancers joined Monica on stage as she danced to ‘Spend Dat,’ and Yung Miami was thankful for her support amid the drama.
The 32-year-old artist, whose real name is Caresha Romeka Brownlee, shared a video of the performance on Instagram. Caresha also thanked Monica in the caption.
“Ahhhh. This is what an OG look like!!! Thank you @monicadenise for hitting that sh*t one time and showing ya girl some LOVE. We can celebrate each others wins and just have a good time! This is sisterhood this is black excellence!! Thank you Monica youve truly always been a REAL ONE & stay embracing and pouring into the girls! A ICON, A LEGEND ”
Roommates also reacted after the video was shared on The Shade Room‘s Instagram page.
User @tsx2__ replied, “Yeah cause I dont understand all the hate. The songs back in the day were way worse.”
@dana__denise joked, “boycott isnt going so good huh?”
@_klassycapricorn agreed. “Real is so rare these days! Monica always been a REAL one.”
However, not everyone supported the video.
User @itslegendaryshay replied, “Why are yall still dragging this ? Its giving she knows India is right. India never mentioned her name, and yall keep trolling over a general comment she made about ALL this watered down music. Mannnn gone!”
After a fan called for a boycott of ‘Spend Dat,’ Arie’s response went viral.
I spent my entire adult life, caring way too much, wrote Arie in part. Because I finally learned that not everybody Cares ( with a capital C) And explaining it to them is notgonna make them care. Everything you listen to see or eat is going to influence you. So make wise choices yall. The mass acceptance of this song itself is a CRYSTAL CLEAR sign of the bigger problem.
After folks began saying Arie supported a boycott, she clarified her comments.
“FOR CLARITY!! I did not say that I think anyone needs to boycott this song,” she wrote. “I said it is a sign of where we are as a culture that this song has been accepted so widely. And THATS FACTS.”