Can he go three-for-three? Well, budding rapper Saucy Santana is certainly going to give it a try. With two successful tracks, “Booty” featuring Latto and “I’m Too Much” under his belt as a signed artist, the proud Florida representer continues his Grammy bid with new single, “Bop Bop.”
The song produced by Tre Trax follows Santana’s signature danceable uptempo pop-rap formula. Pulling together subtle references from hits of the past, in just over two minutes, Santana has a solid single on his hands. On his RCA-debut single, “Booty” featuring Latto sampled Chi-Lites’s 1970 song “Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)” (made popular by Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love”). This go-around, Santana draws inspiration from rapper-turned-actor Will Smith’s 1992 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song and Remy Ma’s 2006 song “Conceited.”
“Bop Bop” opens with an eerily familiar-sounding pre-chorus. As Santana raps, “When I’m on the scene all the hoes gon’ jock / Phone gon’ ring, coins don’t stop / Clubbin’ all night, bottles gon’ pop / Step off in the spot, bop-bop-bop,” it is nearly impossible to ignore the similarities in its cadence and that heard in Khia’s 2002 cult-classic “My Neck My Back.” While the opening of “My Neck My Back” relied on a steady snare, Santana elevated the sound to include the flair of a cymbal.
Co-written by Sage Skolfield, in the first verse Santana gets right to his bag-securing mission paying homage to Will Smith as he raps, “This a lil’ story all about how you run a n**** pockets only usin’ ya mouth / Talkin’, talkin’ ’bout his bread / Talkin’ ’bout his cheese.”
As the chorus comes in Santana gives a faint nod to Remy Ma with the repeated line, “It’s whatever.” Then on the second verse, Santana lets the listener know he doesn’t have time to be tied down with love but he gets plenty of suitors as he raps, “I got the sauce and the boys McLovin’ / can’t keep a man ’cause a bitch be clubbin’ / Bad b*tch that got plenty / don’t ask who, ask how many.”
While the track is fun and trendy, quintessential Saucy Santana, it doesn’t quite reach the same charisma as “Booty.” However, Santana has proven to be a grower and not a shower. After a few months of viral campaigning on TikTok, he very well may have another hit on his hands.
Listen to “Bop Bop” above.
