“Tusa” by Karol G & Nicki Minaj

“Tusa” is a Colombian slang word. And there have been varying explanations given to the intricacy of its meaning. But what it basically boils down to is being synonymous with a person being heartbroken romantically. And such is the state of the characters Karol G and Nicki Minaj focus on in this song.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Karol G's Tusa at Lyrics.org.

Verse 1

And in the first verse, which is held down by Karol G, we see that this lady’s “tusa” is the result of her being wronged by a certain dude. Moreover the implication is that she really loved him. And in response to being mistreated by him, her heart has hardened, thus making her impervious to being hurt in such a manner again. Owing to this, she now “uses men” in the same fashion she was likewise emotionally taken advantage of. So basically the victim has now become the aggressor.

Chorus

Yet despite all of this, we are made aware in the chorus that “if they play that song”, i.e. the song of she and her ex, she resultantly “gets so depressed” and basically makes an effort to re-connect with him. This is despite dude being portrayed as a playa who doesn’t really care for her. So for now this “tusa” is something she has to deal with, as her mistreating other romantic partners is not actually diminishing the love she still has for her ex.

Verse 2

Then in the second verse Nicki Minaj goes about portraying a similar character from a first-person perspective. She talks about how back in the day, before falling in love with this guy, she was a cool lady who was just focused on her J.O (i.e. job). But now in the aftermath of the relationship, she is a “bad girl”. However, any true fan of Nicki already knows that she ain’t taking a loss like the lady mentioned above. For instance, she is already “getting some new D”. What this means is she is having regular bedroom fun with a fresh romantic partner and basically using him in bed. 

Moreover the ex who broke her heart is trying to get her back, but she’s not having it. Indeed he has come to regret losing her, as he has been unsuccessful in his ‘search for a badder b’. And then to cap it all off she alludes to she and Karol G being on top of their game, making “racks” and being prepared to literally bust caps if someone rubs them the wrong way.

Final Verse

Then in the final verse Karol G adopts somewhat of a likeminded disposition, as in she is trying to drink the memories of her ex-boyfriend away. That is to say that she has truly come to realize that he is “worth nothing”. By virtue of this (as effectively as she possibly can), she needs to move on with her life.  But she alludes to the fact that amidst her partying, she is still emotionally/romantically vulnerable. 

Indeed the thesis sentiment of this whole track is that the songstress is indeed suffering from “tusa”. And within the context of the narrative presented, it basically means she is still in love with a deadbeat, deserting ex.

Facts about “Tusa”

This track marks the first time Karol G, a Colombian musician and American hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj have collaborated. And it was actually Karol who took the initiative to make the team-up a reality.

“Tusa” was written by Karol, Nicki, Keityn and the track’s producer, Ovy On The Drums.

A number of record labels (including Republic Records) put this song out as a standalone single on 7 November 2019.

The music video to this track was shot in L.A. and directed by Mike Ho. And in less than six months, it had already garnered well over half-a-billion views via YouTube. [Editor’s note: Said video can’t be displayed on this page because it contains scenes that aren’t family friendly].

“Tusa” performed phenomenally, especially in Spanish-speaking countries.  For instance, it reached number one in a dozen Latin American / South American nations and replicated the feat in Spain as well as on Billboard’s US Hot Latin Songs. And overall it charted in almost 30 countries, including some that don’t speak Spanish such as Italy and Slovenia.

Moreover “Tusa” has gone mutli-Platinum in Spain and Mexico in addition to being certified Diamond in the Mexico and in the United States (by RIAA Latin music standards).

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