Cardi B is once again making it clear that her impact in Hip-Hop has opened doors for other women who came after her.
During a candid late-night X Spaces session on Thursday (Jan. 18), the Bronx superstar opened up about the toll online bullying has taken on her mental health and career, while also reiterating her influence in the industry.
The 32-year-old rapper began by dismissing speculations that her marriage to Offset was the reason her music has been delayed. “I’ve seen a lot of tweets saying that the reason why my album wasn’t out, why I stopped doing a lot of things, was because of my marriage. Truthfully and honestly, it wasn’t,” she stated. Instead, she revealed that online hate had deeply affected her.
“I don’t think you guys understood how much the internet bullying took a toll on me for a very long time,” she explained, also referencing her ongoing legal battle against blogger Tasha K. “When I won the case and my lawyer was saying that I was suicidal… that wasn’t just for the case. That was really my life.”
Despite her emotional struggles, Cardi did reveal that she’s moving forward with releasing her long-awaited sophomore album, the follow-up to 2018’s Invasion of Privacy. She also took the time to remind people that her “success” is why labels began signing women rappers again. “Even just the other day, when people were trying to say, like, ‘Oh, Cardi didn’t open no doors and blah blah blah.’ I don’t give a f**k about what y’all talking about,” she said. “Labels literally have told me in my face, ‘We started signing female rappers because of the success that you have.’”
The mom-of-three pointed out the success of her 2017 breakout hit “Bodak Yellow” as a turning point for women in Hip-Hop. “It took ‘Bodak Yellow’ to show labels that you could really make money with female rappers; that female rappers are the new wave,” she stated. “Labels were being real hard around 2017 with female rappers. No matter how good you rap, no matter how good you look… it just wasn’t being done.”
And while she acknowledged that many in the industry “would never admit it,” Cardi claimed that she remains the blueprint for today’s female rappers’ marketing, style, and personalities.
“I have to realize that’s why people wanted me gone so bad or bullied me so bad—to the point that I don’t believe that in myself, so everybody else could take it from me,” she reflected. “Well, this year, I feel like I’m over that. I feel like nothing could affect me anymore. And I’m throwing arrows, throwing straight arrows… not letting nobody, no bi**h, no ni**a, no nothing, f**king with me.”
Take a look at her remarks above and revisit “Bodak Yellow” below.
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