Even though Cardi B was the first female rapper to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 20 years, one of the few to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and the first to achieve multiple No. 1 singles, there are apparently still some listeners out there who don’t accept any of these milestones as markers of success. At least, according to Cardi herself, who recounted some of the more outlandish critiques she’s received online over the past two years in an interview with Sirius XM.
Per Cardi, some critics took her year-long break from releasing new music as evidence that Atlantic Records had shelved her album, calling her “a flop.” While some of those were undoubtedly Nicki Minaj fans, who are known to lash out at Cardi, any other female rapper they perceive as Nicki’s competition, and even Nicki’s collaborators, a quick browse of any comments section online is sure to reveal that her detractors aren’t quite living in the same reality as the rest of us.
“Throughout this [break] people was making rumors, like, ‘Oh, she’s having problems with her label, her label is shelving her, her label is tired of her, they’re getting more female talent,’” Cardi explained. “Then it’s like, no, they’re never tired of me.” She also pointed out the double standards involved in those criticisms and why they couldn’t force her to rush out another song she wasn’t in love with.
“There are male artists who will go two years without putting out a song and [the fans] don’t be like, ‘Oh, you’re irrelevant, it’s over for you’. Me, I didn’t put out songs for nine months and it’s like, ‘Oh, she’s irrelevant, she’s over, she’s a flop, we told you that’. And I’m like, ‘Yo!’ That type of shit started to get to me but I’m not gonna let that shit get to me to the point that I’m going to put out a song that I’m not really in love with.”
Considering her first new song since 2019’s “Please Me” with Bruno Mars was the No. 1 “WAP” with Megan Thee Stallion, a song that has launched a lexicon and dominated pop culture since its release, those folks who called her a flop might have to continue to indulge their wishful thinking.
Watch the full Cardi B interview with Sirium XM above.
Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.