Cardi B addressed long-running rumors about her rise in Hip-Hop and made it clear she was never a label-made rival to Nicki Minaj.
Cardi B pushed back against long-standing rumors and industry gossip during a wide-ranging interview, where she addressed claims that she was manufactured to replace Nicki Minaj as Hip-Hop’s top female artist and explained why she believes she draws so much scrutiny.
Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Cardi B dismissed the theory that her rise was orchestrated by label execs to edge out Minaj, with whom she’s had a tense relationship since 2017.
The tension famously exploded at a New York Fashion Week after-party in 2018 when Cardi threw a shoe at the “Super Bass” rapper.
“People have made this whole story that I came (into) the industry to like take over somebody’s career,” Cardi told host Alex Cooper. “But it’s like, I never thought that. I just wanted to become famous at what I like to do… Sometimes people just don’t get along with each other. This is what I was destined for. I was meant to become this, no matter who signed me, no matter what. I was going to be famous and I was going to be a rapper.”
Although she didn’t name Minaj directly, Cardi clarified that her success wasn’t handed to her.
The Bronx-born rapper said she’s always backed her own career financially.
“I invested in myself,” she said. “I always invested in myself. I paid for my own music videos, I paid for everything.”
She also said she’s no longer interested in keeping the feud alive. “I’m done,” she added, again without naming Nicki Minaj.
Cardi, who recently dropped her sophomore album Am I The Drama?, also reflected on why she believes she draws so much attention and criticism in the rap world.
“I’m so relatable. And I think they think like it’s like, ‘Why am I not in her position? Why her and not me?’ I might be relatable, I might make it look easy, but it’s really not. I put a lot of thought into it. I have a team,” she said.
The 32-year-old is currently pregnant with her fourth child and remains in the spotlight, both musically and publicly, as her album rollout continues.
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