Just days after making history on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, Cardi B snagged the cover of New York Magazine‘s latest issue, and in the interview, the rapper reveals herself in a way that writer Allison P. Davis describes as “funny, a little neurotic, unabashed in her ambition and desire for money, and yet sincere in her attachment to how and where she grew up.”
Cardi weighed in on feminism, fame, insecurities, stripping, her upcoming wedding, and more.
ON RECEIVING ENCOURAGEMENT: “They keep saying, like, ‘You got this,’ ‘You’re the one.’ Sometimes I get a little discouraged, and I wonder how it is going to be next year, but it seems like everybody already predicting where I’m gonna be next year, and it’s just like fucking farther than my asshole.”
ON “BODAK YELLOW” AND INSECURITIES: “It makes you feel like a bad bitch. It gives you this self-esteem. Sometimes I don’t feel like I’m the prettiest, sometimes I don’t feel like I’m on top, and when I hear ‘Bodak Yellow’ again, I’m like, ‘Yeah! I’m that bitch!’”
ON HER UPCOMING WEDDING: “The world is not ready for it. Everybody got to be wearing red. And my bridesmaids are gonna be wearing suits, what’s good.“
ON HER STRIPPING DAYS: “I get really happy when people see me perform and they’re rapping my music, but it’s a different feeling when you’re dancing and the men throwing you money because you look good. It’s just like when the rice is getting thrown at the bride. That shit really make you feel powerful. It’s the power of the pussy. It’s just like you’ve got to finesse it….If a guy asks you if you want something, don’t be shy and be like, ‘No…’ Say yes. Say yes to everything. ‘You want me to buy you some food?’ Yes. ‘You want me to buy you a car?’ Yes.”
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ON THE ‘FEMINIST’ LABEL: “You know what? I’m not even gonna consider myself nothing. Here’s the thing that bitches got me fucked up when it comes to that word. People think that being a feminist is a bitch that, like, went to school. They wear skirts all the way to their motherfucking ankles like a goddamn First Lady. That’s not being a feminist. Being a feminist is being equal to do what a man do. Niggas hustle, and I hustle niggas.”
ON COPYCATS: “A lot of bitches just think like, Oh, if she can do it, you can do it too. Nope. It’s not even about followers. It’s just a personality. You can’t even suck dick like I do. I am Cardi, sis.”
ON FAME: “You be seeing these artists going through their meltdowns and fucking shit, and you be like, Why you doing all of that? You’re famous, you’re a fucking millionaire, why? Bitch, I’m broke, I want to shave my head. Then when you in those shoes, it’s just like, I see why people go crazy. This shit is not what it fucking seems. But I can’t complain….Music never felt like a job. Now it’s just like people waiting to see if I fail. I just want to be an artist, I don’t want to be no fucking queen. I wanna hear myself everywhere. I would do fucking elevator music. I’ll do something that brings me a check. The faster I make a lot of money, the faster I can have these kids I want.” Read the whole interview here.