Cardi B is providing some clarity for all those confused about the meaning of her record, “Up.” On Thursday night (Feb. 11), the “I Like It” emcee appeared on an episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” where she was asked to explain the lyrics to her latest hit.
Cardi’s record sees her rapping the words, “If it’s up, then it’s up, then it’s up, then it’s stuck” in the hook — a play off the “it’s up, and it’s stuck” phrase she first heard from her husband, Offset. She claims she initially thought it was a commonly-used saying in Georgia.
“After the song came out, I thought it was like a Georgia thing. But then people is like, ‘No, we say that in New Orleans. We say that in Florida,’” she said before revealing an unexpected meaning. “So have you ever taken a poop, right, and it don’t come out?” she asked. “It’s just up, and it’s stuck. Yeah.”
“It’s a metaphorical quote,” she added.
The Invasion of Privacy star dropped her single last week, but in the days since her release, Cardi noticed a lot of negative commentary surrounding the song.
The “Bodak Yellow” star was accused of stealing her hook from two New Jersey artists — an allegation she immediately dismissed. She also found herself responding to claims she only made songs for TikTok.
“It wasn’t me who started the ‘WAP’ challenge,” said Cardi. “I didn’t even knew how to the dance that’s why I never did the challenge in the first place. How ya mad that these female rappers songs becoming TikTok challenges because people genuinely wants to dance to it.”
Fortunately, however, the criticism was followed by the success of her song, which currently holds the No. 1 position on Apple Music’s Top 100: USA chart.