When anyone thinks of Cardi B, “confidence” naturally comes to mind. Add in self-ᴀssurance and swagger and that begins to paint the picture of Cardi as a public persona. But, in addition to being sure of herself, she is also deeply human, and admitted that as recently as last year she was “afraid” to live her life after a barrage of negative comments on social media. (Rule No. 1: stay out of the comments.)
“I just feel like I lost myself with everything,” she said recently in an interview for Complex’s “360 with Speedy” series. “A lot of music commenters and everything and a lot of people just be like, ‘She’s afraid to drop an album. She’s afraid to drop music.’ Like, last year, I barely dropped music. It’s just like I was just afraid to do everything.”
Cardi’s last album was 2018’s Invasion of Privacy but has released singles in the six years since like “Up,” “WAP,” and last year’s “Bongos” with Megan Thee Stallion.
“I was afraid to go live, I was afraid to post a picture, I was afraid to go to the club, and then the next day seeing people, what they going to say about me, and everything,” she said. “I was afraid to do everything.”
She cited an example, expressing her frustrations over a Valentine’s Day outing with her estranged husband, Offset. (Cardi confirmed their separation in December.) Cardi said they kissed in their car, and she consequently got red lipstick smudged “everywhere,” per Page Six. To hide it, she covered her face with an iPhone.
“All I see is the next day, ‘Oh, Cardi got her nose done!’” she said. “I don’t even want people to know where the f—k I’m at or what the f—k I’m doing. Every day is some new sh—t.”
Through the ups and downs of 2023, she was reminded that the people she’s in the public eye for aren’t her detractors, but her loyal fans—at that her energy should be directed to the many who celebrate her rather than the ones that don’t. “I should be catering to [the fans], ‘cause you’re the ones that put money in my pocket, and you’re the ones that love me,” she said.
Cardi told fans they can expect a new album from her soon, her first in six years
Just this month alone, she’s released more singles than she did in all of 2023: “Like What (Freestyle)” and “Enough (Miami)”—and also confirmed that her next album is on the way after a six-year stretch.
