First of all, let’s not get it twisted. No one can knock Cardi B’s hustle — no one. From struggling Bronx stripper to Grammy Award-nominated artist, her journey to the top has been nothing short of amazing (if not miraculous). In fact, HipHopDX just anointed her with the award for 2017’s Best Come Up Of the Year. But here’s where she runs into trouble — social media.
After the “Bodak Yellow” rapper posted a video of what appeared to be her and fiancé Offset having sex on Tuesday (December 26), Twitter erupted with colorful opinions on her questionable decision, demanding she get media training — stat. Even after Cardi debunked the video and insisted they weren’t “fuckin” on Instagram Live, Twitter was still bothered by her brash choice to even share it in the first place.
That’s all good if you want to assert your sexual independence as a woman but when you go on record saying you want to be a “better role model” and then pull a salacious stunt like that, you’re sending the wrong message to the pre-teen/teen audience that likely makes up the majority of your fanbase. People were quick to point out the discrepancy.
The day after Halloween, the Love & Hip Hop alum evidently had an “a-ha! moment” when she realized countless young girls were emulating her style of dress for their costumes.
“You know what, y’all, I realized after Halloween that a lot of little girls they be looking up to me and they love me and whatever,” Cardi said in an Instagram video. “It’s just like, I’m thinking to myself like, ‘Yo I really need to be a better example’ but I be trying to be a better example though. I be trying to be like more PG-13, less Rated R.
“But I be hanging out with my hood rat friends and then they fuck me up all over again,” she added. “Like they just mess me up all over again. I’m going to change for you little girls because I dead ass love y’all.”
For a minute, Cardi’s pledge seemed genuine. She appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon! earlier this month looking extremely elegant and the month before, stepped onto the 2017 BET Soul Train Awards’ red carpet looking like a lady.
But PG-13 came and went, and Cardi seemed to skip straight to XXX (minus the ‘tentacion) with her recent antics. And this behavior has become a pattern. Over the past few months, Cardi has spread her personal business all over the internet — from fights with Offset to accusing people of stealing her stuff to, well, online sex — nothing seems off limits when it comes to her social media accounts.
To complicate the issue even further, on Wednesday (December 27), an attorney for Ms. Bartier Cardi told TMZ she was seeking legal action against hackers who allegedly leaked nude videos of her online.
Wait, what?
So, let’s get this straight. She’s mad that naked videos of herself — ones she obviously participated in making — were made public but is totally fine with emulating (or perhaps really having) doggystyle sex for her 14.8 million Instagram followers? Or appearing in G-Eazy’s sexually explicit “No Limit” video that finds her naked laying on a pile of money?
Fans have started to point out that she’s beginning to draw attention for all the wrong reasons. Initially, she was gracing headlines for the success of “Bodak Yellow” and making history as the first female rapper in 19 years to hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart without any assistance. Now, it’s for the type of stuff that’s suited for an episode of Love & Hip Hop, the drama-fueled show she left.
Much like Azealia Banks, who consistently gets dragged through the mud for her outrageous behavior (and refers to Cardi as a “poor man’s Nicki Minaj”), the future Mrs. Offset is running the risk of soon becoming just another flash in the pan. Instead of focusing on the music and art she’s trying to create, people will momentarily get sucked into the controversy before writing her off completely.
The next few months are crucial for Cardi. If her debut album isn’t mind-blowing (and who are we kidding? It probably won’t be), some will likely chalk her up to another one-hit wonder who had an opportunity but blew it because she was too wrapped up in the bullshit to seize the moment.
It’s up to her.
But websites like this have given her the attention without skills, like you have been doing for years. It’s all about “swag” and who is “hot.” The media has made skills and music secondary and the artists have followed suit.
The media and record labels follow what sells and there would be any sales without fans. And when fans of “real hip-hop” stopped buying music they loved, what numbers do you thinked they looked at? What type of copycat acts you think they signed? The ones more the ones who were selling. Cardi B. even said it herself fans should support what they like. That’s something the “real hip-hop” fans lost site of. They are too busy whining that there favorite rapper doesn’t get played on the radio or win any grammys!
No the labels started marketing crap that was cheap to make and could market a certain lifestyle (ie gucci, Benz, etc) that would keep money in their pockets and business partners pockets. You don’t market what sells, you market what you make people want to buy. Songs like Bodak Yellow and the latest Uzi Vert can be made within hours on the cheap
Plenty of real hip hop fans still buy music. The issue is that people who barely started listening to hip hop, don’t want that lyrical shit. There arent enough real hip hop heads to flood the charts to get the real artists at the top. This is why Kendricks album means so much to the genre despite its shortcomings. He did his best to cater to young and old fans of the genre (not talking age).
Exactly. The record labels pay sites like this for articles. It’s rap manipulation. And as soon as the artist isn’t the hottest thing and the money isn’t being paid they drop them.
I agree with the article. The Azaelia Banks comparison was a good addition. Don’t think that Cardi is ready for that mature tier. Look how Eve evolved. Surely…
The longer the wait for the album, the bigger the disappointment. Look how long Young MA waited to drop the album after that Oooh whatever. That didn’t work. Cardi should drop the album right away or just stick to making single songs a la Bodak sporadically throughout the year. More and more though it’s not looking like she’ll have longevity. I could be wrong though. And if I am, what a terrible tragedy.
The prob is she ain’t no rap queen. She has been popular for 6 months. Why do u people jump on these new artists like they are gods and forget about the ones who have been holding it down for years. I’m over this genre. Take me back to 2006
Because she makes hits and everyone always likes the new artist
Excuse me, did you really just write rap QUEEN?!!! One hit does NOT make you a queen. Cmon… dont LOWER the standard for females here. Would you call Lil Pump or Yachty or whatever other “lil” disposable artist a KING? Shit, it’d be a stretch to call Nicki a queen, let alone a nicki clone.
HipHopDX needs to embrace being a top tier Hip Hop media platform & not a generic gossip column.
*Grabs popcorn and watches train wreck*
Ho is a ho
How can she be a one hit wonder when she has 4 hits? ?
Honestly speaking, i don’t know any of her solo hits except Bodak, and only bc it was shoved down our throats (I personally don’t care for it- the beat sounds like a middle schooler had access to production equipment and made it, the flow is too simple and Dr. Seuss like, and it holds no substance intellectually). She does have hits featured along other artists, but really, she is a one hit wonder. Quote me on this, the rest of her stardom moving forward will be based on her hoodrat mentality antics on social media, so called reality shows and her soon to be failed relationship with that Migos dude (I really don’t know who is who, because I don’t care for them).
ummm, 4 HITS? GTFOH.. She barely even got 4 SONGS, let alone hits. She got ONE hit. She’s featured on a song thats getting some buzz right now, still not quite a hit, but it aint her song. She prolly wont even have 4 hits her whole “career.”
Yo you gotta let people evolve at there own pace and rate shawty still young she’ll relax.
She’s been active in the media for years. In fact, her buzz stemmed from that hood ass personality, even on the show. She’s not going to stop doing what’s getting her paid.
Lets be sure to support real/classy femcees like Sammus, Rhapsody, Jean Grae, Little Simz and Nitty Scott for the new year.. Happy Kwanzaa y’all
Y’all looking for a role model? Go listen to the lyrics on 90% of her songs. She hoes herself more than a car wash.
Is it safe to say the album as we know it in hip hop has become obsolete? HHDX, you guys should write an editorial about that, or maybe I will and pitch it to different sites. That is not to say that great albums in hip hop are extinct, but going back to this Cardi B article, I’ll say this: a lot of rappers including Cardi B make one or two smash singles, collect millions or thousands (not sure what the payout in the rap game is nowadays) and can eat off those singles for 10, 15 years if they’re smart with the bread. On the consumer end, sure, some fans still cop albums and dissect every song, but if I had to guess, fans love their artists for that one particular song that made them hot and periodically check for that artist’s new material. Again, not saying good and great albums are extinct. Just saying the album format, release dates, packaging, etc. has become remarkably obsolete. Peace.
“But I be hanging out with my hood rat friends and then they fuck me up all over again,” she added. “. Okay. You need to mature as well as get some new friends. But even so, isn’t she able to be the mature classy girl if she’s around these so called friends? And forget taking the girl out the hood but can’t take the hood out the girl mentality. I’ve witnessed maturity and growth from individuals from darker paths of life. You can still be hood, but self control is important. Cardi, you’re blessed to have made it this far. You’re messing it all up. Don’t take it all for granted. Grow tf up.
I do think that there is something to be said about the industry being sabotaged and an agenda being born to use rap music as a weapon and a tool against its own listeners. We already know for a fact that there is a branch in law enforcement that was created for the sole purpose of infiltrating the rap industry. Since that time, rap has plummeted in terms of intelligence, consciousness, and pro-blackness. They changed the culture to make it non-threatening to white power structures and ar the same time a stumbling block for the young people that listen to it. The websites and DJs go along with it because they only care about getting paid. The powers that be take full advantage of the selfish and short-sighted nature of young people, especially young blacks. I miss hiphop. Peace ya’ll.
Cardi is just another so called entertainer that has no skills. The corporations are trying to kill hip hop with rap. The poster boy is m and this chick. They both stink but routinely are on the charts. We must kill the corporations and take back our black music from vultures.