Cardi B Talks Career, Pregnancy: ‘I’m Not Having a Baby With a Deadbeat’
Cardi B spoke candidly about a lot of firsts on Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning on Monday. The 25-year-old rapper discussed her first full-length album, Invasion of Privacy, and her first pregnancy, which she confirmed days prior while performing – for the first time – on Saturday Night Live.
“I just wanted this for myself,” Cardi said, speaking about why she decided to confirm her pregnancy so publicly. The rumors, she added, put strain on her. “Like why she doing that in the height of her career, and it’s just like why can’t I have both? … I’m gonna say this in the most humblest way, I’m a millionaire. I’m established … The industry is never promised, but I know that if I make the right money move, I’m gonna always have money,” she said with uncharacteristic gravity.
“You know, I’m getting married. Everybody wants to joke around, ‘Oh you’re the fourth baby mama,’ this, this and that, but I’m getting married. And even though so, let’s say God forbid we don’t, my man is a great father to his kids, so I will never lose. I’m not having a baby with a deadbeat.”
Cardi revealed that she and Offset have a name for their baby, though she didn’t unveil whether it was a boy or girl during the interview. She said she was hesitant about dating a rapper. But the pair met in New York during a release party and quickly fell in love. “I was a little skeptical because I just know how rappers are. Like, I was a stripper, you know what I’m saying, and I heard stories, and not about him, but just how rappers are and how they play with people and it’s just like, it’s like out of anybody, why would you take me serious when you have all these women that you can choose?”
Cardi acknowledged the difficult role stripping played in her life. It was undesirable work, but enabled her to be financially independent and support herself while paying for community college. “How you gonna tell me that it’s easy for a woman to dance for eight hours straight?” she said about those who may think it’s an easy route to take. “Or to sometimes like have bum-ass disgusting men touching on you like it’s like, certain things make women feel uncomfortable and we gotta take it just for the bread … I ain’t even gonna front, like stripping did a whole lot for me.”
She also she nearly quit music to “find another hustle” because of financial concerns. “I went to a school for music … after I finished high school all them dreams went to the garbage,” she said. “I could not afford money for a damn studio when I gotta pay bills.”
But Cardi persevered, culled her mixtapes and now her debut album, Invasion of Privacy, is certified gold. She discussed the album at length, particularly calling out her mentor, Pardison Fontaine. The rapper said he advised her throughout the recording process. “‘That wordplay is not popping, I’m sorry I’m telling you right now, that just don’t even make sense,'” he’d say to her. “‘Cause you know I got my own vocabulary I talk a certain type of way that to me it makes sense but to some people, it just wouldn’t make sense.”
Cardi also vehemently denied the ghostwriting accusations against her. “I always shouted [Fontaine] out, I always gave him credit, I even gave him a big shout out on iHeartRadio because I feel like he’s a big part of my music,” she said. “He’s one of my friends. And it’s just like, why not make my people some money?”