Cardi B is slowly however absolutely restoring camaraderie amongst at the moment’s main ladies in music. The Grammy-winning Bronx rapper helms the refreshing development of female-female collaborations, and it has her moving into a brand new function inside her star energy: the function fairy.
Working example: Cardi B’s new collaboration with Latto, “Put It on Da Floor Again,” sits on the No. 7 spot on Apple Music’s high songs chart and has amassed over 11 million views on YouTube for the reason that launch of its accompanying viral music video on June 2. The remixed observe is all music followers might discuss following its drop, and the identical goes for fellow feminine rappers who confirmed their help. On launch day, Maiya the Don tweeted lyrics from Cardi B’s verse, writing, “IM SEXY DANCING IN THE CRIB FEEL LIKE BRITNEY SPEARS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” GloRilla, in the meantime, wrote on Twitter, “If cardi don’t do sh*t else she gone slide on a mf beat go cousinnnnn @iamcardib.” And pleasure over the brand new observe solely continued on June 4 at Summer time Jam 2023 when Cardi B brought Latto out on stage to carry out it together with her.
“She’s creating a sisterhood to help other women win on the largest scale possible and forming friendships along the way.”
“Put It on Da Floor Again” is only one latest instance of Cardi B utilizing her platform to raise the up-and-coming and already-established ladies in her musical peer group. Whereas she could not have invented this modern-day motion, she’s definitely mobilizing it with natural cosigns and comradeship which were missing during the last decade.
Cardi B’s stimulus function package deal would not simply embody a fiery visitor verse and immaculate rollout on her half. Most occasions, it additionally ensures her feminine collaborators an outpour of public assist, proof that Cardi B is doing rather more than simply bolstering her discography. She’s making a sisterhood to assist different ladies win on the biggest scale potential and forming friendships alongside the best way.
In a 2021 Cosmopolitan interview, Normani — who teamed up with Cardi B for his or her “Wild Side” collaboration that yr — spoke about how a lot Cardi B has supported her profession by the years, explaining that the rap star “has great energy” and “is such a genuine spirit.” Of working collectively on their tune, Normani added, “She brought such light to this experience and to me after not releasing for the last two years. I feel like she’s given me comfort and provided a safe space for me.”
Followers can also’t overlook the candy method Cardi B got here to Summer time Walker’s protection when the singer’s love life made headlines years in the past. She appeared on the “Bitter” intro of Walker’s “Still Over It” album in 2021 (and hopped on her “No Love” remix with SZA in 2022) within the type of a blunt message that inspired the “Over It” songstress to maneuver with grace within the face of adversity. “Even though you have problems, put that drama in your music, yeah / ‘Cause if b*tches wanna get clout off you, you gonna get clout off them,” Cardi B says. “. . . Make them b*tches feel hurt, hit them b*tches where it hurt / And put that sh*t in your music and make money off it in your music.”
Some could argue that Cardi B’s collaborations with at the moment’s buzziest feminine acts really feel like strategic profession strikes, as she hasn’t dropped an album since her 2018 debut. However from what her friends have stated, the “Up” rapper has maintained seemingly genuine bonds with all her music costars after working collectively. Chatting with POPSUGAR, GloRilla — who teamed up with Cardi B for “Tomorrow 2” — revealed that she did not anticipate how massive their pairing can be however she’s “grateful that it did” blow up. And he or she’s nonetheless linked to Cardi B to this present day. “I don’t even know how to explain that moment. It was just crazy because I’m a Cardi fan,” GloRilla shared. “I was a Cardi fan before I actually started rapping, and she was one of the people that I did look up to when I [officially] started.”
“I’m really happy that she did that because she didn’t have to share her platform with me. I really appreciate her for that.”
In keeping with the “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” rapper, Cardi B’s verse on “Tomorrow 2” “was a surprise to me.” “I didn’t know what was going on. And when I text her — she always texts me back fast; she don’t act bougie or nothing — she texted me back, and she was the one that ended up telling me she was on my song. I didn’t even know,” GloRilla defined. “That was an iconic moment. That song is going down in history.”
This would not be the primary time Cardi B made a second out of one in every of her iconic collaborations. When she and Megan Thee Stallion declared 2020 the yr of “WAP,” in addition they reached an unbelievable feat for girls empowerment in one in every of music’s most male-dominated genres and past. The pair’s unapologetic ode to ladies’s our bodies served as a strong second, but it surely was significantly particular for the celebs who have been handpicked to seem in Cardi B and Megan’s playful music video. Why? As a result of some did not even understand how carefully Cardi B had been following their careers at that time.
Again in 2020, Latto — earlier than she skyrocketed to household-name standing and have become a Grammy nominee — advised Interview Journal she did not take the request to seem within the “WAP” video critically at first. “When I got that call, I swore my manager was pranking me,” the rapper revealed. “My mind could not register the fact that Cardi B even knew who I was, let alone wanted me to be in her video. I will always love her for that because she knew what putting us in that video would do for our careers.”
Rapper Sukihana had the same shocked response to being referred to as on to seem in “WAP,” as she defined that being talked about in the identical breath as Cardi B “opened doors” for her quickly after. “A lot of people want to work with me. I’m getting put in different magazines now. It’s been a big help, and I’m really excited because a lot of people are looking at me,” she advised Interview Journal on the time. “I’m really happy that she did that because she didn’t have to share her platform with me. I really appreciate her for that.”
Cardi B’s observe document for collaborating with ladies by the years has included songs with acts like Metropolis Ladies (“Twerk) and Lizzo (“Rumors”), plus the aforementioned. Most of these releases have either been certified gold or platinum by the RIAA. Not to mention, the rap star has also shouted out other female artists in the past like Saweetie, CupkakKe, and Ice Spice — the latter of which occurred when Cardi B referenced the “Munch” rapper in “Tomorrow 2.” (“That n*gga a munch and he gon’ eat me like a mango.”) And despite only having one studio album, as well as two successful mixtapes that dropped prior, she’s maintained maximum relevancy for the last five years primarily because of her many charting collaborations — which also include male artists like Bad Bunny and J Balvin, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, Kanye West, her husband, Offset, and Migos, to name a few. But it’s been Cardi B’s knack for lending dope features to women artists while building friendships with them that’s proved to be most impressive — especially in today’s music climate that pits women against each other.
It’s no secret that a continued beef between Cardi B and Nicki Minaj spawned from their infamous “MotorSport” collaboration in 2018. But that hasn’t stopped the former from trying to connect with the next generation of women artists following after her. The same can be said for Minaj, though, as she’s hopped on tracks with up-and-comers in hip-hop like Sexyy Red (“Pound City 2”) and Coi Leray (“Blick Blick”). She even dropped a “Queen Combine” of her “Tremendous Freaky Lady” single with JT of City Girls, BIA, Maliibu Miitch, Katie Got Bandz, and Akbar V and also has a “Barbie” movie single with Ice Spice dropping following their “Princess Diana” remix.
However, more noticeably, fans are picking up on Cardi B’s affinity for linking up with her female peers — in the studio and elsewhere — to dispel a myth that’s been rampant in hip-hop, especially, for decades now: that only one woman can be at the top of the game at a time.
“We’re supporting one another and collabing. The business, fan bases, and blogs need us to beef, however we’re making it a pleasant sport.”
“The document labels are placing cash behind the women that folks [are] listening to. Because of this, totally different artists are developing quicker than others,” Cardi B explained in a recent Instagram Live when speaking on women rappers. “The labels solely go together with who’s getting essentially the most listens, who’re getting essentially the most performs, who’re folks watching extra. You can’t blame no person for that, you possibly can’t blame no machine for that. You possibly can’t blame nothing for that. Labels are solely going to place cash behind artists that individuals are listening to.”
This makes it even more clear what could be motivating Cardi B’s feature run with the women in her musical circle. Instead of treating her collaborations like business transactions, she’s connecting with fellow artists to the point where they know they can always call on her for support. “She’s such a humble individual. I be at all times thanking her,” GloRilla tells POPSUGAR in reference to “Tomorrow 2.” “I do not assume she like after I be always thanking her as a result of she’ll thank me again. She’ll be like, ‘Uh-uh, you do not received to do this.’ She’s only a candy, humble individual.”
By sharing her shine with today’s artists, Cardi B is leading a new narrative to give women the spotlight she knows they deserve. “It is an attractive time proper now for feminine rap. We’re creating a complete new agenda,” Latto added in her conversation with Interview Magazine. “We’re supporting one another and collabing. The business, fan bases, and blogs need us to beef, however we’re making it a pleasant sport.”
Which feminine artist will Cardi B faucet subsequent? The chances are infinite. Some predict it could be her Bronx counterpart Scar Lip on account of their recent studio session. However whoever her subsequent collaborator could also be, followers appear sure it will be one other surefire hit.
Picture Supply: Getty / Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Irvin Rivera / Frazer Harrison
