Cardi B just became the first female rapper to grace the cover of American Vogue (and the first to grace it with her daughter in her arms). I suppose we could have expected this after she appeared in the publication's "73 Questions" video segment and also because she has been breaking down doors since she stepped into the spotlight. Cardi's cover story - which is titled "Unfiltered, Unapologetic, Unbowed" - dives into fame, motherhood and her forthcoming sophomore album. The Bronx star opens up about how things she reads online about herself could get to her, but "if [she's] playing with [her] daughter, [she forgets] about the issues.”
One of the harsh critiques that she mentions pertains to the reception of her most recent single, "Press", which released in May. “I thought ‘Press’ was fun and it was gangsta, and then because it didn’t perform as good as my other songs, people was like, 'Oh, she’s a flop; oh, she’s dying out,' Cardi said. “This whole year has just been a lot for me. I feel like people are just so tired of me winning. I will look for my name on Twitter, and it’s like hate tweets, hate tweets, hate tweets.”
After these sorts of reactions, the pressure weighs even heavier on Cardi as she prepares her next album. “The first time it was just me being myself,” she explained. “I didn’t even care if people was gonna like it or not. When I found out I did so good, I’m like, is this a big number? Everybody was like, yes, this is a huge number. So it’s scary because it’s like, now you got to top your first album, and then it’s like, damn. I wonder if people are gonna relate to the new things, to the new life, to the new shit that I gotta talk about now. Music is changing. I feel like people just wanna hear twerk-twerk music, but it’s like, is that just a phase? I probably need a sexy song. I need a lot of turn-up songs. I need a slow song, a personal song. And those are harder for me—I always need help when it comes to talking about my feelings. It’s hard for me to be soft, period. So it’s a lot of thoughts, a lot of pressure. It’s really like a job.”
At the end of the day, though, Cardi keeps thriving. Watch her make it rain in a Nigerian strip club this past weekend.