Cardi B Gets Love From Missy Elliott & Timbaland For "Like What (Freestyle)"

BYGabriel Bras Nevares1.6K Views
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Missy Elliot VMA's After Party
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 26: Missy Elliott and Cardi B attend MTV VMAs, Pepsi & Monami Entertainment celebrate the Video Vanguard Award honoree Missy Elliott at her after-party celebration on August 26, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/WireImage/Getty Images)
The leader of the Bardi Gang sampled the duo's 1999 hit "She's a B***h" in her new single, and it seems they are big fans of it.

Cardi B's new single "Like What (Freestyle)" is still making big waves this weekend as one of its biggest releases. It's a fiery track that samples Missy Elliott and Timbaland's classic beat off the 1999 single "She's a B***h," which appeared on the former's sophomore Da Real World and was produced by the latter. Moreover, the duo shared excited co-signs on their Instagram Stories when the song dropped, with Timbo writing "Da [crown emoji]" and Missy sharing a post of the song's cover art with some dancing emojis. Regardless of what fans think of the record, this is the highest praise that a sample-using artists can get.

Of course, Cardi B is far from the first person to use this beat after Missy Elliott and Timbaland. BIA sampled the instrumental for a banger recently, so did Flo Milli with some similarly great verses over it, and it was most famously used by Ski Mask the Slump God for his 2017 cut, "Catch Me Outside." This song defined the SoundCloud rap generation in our eyes, and its creator took to Twitter to comment on the similarities between "Like What (Freestyle)" and his own work. When fans assumed he said this in a negative or shady way, he quickly clarified that he actually likes the Bronx rapper's take.

Missy Elliott & Timbaland Reportedly Salute Cardi B

Overall, this excitement and endorsement simply builds up even more hype for Cardi B's next album. With recent confirmation that a Shakira collab will also show up on it, die-hards are really looking forward to this new direction. It's been six years since Invasion of Privacy, and although there's been no shortage of singles and big moments to keep her in the news cycle, there's a lot more competition these days in the femcee world. As such, it's do or die time.

Meanwhile, what do you think about "Like What (Freestyle)"? Do you agree with fans' praise of it or is this legendary duo overrating this release? However you may feel, drop your thoughts in the comments section down below. Also, come back to HNHH for the latest news and more updates on Cardi B, Missy Elliott, and Timbaland.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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