Cardi B is now a Rolling Stone cover star. The "Bodak Yellow" crafter was photographed by Justice Apple for the magazine's Hot Issue, featuring a candid discussion with writer Brittany Spanos. The interview, conducted earlier this month, sees Cardi reiterating the seriousness with which she's taking sessions for her debut album. Cardi also had praise for Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole.
"If you go broke and lose your career, it's bad—and everybody is talkin' shit about it!" Cardi said of what failing to build on the hype of "Bodak Yellow" might look like. "At least if you lose your 9-to-5 you don't got millions of people judging you and talking shit while you lost your job." That awareness has strongly informed Cardi's post-"Bodak Yellow" sessions. According to Cardi, she's currently sitting on "six [or] seven solid songs" but isn't ruling out completely scrapping them a month from now. The pressure of her exponentially growing fame, Cardi added, has also been an adjustment.
Lyrically, Cardi isn't looking to step into the "conscious" territory of Lamar and Cole. "A bitch like me, it might not work out for me," Cardi said, "so I'm going to stick to trapping." Cardi's goal with the album is to give fans a blend of the Spanish and reggae sounds of her childhood and the modern trap vibes that are still dominating the charts. "This generation loves to get high," she said, noting that she's definitely chasing down her next hit. "They love to be on drugs. This is why they on that shit: They don't want to think about what you're saying."
Cardi—whose Migos and Nicki Minaj collab "MotorSport" dropped last week—also discussed her relationship with Offset, her predictions for the future, and fans' appetite for artist feuds. "Issa DREAM COME TRUE!!!!" Cardi said of landing the cover Monday. "I can't believe it!! I can’t believe when I got the call, and I still can't believe I'm seeing it now!!" Check the full interview here.
Back in September, Cardi got some advice from Cole on staying true to herself and letting the pressures of success fall away. "Don't put all that pressure on your album," Cole tweeted. "You already won."
