LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 08: Cardi B performs onstage as Fashion Nova Presents: Party With Cardi at ... [+]
With just one album, Cardi B went from a reality TV personality with a side musical project to the biggest star on the planet. Her debut full-length Invasion of Privacy immediately debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last spring, and it eventually went triple platinum. When it comes to singles, the New York native is among the most successful female rappers of all time in many regards, with three chart-topping smashes and a total of 23 top 40 hits. She became the first woman to win the Best Rap Album Grammy, and she quickly parlayed her popularity into big turns on TV (Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow) and film (Hustlers and the next Fast and the Furious).
At this point, there’s no telling how much higher the rap superstar can climb...and one has to wonder what’s left to conquer.
I spoke with Cardi B about her latest campaign with Pepsi (her continued relationship with the brand is another sign of her sustained popularity), her forthcoming album, and she admits she has her first lead role in a feature film on the horizon...though for the moment, she’s remaining coy about the project.
Hugh McIntyre: Why don't you tell me a bit about this campaign with Pepsi? This is your third one, right?
Cardi B: Yeah.
McIntyre: What does it entail, and what makes you want to keep working with the brand?
Cardi B: I want to keep working with the brand because they're super easy. I love the brand. I love to drink Pepsi. You know what I'm saying? I would have felt uncomfortable if I'm doing a brand that I don't really know, I'm just doing it for the check. So that's one thing that I love. I feel like this campaign right here is a little bit more special, because this Christmas. They're giving out some money, so I love that.
McIntyre: I love that. So we're coming to the end of the year. It's Christmas. You've had a busy year starting the campaign for your second album, right?
Cardi B: Yeah, I'm in the process of doing my album, and it's a little stressful, you know what I'm saying? Because I'm competing with my first album, and so, I'm in the midst of that.
McIntyre: The singles that have come out so far have been huge. Are you worried about matching the success of your first album?
Cardi B: Kind of. I was never the type of person that worried about the success of music, but the pressure that people put on you when it comes to it, it gives you this pressure. And then, on top of that, I feel like music is changing. So I feel like I'm not really sure what people are looking for. But I'm just going to have fun in the studio and do what I like to do, and make what I would like to hear. I’m not worried about anybody else but myself.
McIntyre: You have had success across genres, with true rap songs, hip-hop and big adult pop songs. How are you going to bring all those styles to the next album and still have it work as a whole project?
Cardi B: Well, I'm going to give people a little bit of everything. You want to know something? I feel like my last couple of songs, people tried to say that they were a little bit too pop, and I was turning a little bit too pop. But if I go right, I'm going to show them New York rap styles, then, you know what I'm saying? I'm going to go back to that, but I'm not going to do my whole album that way, because a lot of people always tell you what they want, but then, when they get it, it's not what they really wanted. So it's just like, I'm going to just give you a little bit of everything.
McIntyre: You recently said you were going to name it Tiger Woods. Are you really? Can you tell me a bit about the thought process behind that?
Cardi B: Oh my goodness. I was just kidding when I said that, and then the next day, I saw that everywhere on the news and on the blogs. I said that because, when Tiger Woods won that ... what’s it called, that championship? That's how you say it in golf? I'm not so familiar with golf. But he won the green jacket, and he did one interview that stuck with me. They were showing him clips of people badmouthing him over and over and over and over again. And when the clip finished, he just did like a little smirk. And that's how I feel. I feel like sometimes people badmouth me so much, and it's like, I'm going to get that smirk when that album come out.
McIntyre: I love that story. I can picture that smirk. I'm into it. I'm about to watch Rhythm + Flow, by the way. What made you want to do that? How was it filming that?
Cardi B: I love the show idea. I knew it was going to be a total success, and the money was good, but I just love the idea, you know what I'm saying? Because it's something that I'm really into, so I did it, and I loved the experience. I loved the judges. I feel like we worked super good, super easy. I loved the contestants. I feel like they did it all. The people that I worked with, they were really nice people. The producers and everything, they were really nice people. They're not assholes. Even when they were asking for too much, they would ask it in the nicest way. It was like, "Ah, an extra two hours? You know what? I'm going to do it because you guys are so nice that, yeah, why not".
McIntyre: Have you guys talked about doing a second season?
Cardi B: We haven't spoken about... I'm going to ask my producers about a second season. They probably will talk about it, I just wonder...how are we going to do it in 2020? I'm so busy. But I think they will. The show was a total success.
McIntyre: I've heard the best things about it, and I love any music reality show that's not just another American Idol or The Voice. It seems to have a really interesting edge to it.
Cardi B: Yeah. And the show was just so real, like, there was nothing fake about it. That's what I loved. The contestants were real, the chemistry with the judges was real, the way that we were taking our job very serious. It was just all real.
McIntyre: I love that. So you've done TV, you also jumped into film this year. You did Hustlers, and you're doing the Fast and the Furious film next year. Are you enjoying the acting process?
Cardi B: The acting process is a little bit different for me. I feel like I will have to start learning for that type of lifestyle. I do also want to take more acting classes, because in 2020, I will be doing a movie.
McIntyre: Another one.
Cardi B: This is going to be my movie. I'm going to be the main girl and everything.
McIntyre: Oh, you've got a lead role coming up. You can't tell me anything about that project yet, can you?
Cardi B: No, it's a very big secret. But when I first heard the idea, and I met with the actor, the other lead actor, I was a little bit skeptical, but then when we started talking about it and how would it go, I was just like, “Oh, this is going to be amazing.” So we still need to link up with that. I need to link up with the writer, because I have my ideas, and that's the way that I would do the movie, and we had the ideas, and I want to get together with the other lead actor, and we just want to write down the ideas and get the ball rolling and shooting.
McIntyre: Cardi B, one day you're going to be the biggest movie star in the world. I'm going to say I heard it first.
Cardi B: Well, let's pray on it, you know what I'm saying? When I've been meeting other actors and actresses, I just be so blown away how they get in characters so fast, and not only do they memorize their lines, but they just get into this character so quick, like Vin Diesel did, and J. Lo, and Keke Palmer. I hope that with more training, I could be the same way. I would like to learn how to show more emotion on camera. I barely show emotion in real life, imagine on camera.
McIntyre: Now, I'm really impressed that you're not just taking movie roles, you're going to take classes, you're going to build your skills. How do you find time for that, with everything else you have in your life?
Cardi B: I don't know how I do it. We just go and make it. I really don't. I do not know how I do it. Seriously, I really don't.
McIntyre: So your first album had number one hits and it was also number one and you won a Grammy. What else do you want to achieve that you haven't already?
Cardi B: What else do I want to achieve? I want to achieve more hit records. I want to achieve every... I want to be a super, super wealthy millionaire. That's what I want. Me and my husband, we always talk about it. It's like, what's going to be the money play that's going to get us there, and that's what I want. And when it comes to my music, I just want more music that people love, that people don't just be like, “Oh, this is mediocre.” I want respectable music.
Note: The wording of the first paragraph of this article was edited slightly after publishing.
