Cardi B is putting an end to the persistent theories suggesting that powerful figures in the music industry handed her a platform merely to undermine someone else's career. In an exclusive preview of her upcoming "Call Her Daddy" episode, shared exclusively with Complex, Cardi directly addressed this long-running rumor to host Alex Cooper. "People have spun this whole narrative that I entered the industry to, like, take over someone else's career," Cardi stated. "But the truth is, I never entertained that idea. I simply aspired to achieve fame doing what I love—that's it."
"Sometimes, people just don't click with each other. And when they don't, it's not about some grand conspiracy from the top brass wanting to orchestrate and destroy careers. No, this is what I was meant for," she continued. "I was destined to reach this level, regardless of who signed me or the circumstances. I was going to become famous and a rapper no matter what because this is where I've invested my time and my own money. Even before I got signed, I was putting my own funds into it. It boils down to nothing more than people not getting along, and that's the end of it. But I'm over discussing that."
Ever since her commercial breakthrough with "Bodak Yellow" in 2017 and before securing her first Grammy the following year, Cardi has been plagued by persistent rumors labeling her as an "industry plant." This very speculation was even echoed by Ye (formerly known as Kanye West), as seen in leaked footage from around 2018 where he referred to Cardi as "a plant by the Illuminati" designed to "literally replace Nicki Minaj."
"She doesn't write her own raps. She's just there to sound as ignorant as possible and then make songs like, 'fuck them and get some money,'" Ye claimed at the time. "She has literally replaced Nicki Minaj, purposely placed there by them, and now she doesn't know what to do. She has no clue what's going on. She thinks it's just a blessing from the universe. It's not a blessing from the universe."
Recently, Cardi also shut down Joe Budden's suggestion that someone else was responsible for crafting the scathing disses on her new album, "Am I the Drama?", including verses aimed at JT on the track "Magnet" and Bia on "Pretty and Petty." "Whoever is writing these lines, he must be smoking something strong," Budden remarked on the episode. "Whoever wrote it?" Cardi responded in a now-deleted post on X. "Nah, that's CARDI. This is my process... I'm a natural roaster, and you already know I'm quick-witted. So I come up with lines, record myself, and then lay them down later."
She added, "Don't give me backhanded compliments because I'll always be able to prove my worth."
