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Cardi B attends the Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2025/2026 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 08, 2025 in Paris, France.
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Key Takeaways:
- Cardi B pushed back on criticism of her single “Imaginary Playerz” during a live X Spaces session, addressing backlash without naming names.
- Joe Budden’s comments about her flow and delivery sparked Cardi’s response, though she did not mention him by name.
- She emphasized her independence, saying she will continue releasing music on her own terms despite the criticism.
Cardi B is not appreciative of some of the criticism coming her way over her latest single, “Imaginary Playerz.” The feisty Bronx rapper took to X Spaces to lay into critics of the JAY-Z-approved song, but didn’t name names.
However, it was clear Bardi’s ire was at least partially aimed at Joe Budden, who criticized her flow on the song last week. “She shouldn’t do that again, don’t do that again,” said Budden on his podcast. He added, “That delivery, those punch-ins, how choppy that was… ‘Imaginary Playerz’ for y’all that wasn’t there, Hov, when that dropped, was a much better rapper than that. It was just fly because of the cadence and the flow and what he was saying, his aura and voice control.”
Taking to X Spaces, Cardi laid into her critics’ intentions. She said, “For people to dog pile on me over one song. And when it comes to dog piling, it’s not even just like, ‘Oh, I don’t like this song,’ because if you don’t like a song, fine. But to come at the way I speak, to make narratives of how I think I am and who the f**k I think I am, to talk about every single piece of me, to bet on my downfall is crazy.”
As she continued, the “Bodak Yellow” rapper got more specific but didn’t mention anyone in particular. “There’s grown men that are practically betting for me to lose. Grown-**s men that I ain’t never did nothing to, betting on my downfall. And my thing is with these people, it just be like, when my record do good, when ‘Outside’ did good, people couldn’t believe it.”
Cardi also spoke on how releasing new music is never good for her mental health due to the heated debates her songs inevitably cause. Still, fans need not worry — she was adamant about continuing to create new material regardless of the reactions, good or bad. “If my career ever ends, it’s going to be because I died,” said Cardi. “It’s never going to be because an opinion or muthaf**kas got to me. You will never make me quit.”
Cardi B’s new album, Am I The Drama?, her first since 2018’s Invasion of Privacy, is out Sept. 19.
