Cardi B knows her worth.
The “Up” rapper has become a proven money maker for brands, striking deals with everyone from Uber to Facebook, and she plans to get even richer. In an interview for the cover of XXL, the 28-year-old mogul opened up about her money moves.
Cardi admits that she may have settled for less in the past, but she won’t let it happen again. “I feel like I’ve been on deals before that like, yeah, I got paid, but I feel like I deserved more,” she said. “And I made sure this year that I get everything I deserve. Not just on music deals but on everything.”
She also revealed the role race and gender have played when it comes to assessing her value. “For example, sometimes I feel like a company might see, you know, a girl like me, a colored girl like me. I’m a colored girl and I’m from the ‘hood and shit. And they might be like, ‘Oh, we could offer her a $2 million advance.’ And the company is gonna make out of you, probably fu**ing $50 million, $100 million. And you settle for $2 million because they think that you’re so thirsty for that money that they just gonna give you the $2 million.”
While she doesn’t like to play the race card, she realizes the realities for her as a woman of color. “I hate making everything about race because race do exist. Race is real. But I hate when sometimes people just want to make everything about race,” said Cardi. “It’s just like, sometimes you do see that race really matters and shit because I’ve been seeing some influencers, that are not, you know, like me. Caucasian influencers. And they’re getting paid big money. I’m a whole artist. And there is other artists that I know how much they’re getting paid.”
However, she won’t let companies finesse her. “I’ve been doing my research now, heavy. And it’s like, Damn, muthafu**as is getting ripped the f**k off. And that’s why I’m like, Nah, I’m gonna get everything that I deserve.”
In order to get what she deserves, she has surrounded herself with the right people who refuse to compromise. “Making sure that the people that are representing me are really good gamblers. Like, really step on necks. Ask for the highest bid. Like, that’s just how I am.”
Cardi also credits Offset for his financial advice. “And then, my husband, he’s really fu**ing smart with numbers. I don’t pay him. I don’t pay him nothing,” she said. “So, it’s just like, when he’s super direct and when he tells me the truth and when he be like, ‘You deserve this. You need this. You need that,’ it’s just like, he’s not telling me this because he’s gonna benefit something from it. There’s nothing to benefit. He just want to see me win. So, it’s just like, ‘You’re right.’ And I feel like I’m such a nice person, and he’s like…”
But she is learning to assert herself more over time. “I’m not perfect. But, I’m getting better and better, and I’m being more alert,” adds Cardi.