Rapper Cardi B is willing to get “nasty” when it comes to defending her kids.
Following the release of her second full-length album “Am I the Drama?” in September, the “I Like It” singer publicly feuded with Nicki Minaj. Both rappers’ children were also pulled into the fracas.
In a recent interview with Paper magazine, Cardi B opened up about the combative exchange.
“This week I showed the world that I will get the most nasty about mine. I never had to get that nasty for my kids. But I did, and I really feel like a lioness,” she said. “This has been one of the moments I got tested the most about being a parent.”
The beef between music’s biggest female rappers has been an ongoing saga dating back to 2017. The most recent spat took place on X in late September, when Minaj belittled Cardi B’s record sales. The two proceeded to tear apart each other’s personal and professional lives.
Cardi B called out Minaj for feuding with her on X instead of celebrating her son’s birthday. Minaj called Cardi B’s 7-year-old daughter “ugly,” among other mean-spirited names, and started to question her son’s brain development. The spat ended with Cardi B asking to meet up with Minaj — they have not posted about each other since.
Cardi described her behavior as that of a “mother warrior” and explained the lengths she would go to protect her kin. The 33-year-old performer is currently pregnant with her fourth child, her first with New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs. The “WAP” performer shares three children — Kulture, Wave and Blossom — with rapper Offset.
“Am I the Drama?” is Cardi B’s first full-length project in seven years. The 23-track album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard 200 and hit platinum 10 days after its initial release. Her debut, “Invasion of Privacy,” earned her a Grammy for rap album in 2019 and made her the first solo female artist to win in that category.
While doing press for her newest LP, Cardi B hasn’t strayed away from talking about parenthood. She told Paper that she aims to instill a hardworking mentality in her children.
“You have to hope that your kids have that work ethic in them, and I just pray that they do,” she said. “I don’t want one of them to feel they’re behind their siblings. You just got to work and not think too much. … Procrastination is what kills you. It’s what slows you. Don’t ask too much questions. Just go and f— do it.”
It was a particularly busy Thursday morning for the Bixby Knolls neighborhood of Long Beach.
The area, which is home to an array of independently owned businesses and small restaurants, both of which boast unique facades from storefront to storefront, saw hundreds of eager fans start lining up outside its doors as early as 8 a.m.
Many crowded around one store in particular: Fingerprints Music, which only recently began to call Bixby Knolls its home — in April — after a roughly 15-year residency in downtown Long Beach. As crowd control barricades began springing up and artist security personnel lingered outside the famed vinyl record shop, passersby and neighbors alike began to ponder what could be going on.
It was simple: Cardi B.
The “Bodak Yellow” singer managed to squeeze in a meet-and-greet event at the store to commemorate last week’s release of her sophomore album, “Am I the Drama?” A link to tickets dropped on Fingerprints Music’s website on Sept. 9, which fans barely gave a chance to breathe.
“I follow her on Instagram — I have hard notifications on every platform — so, as soon as the video went up, I rushed to the website and bought it,” said Gerardo Torres of Gardena. “I was probably one of the first few [to buy tickets], less than five minutes after she announced it I already had mine.”
Arlene Heaton, left, of Kern County and Gerardo Torres of Gardena hold a Cardi B flag.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Torres stood near the front of the line, which he joined around 10:30 a.m. Next to him was Arlene Heaton of Rosamond, who had just driven three hours from the Kern County community to arrive at the same time. The two met in line and quickly became friends — she donning a rhinestone-studded ensemble and he draping a flag depicting Cardi B around his shoulders.
“If she would’ve been three hours away, I would have been there as well!” Torres added.
“It took about 10 minutes [to sell out],” Heaton said. “I love the album and I just had to get the CD… I wanted to support her and I came all the way from Rosamond to see this happen — history, this is history.”
Though the event was scheduled for a 2 p.m. start, it wasn’t until 2:30 that Cardi arrived on the scene. A few fans trickled out from behind the store, rejoicing that they’d seen her arrive.
Moments later, security formed a human barrier around the entrance, and Cardi stepped out of the store with a megaphone. Whatever she said was rendered unintelligible among the thunderous cheers of fans who surged forward, putting her entourage to the test.
“I do music myself, I’m not a fan of many, but her? Oh, my God, there was no way. I got up at like 8 in the morning; I set my alarm for 6:30,” said Curshawn Watts, who called herself the “Queen of Compton.” “I was out here! I didn’t care how early I had to be here — I had to be here!” Watts said.
Curshawn Watts, a rapper who calls herself the “Queen of Compton,” holds a CD of Cardi B’s “Am I the Drama?” at Thursday’s meet-and-greet in Long Beach.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
She’d been waiting since 10 a.m. and said the heat didn’t bother her: “It’s worth it all, baby!” she declared.
As fans made their way into the store, they were greeted by the sound of tracks from Cardi’s new album playing on the store speakers. “Am I the Drama?” vinyl records and CDs filled out the shelves, and portraits of Cardi stood above them.
Nestled in the back corner behind a black curtain sat the woman herself, visibly pregnant, in brown snakeskin heels, denim shorts, and adorning various gold statement pieces. She had confirmed in a CBS interview last week that she and NFL star Stefon Diggs were expecting a child.
An estimated 1,200 fans arrived on the blistering day in Long Beach, though only 800 were able to secure a guest list spot to see the 32-year-old hip-hop artist. Others assembled nearby, hoping for a chance to merely lay eyes on her or, perhaps, to get lucky enough to join the meet-and-greet.
Indeed, Fingerprints Music and Cardi B accommodated around 200 to 300 more people toward the tail end of the event from among those who didn’t make the list. The event lasted until well after 5 p.m.
By that time, the somewhat chaotic nature of the meet-and-greet’s afternoon heights had settled down. Street vendors no longer camped outside, artists wrapped up their pieces for sale, and the weather began to cool.
Cardi B prepares to take a photo with a fan at the meet-and-greet.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
“We don’t usually do that, but everyone seemed pretty chill,” said Rand Foster, owner of Fingerprints Music. “For somebody at that caliber to be that open was really refreshing.”
Cardi B even stayed overtime to do a surprise signing of an exclusive alternate cover of her album. Four photos from a courtroom appearance she made in August embellish that variant.
Foster said he considered Thursday’s event, the largest the store has held since moving to its new location, to be a resounding success. He noted that when the store was downtown, the store once hosted an Ozzy Osbourne meet-and-greet that had a roughly 2,300-person turnout.
At its location in Bixby Knolls, the store is still feeling out its neighborhood. Foster said not only did the event bring extra traffic to other businesses, but he “didn’t hear any neighbors put out by it.”
Cardi B could have easily opted for a location more central to Los Angeles, such as Amoeba Music, so many fans were surprised and happy to see Long Beach get some love.
One man, who called himself Mr. Boug’e and sported a uniquely curled beard, said it came down to Long Beach being “dope.”
Mr. Boug’e holds up two vinyl record variants of Cardi B’s latest album, “Am I the Drama?”
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“I call it Strong Beach,” he joked. “She got love everywhere — it don’t matter. It can be in an alley… or Alaska; they gon’ love her.”
Foster, whose shop has a long-standing relationship with its Hollywood peers at Amoeba, said the decision by Cardi B’s team to hold her meet-and-greet in Long Beach probably also came down to logistics.
“Anybody who is doing this kind of event and doing it with an eye towards longevity has to be respectful to the neighbors,” he explained. “Our line got about six blocks long; I think that would be tough on Hollywood Boulevard.”
Cardi B will only address pregnancy rumors on her own time. She made that abundantly clear with a pen and scathing words — both directed to one brash and curious man.
The Grammy-winning rapper was seen on camera hurling a pen at the man in the press pool as she left an Alhambra courthouse during the lunch break of her civil assault trial. According to footage shared by ABC7 and TMZ, the man speaks up from the press pool asking Cardi B about her relationships with ex-husband Offset and boyfriend Stefon Diggs.
“Insiders are claiming that Offset is publicly bragging about getting you pregnant for the fourth time,” he says. “Do you foresee any paternity issues with Stefon Diggs?”
As he poses the question, Cardi walks over to another individual holding a pen and waiting for her autograph. She takes the pen from his hand and throws it in the direction of the inquirer. “Stop disrespecting me,” she fires back, before her team surrounds her.
“Don’t disrespect me,” she adds.
Cardi B shares three young children with Offset. They married in 2017 and went their separate ways in 2024. They were previously headed for divorce in 2020, but seemingly made amends. She went official with NFL star Diggs earlier this year. It’s unclear how exactly the pregnancy rumors began.
After the heated exchange on Tuesday, the man tells Cardi B, “I still love you even though you just threw some stuff at me.”
She did not share the same feelings.
“I don’t care. You’re disrespectful, don’t do that. Do you see women asking those types of questions to me?” Cardi B said as she walked to her SUV. “Why do you feel, as a man, you get to ask me those types of questions? Act like you have some manners. And your mama taught you, respect women.”
She imparted a final message to the press from the vehicle: “You’re not going to see me out today, and you can thank him. I’m not playing around. I was very nice. I was very kind.”
The 32-year-old “Bodak Yellow” and “WAP” hip-hop star prevailed Tuesday in a civil lawsuit brought against her by a Beverly Hills security guard after two days of testimony. Emani Ellis sued Cardi B for $24 million, accusing her of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress in the aftermath of a confrontation in a hallway outside of an obstetrician’s office. Ellis claimed that the rapper scratched her with a long nail extension, leaving a facial scar.
Cardi B was found not liable on all counts by jurors after less than an hour of deliberations.
“I swear to God, I will say it on my deathbed, I did not touch that woman,” Cardi B said outside the courthouse following the conclusion of the trial. She added that she had missed her kids’ first day of school because of the civil trial.
“I want to thank my lawyers,” she said. “I want to thank the jurors, I want to thank the judge, and I want to thank the respectful press.”
Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.
Sept. 2 (UPI) —Cardi B will not have to pay $24 million in damages after a Los Angeles County jury determined Tuesday that the rapper did not assault a security guard.
The jury’s verdict, reported by multiple outlets, is the end of a saga that began in 2018 when Emani Ellis, the former security guard, claimed she was left with enduring physical and emotional scars after an altercation with the rapper while she was visiting her obstetrician’s office in Beverly Hills.
Ellis sued the rapper, whose legal name is Belcalis Almanzar, claiming she hit her and scratched her face, leaving her with a scar that required plastic surgery, reported local ABC affiliate KABC. Almanzar said she confronted Ellis for filming her entering the office, saying she was trying to conceal that she was pregnant at the time, the station reported.
“I will say it on my deathbed,” Almanzar told reporters after the jury’s verdict. “I did not touch that woman. I did not touch that girl. I didn’t lay my hands on that girl,”
The trial was widely followed on social media, with observers generating memes from key moments that included Almanzar’s use of profanity, colorful testimony and the array of different wigs she wore.
Ellis told jurors she blurted out the rapper’s name after spotting her while making her rounds but never recorded her, reported Rolling Stone.
“She was extremely upset,” Ellis testified. “She put her finger in my face.”
A doctor’s secretary testified that she witnessed Ellis cornering Almanzar, but couldn’t account for the first 40 seconds of the altercation, reported KNBC-TV. Almanzar’s lawyers argued that Ellis was not badly injured because she did not go to the hospital or file a police report, and instead went home and took a nap, the station reported.
After the trial, Almanzar told reporters that she had to miss her kids’ first day of school and had to get up at 5:30 a.m. to prepare for court after working late on her new album Am I the Drama? She said all the wigs shore wore left her forehead “raw, raw, raw.”
Cardi B testified Tuesday that she never touched, scratched or spat at a security guard who is suing her over an alleged assault by the pop star outside a Beverly Hills obstetrician’s office.
The rapper, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, took the witness stand in the second day of the civil trial in an Alhambra court and vigorously denied assaulting Emani Ellis on Feb. 24, 2018. Cardi B was visiting the 5th-floor office of the obstetrician at the time and was four months pregnant with her first child.
“It was a verbal incident,” insisted Cardi B. “She didn’t hit me. I didn’t hit her. There was no touching. So, to me, it wasn’t no incident.”
The rapper did say that they went chest to chest in the hallway outside the doctor’s office, and that she called the guard a “b—” because she believed Ellis was recording her with a cellphone.
“Was there spitting?” the security guard’s lawyer, Ron Rosen, asked.
“Absolutely not,” Cardi B replied.
“Did you call her the N-word?”
“No,” the performer replied, noting that she considers herself “Afro-Caribbean.”
“Did you take a swing at her?” Rosen followed up.
“No,” replied Cardi B, who insisted it was a “verbal fight. … It did not get physical at all.”
Rosen delved into the difference between a fight and a verbal altercation, asking whether he and the pop star were then having a verbal altercation. Cardi B replied that they were debating, a statement that was greeted with laughter in the courtroom.
The lawyer countered, “We’re debating about whether you assaulted and battered Ms. Emani Ellis?”
“I guess so,” replied Cardi B. “But I didn’t touch her. She didn’t touch me.” The recording artist said there were no videos of the incident.
Ellis filed suit in 2020, alleging assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress as well as negligence and false imprisonment.
Ellis, who worked as a security guard at the building where Cardi B had her medical appointment, said during testimony on Monday that she was doing her rounds when she saw the celebrity get off the elevator. She testified that she was overcome with excitement and declared, “Wow, it’s Cardi B.”
Ellis said the performer then turned to her and said, “Why the f— are you telling people you’ve seen me?” Cardi B then accused her of trying to spread news about her being at the doctor’s office, she testified.
Cardi B cursed at her, used the N-word and other slurs, called her names, threatened her job, body-shamed her and mocked her career, Ellis said. She alleged Cardi B spat on her, took a swing at her and scratched her left cheek with a 2- to 3-inch fingernail.
Cardi B said when she turned around after getting off the elevator, she heard Ellis say her name and then saw Ellis with her cellphone and said, “Why are you recording me?” The performer said the guard said, “My bad,” but continued to follow her and said she had the right to follow her.
Cardi B said that they went chest to chest and that she did curse at Ellis but that she never touched the guard, who was physically larger. When the obstetrician’s receptionist finally came out, the guard alleged the singer had hit her — something that Cardi B said never happened.
The rapper conceded she never saw proof that Ellis was recording her. She said her appointment was both sensitive and confidential; she was seeing a doctor because of concerns about her pregnancy, which wasn’t yet public.
For the second day of the trial, the rapper — who is known for her daring style choices — donned a blond showgirl hairstyle that contrasted with the black short hair she wore during the first day of testimony. Under questioning, she said they were both wigs and that she had 1-inch nail extensions.
She refused to concede that she usually wore 2- to 3-inch nails, replying that sometimes she does and sometimes she doesn’t.
Cardi B’s infamous microphone-throw incident is being raised again, almost two years after it took place in Las Vegas.
An Ohio woman is suing the 32-year-old “Bodak Yellow” rapper, claiming battery, assault and negligence. The owners of Drai’s Beachclub and Nightclub, where the incident took place on July 29, 2023, are also being sued for negligence. The suit was filed days before the statute of limitations in Nevada for such charges ran out.
According to court documents filed in Clark County on Monday, the plaintiff — who chose to go by Jane Doe because of “psychiatric trauma” — alleges that during Cardi B’s performance, she encouraged the audience to “splash water on her” amid “visibly high-temperature conditions.” Though she initially approved, allegedly pouring water on herself and stating “Wooh that s— feel good,” it was when the plaintiff partook that the rapper abruptly and “forcefully” threw her microphone.
The object is said to have hit Jane Doe, with Cardi B shouting “I said splash my p—, not my face, b—.” Documents called it an “unreasonable escalation” that resulted in “harmful and offensive contact.” Though the deed was investigated by police at the time, the rapper was not charged. Representatives for Cardi B did not immediately respond on Thursday to The Times’ request for comment.
Just weeks later the microphone was auctioned on eBay and fetched $99,000. It is a key part of the case, as Jane Doe claims the sale “exacerbated emotional distress.” At the time, sellers told TMZ that the money would be given to two charities — the Wounded Warrior Project and Friendship Circle Las Vegas, a local program that helps individuals with special needs.
The plaintiff is seeking damages up to $15,000 for alleged physical and emotional injuries, as well as reputational harm.
Cardi B, who wonders “Am I the Drama?” on her upcoming album, now faces a different question from curious fans: Did she split with Stefon Diggs?
The Grammy-winning “Bodak Yellow” rapper sparked breakup chatter this week after eagle-eyed followers noticed she had taken down photos featuring NFL star Diggs from her Instagram page. Cardi B, 32, and Diggs, 31, hard-launched their relationship during the NBA Playoffs in May and made things Instagram official in June.
Representatives for Cardi B and Diggs did not immediately respond to The Times on Tuesday.
In June, Cardi B flaunted her relationship with the New England Patriots wide receiver, sharing very intimate photos from a steamy boating trip in a since-removed Instagram carousel. “Chapter 5 ……Hello Chapter six,” Cardi B captioned the collection of photos, which is no longer publicly visible on her profile.
Cardi B and Diggs first sparked dating rumors in February, when TMZ published video of the pair arriving at a Miami hotel during Valentine’s Day weekend. In April, they were spotted together again partying it up at a Manhattan nightclub. Photos of the rapper dancing on the athlete’s lap spread online and even got a thumbs-up from the musician’s estranged husband, Migos rapper Offset.
While Cardi B’s Instagram does not currently feature any photos of Diggs, it’s worth noting that they still follow each other on the app. Cardi B and Offset, on the other hand, are no longer Instagram mutuals.
Speculation about the status of Cardi B’s romantic life surfaced as she arrived at Paris Fashion Week sans Diggs. She appeared at the Schiaparelli showcase at Petit Palais wearing a body-hugging gown with a dramatic neckline and fringe. A live crow was perched on the “W.A.P.” artist‘s right hand, evoking imagery from her forthcoming album.
Cardi B revealed in late June that her long-anticipated sophomore album, “Am I the Drama?,” is set to drop Sept. 19, seven years after her debut, “Invasion of Privacy.” Her social media announcement included a look at the theatrical album cover: She wears an abstract red body suit and matching fishnet stockings, grabbing one heel as a dark bird rests on her shoe and more of them swarm around her.
Before the announcement, Cardi B reflected in a teaser on “seven years of love, life and loss” and trading in grace for hell.
“I learned power’s not given. It’s taken,” the Bronx native says in the video. “I’m shedding feathers and no more tears. I’m not back. I’m beyond.”
