Cardi B has apparently joined the ranks of musicians who’ve turned down the Super Bowl halftime show — but she hasn’t ruled out headlining it in the future if the opportunity arises.
“I got asked to do the Super Bowl and I denied it,” the rapper, 32, revealed in a Billboard cover interview published Wednesday, September 3. “I feel like soon, if I get to do it, I’m going to have more hits. I’m going to be more experienced and I’m going to eat that up.”
When asked whether another opportunity to do the halftime show is something she sees in her future, the Grammy winner replied, “Of course.”
While Cardi is one of the most famous rappers working today, she has released only one album: Invasion of Privacy, which dropped in 2018. Her long-awaited follow-up, Am I the Drama?, is due out Friday, September 19.
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Cardi declined to share any details about possible features with Billboard, saying, “You just got to hear it.”
She did, however, further explain why she decided to include the singles “WAP” and “Up,” which came out in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
“Because my fans asked for it. My fans always be like, ‘Bitch, you better not [leave them off the album],’” Cardi told the outlet. “My fans do not stop reminding me of the fact that I didn’t submit ‘WAP’ for the Grammys. I’m not always going to submit [my music to the Grammys], but on top of that, people are crying about that like, ‘Oh, it’s about numbers.’ Those two records are not going to count for the first-week numbers, which everybody cares about. So what’s the issue?”
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As Billboard notes, Cardi is correct that any sales numbers generated by “WAP” and “Up” prior to the new album’s September 19 release will not count toward its chart performance.
“At the end of the day, so what, you’re going to get 21 new songs,” Cardi added. “[‘WAP’ and ‘Up’] are going to be at the end. So what [are you] crying for? You really don’t care.”
Earlier this week, Cardi was found not liable in a lawsuit stemming from a 2018 incident involving security guard Emani Ellis, who alleged that the “Bodak Yellow” artist assaulted her outside a medical office.
“I’m not even playing around, even if I’m on my deathbed, I swear to God I will say it on my deathbed, I did not touch that woman,” Cardi told reporters after the verdict was read on Tuesday, September 2. “I did not touch that girl. I didn’t lay my hands on that girl.”
