Is Cardi B an Influencer or Rapper? Why Fans Eagerly Await CB2 and Possible Reasons for Its Delay

There’s much more to the music industry than what meets the eye, and as a music aficionado, I’m here to break it all down for you.

Cardi B burst onto the scene in 2018 with her debut album, Invasion of Privacy, which has broken massive records and continues to be a lucrative body of work for the rapper. Since then, Cardi has made it clear that she is a mom first and a rapper second, focusing on making money. Her goal was never to be labeled the Queen of Rap, especially when things came to a head between her and long-time rapper, Nicki Minaj.

When the feud began, Nicki Minaj made it clear that she is a rapper first—an artist who pushes her pen and hopes to motivate other upcoming female Hip Hop artists to write their own music. Cardi B responded aggressively, engaging in an online back and forth with Minaj. However, the ‘Bodak Yellow’ rapper reiterated that writing is not that significant for her; she is happy to make her money and go home to her daughter.

Cardi B has had numerous chances to go on tour, headline shows, and even release a second album. When her singles ‘Press’ and ‘Money’ were released, fans were tuned in and ready for CB2, only to be left disappointed. While there was no tour for Invasion of Privacy, Cardi’s fans empathized with the young mother because she did not feel that traveling on a tour bus or flying from place to place was safe for her daughter—understandably so. But what about now, in 2024? Why are fans so eager for an album and tour?

STANS

Do fans love music from female Hip Hop artists, or do they simply believe they can control them? It’s an unhealthy parasocial relationship because we do not see this level of scrutiny from fans towards, let’s say, non-Black artists or Black R&B/Pop artists (aside from Normani, but that’s another topic).

Why is it that in the African American community, when it comes to female Hip Hop, the stans are so entitled and downright mean to their “favs”? Comparing an artist like Cardi B to Lauryn Hill is never going to work because prior to releasing her debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Hill was a reputable member of The Fugees, who had two albums under their belt.

Stans are ruining female Hip Hop. Pressuring artists to release music before they have fully developed as artists only to later tease them for it “flopping” is egregious at best. JT is a prime example of this—her album-turned-mixtape was prematurely released with a lavish rollout, only for fans to not really support the music.

She has fans but no fanbase ready to open their wallets at the drop of a dime like, say, the Swifties or the Beyhive. The only people who are interested in female Hip Hop are the stans ready to tear down artists, and it’s safe to say that this has contributed to Cardi B delaying the release of her second album.

RAPPER OR INFLUENCER

Over the past few weeks, it has become evidently clear that Cardi B does not take well to criticism. This is not new, considering she has previously requested that blogs refrain from posting about her due to the negative comments those posts would receive. This is not abnormal because artists are human, too, and when it comes to music, that is their art—it’s their way of sharing their passion with the world. It’s no different from a painter or an architect. Constantly facing backlash for a lack of music or for music your fans don’t like is exhausting.

As an influencer, musicians can earn a lucrative income, but for someone like Cardi B, there is a lot of money to be made that is also shared with her label due to her likeness. So, all in all, is Cardi B a rapper or an influencer? The truth is, she can do both—but one is more lucrative than the other. If she features on a record and her fee is $300,000, a portion of that, or an additional amount, will have to go to her record label. Not only that, but if she lands a brand deal, a portion of that goes to the label as well—not because she’s in a 360 deal (that information cannot be confirmed), but because the label owns her likeness.

It’s common sense for her to choose brand deals over releasing music because her commercials and endorsement campaigns aren’t met with hate and disgruntled fans; they are well received. That sounds like a win-win: money + praise = positive reinforcement.

CB2

Almost no one foresaw the success of "Invasion of Privacy" (IOP), and as a label for a new music artist, Atlantic was able to keep their expenses relatively low. Now, with Cardi B’s rise in popularity and her fans eager for new music, high-budget music videos—her expenses have gone through the roof.

The music video for "Bongos" cost around $2 million to execute—a lot of money for an artist who is not producing a new album to fulfill her contractual obligations for the label to recover some of their expenses. Songs like "WAP" and "Up" were both commercial successes, leaving many to wonder, where is all of this money going? Are singles the new albums, and is there a formula?

The overall market for singles is bigger than albums because streaming platforms often focus on playlists and moods over albums, but labels still benefit from albums because the album masters of an artist are more profitable than selling a single song.

Additionally, most contracts require an artist to produce a certain number of albums before they can part ways with a label. An artist like Cardi B can profit more from being an influencer, featured artist, and singles artist than from constantly putting out albums and going on tours. She is one of the few who has managed to be seen as both an influencer and artist because of her charismatic personality.

With an album, she won’t own the masters, and it’s mainly the producers, writers, and label who will see most of the profit. As a featured artist, she and the writer split the cost, and the label recoups an additional amount from the other artist’s label, not her.

She doesn’t have to be away from her kids—touring is brutal, and being away from your children or uprooting them from their normal schedule and lives can be daunting. Plus, her managers will be footing the bill and will have to be reimbursed; otherwise, she’ll be in the red, and all of that influencer money will have to go to them.

Her singles aren’t staying on the charts long enough for her to feel confident in her ability to recoup those funds without having to repay the label and managers from her pockets—dancers, food, travel, production, costumes, and much more are very expensive for a tour. Ask yourself, if you were Cardi B, which lane would you choose?

by Diamond Brown