In an eye-opening session with Complex’s 360 with Speedy series, the music industry was given a rare glimpse into the struggles that even its most illustrious stars face, with Cardi B, the Grammy-award winning artist, laying bare the fears that stifled her once meteoric career trajectory.
For fans and critics alike, the admission was a startling reminder of the toll that fame can exact on mental health.
The “Bodak Yellow“ hitmaker, known for her vibrant personality and unapologetic presence, revealed a more vulnerable side during the interview. Despite her colossal success and legion of fans, Cardi B admitted that the constant barrage of criticism and negative comments on social media platforms had a profound impact on her, to the point where it deterred her from engaging in her craft and even her personal life.
“I just feel like I lost myself with everything,” Cardi B confessed, articulating the pressure that stemmed not only from the public but from within the music industry itself. The expectation to continually produce hits and maintain a certain image seemed to have cornered the 31-year-old artist into a state of apprehension. “A lot of music commenters and everything and a lot of people just be like, ‘She’s afraid to drop an album, she’s afraid to drop music,‘” she recollected, highlighting the narrative that seemed to follow her throughout 2023.
