It’s been a minute since diamond-selling American rapper Belcalis “Cardi B” Cephus made some waves since her last single “Bongos” alongside Grammy-winning hip-hop star Megan thee Stallion in the latter half of 2023. Gathering enough strength for the release of her 2024 album, the New York City-born musician is back with “Like What (Freestyle)”, a freestyle that is all shades Cardi in its crass-tongued performance and unabashed calling out.
“Like What (Freestyle)” is a bouncy hip-hop joint simmering with a rumbling bass layered over a 1999 Missy Elliott sample of her single “She’s a B*tch”. Compared to the sourced sample, Cardi’s incarnation of Missy’s classic features vacillating basslines and thumping texture that divorces it from the original, which is watermarked by Timbaland’s trademark glitchy production and an overall cleanliness that allowed Elliott enough room to show off her lyrical prowess.
Cardi’s cutthroat as ever with her bars, and direct with her shade despite the fact that she doesn’t venture towards naming and shaming; however, there are enough easter eggs hidden between the lines such that if read in context, make Cardi’s freestyle a damning sub. The Grammy-winning rapper’s tongue is as sharp and quick to open as a Swiss knife, aiming every stab at her supposed opps, namely Nicki Minaj and one half of City Girls, JT. “First, that b*tch hate me, then this b*tch hate / And somehow, they link up and they become friends, like, how?” she says, subtly subbing two figures occluded by the smoke of nameless shaming.
Perhaps, the most overt shot in the song comes when Cardi raps: “Everything you got, I had five years before,” a sneaky driveby headshot aimed Nicki who only registered her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one song in 2022 with “Super Freaky Girl” – five years after “Bodak Yellow”. Considering that Cardi has been Nicki’s perceived career rival, who has went on to win a Grammy before she could as well, the line adds more layers of colours that demand to acknowledged even by those who’d like to think there’s no emnity between the pair.
Cardi’s made a name for herself with her flamboyant personality on the mic, sex positive attitude, and emotional vulnerability, but her defining mark has been her whip-lipped retorts. And on the freestyle, Cardi cracks her tongue not with the deftness of Indiana Jones but with enough disdain to ward off those who are trying to get too fresh with her. Vulgarity is a stain she’s proud of, and on the song, it’s no different.
“Like What (Freestyle)” might not be anything new from the Yankee, but her sass and fierce sting (blunted just a little bit by her mid-song temper tantrums) shine through enough for everyone to be confident about proof of life.
