During an interview with Stationhead on Wednesday (March 18), Cardi reflected on her come-up and how she didn’t really look up to anyone when she first started in the industry. “When I came to the game and people used to be like, ‘Who do you look up to?’” she said. “I always used to say, ‘I don’t look up to nobody,’ because I didn’t really understand the game and I only feel like I got influenced by the people that was around me.”
Now that Cardi has become a superstar herself, her motivation to succeed has changed drastically.
“But now that I’m at the level that I’m at, one of my biggest influences is Rihanna and JAY-Z,” the Grammy Award-winning rapper said. “And I’m not just saying it to kiss ass or anything. I just feel like they’re so influential because Rihanna comes from a country, a Caribbean country, that my parents came from and she’s a whole billionaire.”
Cardi continued to praise Rihanna saying, “But for her to make her business so big and be a billionaire, that’s what I strive to be. That’s what I want. I want to be a billion-dollar woman. I want to build a huge brand.”
As for Hov, Cardi admired how the Brooklyn legend has a strategy for every one of his businesses. Hov built that mindset in his hood and the Bronx rapper can relate to that.
“And JAY-Z, he’s from the hood just like me,” Cardi stated. “He’s from the hood and this man’s a whole billionaire. And that’s just all about strategy and that’s just all about shaking hands, that’s just all about putting plans together.”