Cardi B Weighs in on ‘Next Superstars in Rap’ Debate Started by TDE’s Punch

Twitter was going at it over the three-day weekend after TDE president Punch asked for his followers to name the “next superstars in rap.” Everyone has their own ideas of what makes a superstar, but Cardi B knows exactly where her name should be on that list. 

Punch had a few artists on his mind—including Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, and potentially Jack Harlow and Baby Keem—but at first he didn’t mention Cardi, who revealed she’s getting paid over $1 million for a show. 

Cardi took to Twitter on Monday to share a text exchange with an unnamed associate, where she claimed she’s pulling in that large amount of cash with just one studio album in her discography. 

“Over a M a show wit 1 album 💁🏽‍♀️BIG SUPERSTAR are you dumb,” Cardi asked. “Waiting on my agent got me like 3 overseas one for 2Ms.”

In a later Instagram comment, Cardi reiterated that her post—which has since been deleted from Twitter—was about the ongoing debate on the app, where Punch asked who had “a legitimate shot at being the next superstar.” While Cardi may have only one studio record to her name, given that she’s already a Grammy-winning chart-topper, it seems Punch may already believe her to be in those conversations as a current star, and not the “next.”

“You don’t think Cardi and Meg are superstars in rap right now,” Punch asked a user who mentioned Cardi’s name in the conversation. 

This past week, Cardi opened up to Complex about overcoming any doubts, working on her many business ventures, and how her Bardi Gang assists with making that happen. 

“I have a family and I have become really cool and close with a lot of my fans, Bardi Gang,” she said. “And every single time I feel like the whole world is against me, they let me know that, no, there’s still a whole group of people that love the fuck out of me. And hey, I got 120 million followers, like, hello!”