After the content of a recent Migos interview was released, there had been much attention and backlash around Offset’s insight into what exactly made him propose to Cardi B. No different from any news surrounding the Bronx rapper, whether good or bad, people love to discuss Cardi and any and everything that is associated with her. Recently, Cardi expressed she would prefer people to stop examining her life and talking about her at all. Such super stardom is new to Cardi, and although the perks are enjoyable there are certain drawbacks that make it worth reconsidering at times.
Having been in this industry a little longer than Cardi, and flourishing from childhood to adulthood in the public eye, Zendaya relates to Cardi on more levels than one.
In a new issue of CR Fashion Book, Cardi B and Zendaya sit down to interview one another. More similar than we would have ever imagined, Cardi B and Zendaya confide in one another as they discuss their lives before fame, the impact of their neighborhoods (Bronx and Oakland), what they look for in men, and the biggest misconceptions people have of them.
Check out a portion of the Q & A below. Read the FULL Interview here.
Z: I’m from Oakland and that is a huge part of my character. How did growing up in the Bronx influence your music and personality?
CB: It influenced the way I see things. In the Bronx, there’s different cultures, a lot of Caribbeans. I didn’t grow up having much, so I didn’t have much to brag about. All I knew was violence, gang relations, and how to hustle. That’s what I mostly rapped about. Now that I’m seeing different things, traveling places, and buying new things, I can rap about all that.
Z: What’s the process of music for you?
CB: I see other artists, how they work, and sometimes I be feeling like, Wow, I’m really slow. But it works for me. I cannot do music in my bedroom with a beat. I have to be in the studio and when I am, I be in there for like, 15 hours. I get that one beat and I write and I write and I write. You know I have Caribbean parents, so my vocabulary is a little bit different. So I always ask people, Hey, do this make sense? Can you say this word? Is this even a word? [Laughs]
Z: How has your life changed since you became famous?
CB: Well, one positive thing is that, my family, whatever they want, they get. Everything that I want to buy, I can get. I don’t have to worry so much about my future. One negative thing is that, even though I’m happy, I feel like I was a little bit happier two or three years ago when I had less money. I had less people who had opinions about my life. I felt like my life was mine. Now I feel like I don’t even own my life. I feel like the world owns me. It’s crazy because I never been the type of person to ever really care about anything. I never had to censor myself. Now I feel like everybody is so sensitive, and it’s sad. Some people have written me off or tried to make me feel like I’m something I’m not or wanted to tell me how to manage my relationship.
CB: Right. A lot of people think that just making money and having fame makes you happy and it really don’t. What is your biggest fear?
Z: Sometimes, as a young person in this industry, I put a lot of pressure on myself to do the right thing. I think this is a flaw of mine. I get so afraid to make the wrong decisions, but I have to understand that I’m only 21 years old. I’m not going to always be perfect. You cannot let the fear of not being perfect stop you from doing anything at all. I still have a lot of things left to do in my career and it’s okay to frickin’ learn from a situation and grow from it.
CB: To me, you seem so angelic. You know, you are the Disney star. You seem like such a sweetheart. But…I know you’re from Oakland. My best friend is from Oakland, and she’s hood as fuck. That bitch is a fucking gangster. Do you think that you got some hood in you?
Z: Absolutely, there is definitely “hood” in me and it will never leave. It’s part of who I am, as it is part of my family. Listen, I was born and raised in Oakland, all my family is from there—multiple generations of Colemans. And they’re not from the Oakland Hills, we are from the hoods of Oakland. It’s something that I’m proud of and I’m lucky to be where I’m from. My aunties held Black Panther party meetings in the downstairs basement of our house that I grew up in. You learn so much from those experiences and from those stories.
