Cardi “the Arm” B
Photo: Getty/FilmMagic for Capture Studio Gro
The phrase jack of all trades, master of none does not apply to Cardi B. She was a reality-TV star, is a wildly successful rapper, and, as it turns out, has an arm that qualifies her as an MLB player. Over the weekend, a video of Cardi getting splashed with a drink while performing went viral because, unlike her fellow music stars/targets, she knows how to retaliate. It’s a lovely clip, honestly, exemplifying the dictum of “Fuck around and find out.” In honor of everybody’s new favorite concert vid, we threw together a little celebration of Cardi’s pitching arm and all it has given us.
Back when Cardi was on Love & Hip-Hop: New York, she was quick to get into an entertaining fight — best exemplified by this clip, in which she famously throws a shoe at Asia, partially over Asia’s belief that Cardi was stealing her then-boyfriend, Swift, and partially over Cardi thinking Asia was judging her for once working as a stripper. From there, she shouts “What was the reason?!” multiple times and does a nyah nyah nyah motion to further signal her dominance. A star from the jump.
One of the early signs that fame had not changed Cardi at all: A year after her breakout track, “Bodak Yellow,” dropped, she threw another shoe, this time at a more recognizable target: Nicki Minaj. At the Harper’s Bazaar Icons Party at the Plaza during New York Fashion Week, the two got into a fight, and Cardi went back to old faithful.
This one’s kinda murky. In July 2022, it was reported that Cardi fought a fan by beating them with a mic while she was onstage. Meanwhile, Cardi denied it, as did her stans, with one sharing a video as proof that there was no tussle. But it … still kinda looks like there was a tussle. A mystery.
On September 15, 2022, Cardi pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and reckless endangerment for a 2018 incident in which she got into a physical altercation with two sister bartenders at the Angels Strip Club. Reportedly, the fight involved Cardi throwing multiple objects, including a hookah. It seems “catch this smoke” was taken too literally here.
In case the bartenders didn’t get the message from a hookah, Cardi also threw bottles at them.
Ah yes, the recent and iconic. On July 30, Cardi was performing at Drai’s Nightclub in Las Vegas when an audience member took it upon herself to throw a drink at her. Clearly, she had not seen Love & Hip-Hop or else she would have known what was going to happen next. Cardi thought for approximately 0.1 seconds, switched which hand the mic was in, took aim, and fired. In another angle shared from the incident, the audience member repeats, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Do we wish Bebe Rexha would have had the same chutzpah? Maybe so.
