Cardi B & BIA Are Beefing: Breaking Down The Animosity

The rap feud season keeps on giving, and it looks like it’s the ladies’ turn now. After Drake and Kendrick Lamar charged the hip-hop scene with their heated diss war, female MCs Cardi B and BIA seem to have taken the baton from their male colleagues. The duo has been going at each other via social media and diss tracks, and it looks like they are ready to go all the way. Cardi B’s relationship with BIA hasn’t always been frosty. In 2021, BIA lauded Cardi B via several posts on X, formerly known as Twitter. However, that is now in the past, as the rappers seem to have lost any love they had for each other.

Cardi B and BIA’s beef got out of hand in March after suggestions that Cardi B was imitating BIA’s style. Since then, the women have not held back in their war of words. Their beef got so heated that Cardi B threatened to sue Bia. Fans wonder how far the women are willing to go in their beef, which is quickly gaining much attention. Here’s all to know about the feuding women’s animosity.

Cardi B and BIA previously had a cordial relationship. In 2021, Cardi B became the first female rapper to have a solo single certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America after “Bodak Yellow” sold over 10 million units. She received multiple compliments from fans and industry bigwigs after achieving the feat. BIA was one of those who commended Cardi B on her achievement. BIA made several posts on X congratulating Cardi B. One of the posts read, “Congrats to @iamcardib. Breaking barriers for the gorls.” In another post, BIA responded to a fan who said she was the new girl inspired by Cardi B. She wrote, “If you’re not inspired you’re not paying attention. You can at least be a fan of someone’s work ethic, growth, and contributions. & I’ve been writing for 10years, what she’s accomplished is NOT EASY.”

The first sign of a brewing feud between Cardi B and BIA came in March 2023. Then, there were rumors that the two rappers were beefing. BIA addressed the rumors via an Instagram live video. Per Forbes, she said, “I didn’t switch up on anybody because I don’t know Cardi in real life. I’ve never met Cardi, we’ve never had a conversation. I don’t have no issues with her. It’s all love, but I don’t know her.”

In March 2024, Cardi B released her “Like What” freestyle. She sampled Missy Elliot’s “She’s A B**ch” on the song. However, some fans on X felt the beat and ad-libs Cardi used on “Like What” were similar to those used on BIA’s “Fallback,” which the latter released in December 2023. A fan went ahead to share a post suggesting Cardi was imitating BIA. The fan wrote, “But Bia is definitely on Cardi’s mood board alot.” BIA caught wind of the fan’s tweet and responded with three woozy face emojis. In another X post, BIA wrote, “Yall are sick.” Another fan encouraged BIA not to fall for the stan wars, adding that she was on the rise. BIA acknowledged the fan and thanked them for their words.

However, Cardi B seemingly didn’t like the online chatter going on. She responded by posting, “Bitches make a fool of themselves every single time.. ima show ya something when I release this song tho.” Afterward, some Cardi fans rubbished the suggestion that she was imitating BIA’s style. They shared videos of Cardi previewing the “Like What” track at a club in January, proving that the song had been in the making for a long time.

Nothing much was heard about Cardi B and BIA’s feud until May 31, 2024, when GloRilla and Megan Thee Stallion released the remix of their hit tune, “Wanna Be,” featuring Cardi B. Cardi seemingly fired shots at BIA with her hard-hitting bars in the song. She rapped, “Guess I’m a teacher since you wanna sub me/She did what? Had no idea/Thought she was on the shelf, Ikea/Hope she talk like that when I see her/B**ch Please, don’t nobody wanna be ya/Cheap lookin’ a*s h*e, weak lookin’ a*s h*e/Great Value me lookin’ a*s h*e/Girl, these b**ches be p***y/Delete every tweet looking a*s h*e.” Fans speculated about who Cardi referred to with her lines. However, many of them were convinced the “nobody wanna be ya” reference was enough evidence they were aimed at BIA.

Not long after the track’s release, BIA seemed to reply to Cardi B’s apparent diss via a post on X. She wrote, “B**CHS IS WACK. B**CHS IS TRASH. I SHOULD HANG B**CHS RIGHT OVER MY KNEE, THE WAY I BE PUTTIN MY BELT TO THEY ASSSSSSSS,” a play from Cardi’s lyric from the song “Clout” with Offset. Shortly after, BIA shared another post on X. She posted a video of a rap battle between two female rappers superimposed with the “Wanna Be” instrumental playing in the background. One of the battling women delivered some lines aimed at knocking her opponent out. However, her bars fell flat and were met with disappointment by the onlookers and her unimpressed opponent, who said, “What?” The video post appeared to be BIA’s way of saying she wasn’t impressed with Cardi’s shots on “Wanna Be.”

With Cardi B and BIA’s feud attracting attention, the former went on Instagram Live to address the situation. She revealed that she attempted to resolve the conflict via a phone call to BIA. Cardi B shared that their conversation began aggressively with both of them coming at each other. She further revealed, “But then I called her back because…I’m so appalled at the fact that she thinks I’m copying her, or stealing from her, ‘cus there’s nothing that she do that I like. I don’t like her music, I don’t like her style…I don’t even see the b**ch…”

The “Up” rapper jokingly urged her fans to stream BIA’s songs as the latter needed to recoup her publishing. Cardi B then threatened to release her conversation with BIA. She claimed that their conversation ended positively but then BIA went ahead to diss her online. Cardi added, “After the conversation, you went and you started saying I copied your music video…Then you going around lying about my pussy to my man’s boys and shit. What?… When I called her on the phone I wanted clarity, and that’s exactly what we got…”

Cardi B shared that she initially thought BIA was clout-chasing when she kept dissing her. She added, “But when she started doing that rumor shit, it’s like ‘damn, it’s more than clout. It’s jealousy.'” Cardi stated that she didn’t like anything about BIA. She ranted, “I don’t wanna dress like you, I don’t wanna look like you, I don’t wanna rap like you, I don’t listen to your music, I don’t know what the fuck you be doing, bitch…You not interesting to me.” The enraged rapper concluded by threatening to sue BIA if she continued spreading false allegations that she cheated on Offset. She said, “B**tch, you lyin’ on my f***ing p***y? When you lie about my p****y, I’mma sue you and you got to come with receipts. And not social media receipts, you gotta come with court receipts.”

BIA didn’t waste much time to respond to Cardi B. She did so via an Instagram Live video. During the IG live session, BIA played a diss track targeted at Cardi in which she made allegations about her cheating on Offset. The song’s intro goes, “Got a dark soul, got a bright future/Imma let her know I’m a sharp shooter/You ain’t nothing but a f**k girl, I see right through ya.” Rapping about Cardi’s alleged infidelity, BIA spits, “Put it on your gang that they ain’t f**k you in/Put in on your name since you so gangsta like yo f***ing friends/Put it on your hubby since you lying on your vows/I write all my verses, I can do this s**t for hours.“

BIA also took a dig at Cardi, accusing her of using a ghostwriter. She rapped, “Do I beef with you or do I beef with Pardi?” The line is a reference to rapper and songwriter Pardison Fontaine, who has writing credits on several Cardi B songs including her breakout hit “Bodak Yellow,” and “Be Careful.” The writing credits are under Pardison’s real name Jordan Kyle Lanier Thorpe.

Elsewhere in the diss track, BIA dissed Cardi’s physical appearance and mentioned her kids, Wave and Culture. She rapped, “Say you love yourself but you won’t put that on your kids/All that surgery and how your body is so mid.” She also spits, “I thought your a*s was for the culture/You just tryna ride the wave/You should be home with your kids ’cause b**ch you speak like you in second grade.” BIA captioned her Instagram Live post, “SUE ME” ??? That’s not hip hop.”

After the Instagram post, BIA went ahead to release the official audio for her Cardi B diss song, “SUE MEEE?” The track’s cover art featured a screenshot of an Instagram Story that Offset made in 2023 in which he seemed to suggest Cardi B cheated on him. The former Migos rapper deleted the post immediately and later explained that Cardi didn’t cheat on him. He said he made the post because he “was really lit that night,” and “she get crazy at the mouth a little bit.”

Cardi has yet to respond to BIA’s diss track. However, given that she threatened to sue the “WHOLE LOTTA MONEY” crooner if she made more allegations of her cheating on Offset, one can only wonder if she will keep to her words. After already witnessing a volatile rap scene this year thanks to Drake and Kendrick’s beef, hip-hop lovers wonder what to expect from the feuding women. Only time will tell!