Cardi B cannot be stopped. In the span of just a few days, the Love and Hip Hop breakout star turned burgeoning queen of rap released the hottest album in the country, debuted her baby bump on Saturday Night Live, and dropped an interview with GQ that has everyone talking.
While it’s easy to believe we know most of the details about a celebrity’s life, especially when they seem to share so much of it on social media, Cardi’s sit down with GQ yielded some surprising details. In addition to admitting that she once received illegal butt injections in a Queens, New York basement, the wide-ranging article showed us a part of the rapper we never get to see.
Here’s what we learned:
Cardi loves presidential history:
In the article, the “Bodak Yellow” rapper impressed the writer with her knowledge of presidential history. Her favorite POTUS to date? Franklin D. Roosevelt.
“I love political science,” Cardi said. “I love government. I’m obsessed with presidents. I’m obsessed to know how the system works.”
And what’s up with her love of FDR? “First of all he helped us get over the Depression, all while he was in a wheelchair,” she explained. “Like, this man was suffering from polio at the time of his presidency, and yet all he was worried about was trying to make America great—make America great again for real. He’s the real ‘Make America Great Again,’ because if it wasn’t for him, old people wouldn’t even get Social Security.”
Zora Neale Hurston and Sister Souljah are two of her favorite writers:
As a rapper who spends her days coming up with clever rhymes, it shouldn’t be surprising that Cardi B loved English class when she attended Renaissance High School For Musical Theater & Technology in the Bronx. But her favorite books are a mixture of classic tomes and street lit.
“When she was in school, she liked English. She lists her favorite books: To Kill a Mockingbird, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and The Coldest Winter Ever, by Sister Souljah,” Caity Weaver wrote.
“It’s a hood book, but it’s really good,” Cardi B said of Sister Souljah’s book about the rise and fall of Winter Santiaga. “The main character is like my alter ego. She is a bad girl. I like a bit of bad-girl shit.”
Cardi is insecure about her accent:
Before she even released any music, Cardi B was known for her witty one-liners and around-the-way-girl swag. But when it comes to putting her voice on wax, the bilingual Bronx bombshell is self-conscious about her thick accent and loose command of standard English.
“That’s my biggest problem, that takes me a long time in the booth. I be trying to pronounce words properly and without an accent,” she explained. “Each and every song from my album, I most likely did it over five times, because I’m really insecure about my accent when it comes to music. In person, I don’t care.”
Head to the GQ website to read the magazine’s entire profile on Cardi B.