Since her 2017 breakthrough “Bodak Yellow,” Cardi B has worked with many brands, including McDonald’s, Uber Eats, Fashion Nova, and Reebok. However, her journey to getting there was evidently not easy. Before she became one of today’s most recognizable names in Hip Hop, she was a reality star and influencer making less.

On Thursday (April 4) evening, the New York native hopped on Instagram Live to discuss what makes her so marketable in an industry where many struggle to land deals. “There’s a lot of artists that are light-skinned; there’s a lot of artists that are dark-skinned — they don’t get the brand deals that I get,” Cardi began. “You wanna know why? Because a lot of b**ches don’t know how to market themselves. They’re just not smart enough.”

“It’s not even about [being] smart enough. I have been hustling for so many years. I worked in a strip club. I feel like I know the etiquette to make money, or maybe I’m just born with it,” she added. Cardi further likened herself to Snoop Dogg, who, despite his gangster rapper persona, became a global icon. The “Up” hitmaker stated, “We know how to brand ourselves. We know how to make money. We know how to tone our s**t [down].”

Cardi concluded, “That s**t was not easy for me. It was never easy for me. It got a little easier when I became a real artist that people took seriously. When I was the influencer, people didn’t give one f**k about me. I had millions of followers, and I was getting played.”

In February, Cardi teamed up with NYX Cosmetics to promote the label’s Duck Plump. It served latter’s very first Super Bowl commercial and inaugural partnership with the rapper. In the accompanying ad, she referenced a 2021 viral video of her saying, “That’s suspicious. That’s weird.”

On the music side, Cardi debuted “Like What (Freestyle)” and “Enough (Miami)” in March. She also made guest appearances on Shakira’s “Puntería” and Flo Milli’s “Never Lose Me (Remix)” alongside SZA that same month.