50 Cent praises Cardi B for beating the ‘Love & Hip Hop’ career trap
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The rapper says Cardi’s personality made her “bulletproof” as she went from reality TV to No. 1 hits and sold-out arenas.
50 Cent says Cardi B escaped what he considers a music career dead end on “Love & Hip Hop,” praising her success after reality television, which now includes a sold-out Madison Square Garden show on her first headlining tour. Her second album is also the subject of a Howard University course.
During the Oct. 13 episode of “The Crew Has It” podcast, 50 Cent discussed her rise while talking about hit records.
“Cardi’s from the graveyard. She came out the graveyard, bro,” he said. He called the VH1 franchise “the dead hip-hop section,” arguing that artists who did not expect to land hits went on the show to stay visible.
His praise centered on Cardi’s personality. When co-host Gianni Paolo mentioned Sexyy Red, 50 Cent said both rappers could entertain an audience without a hit record. He also credited Cardi’s reactions on the series with making her “bulletproof.”
Cardi joined “Love & Hip Hop: New York” in its sixth season and appeared for two seasons before leaving to pursue music. In 2017, “Bodak Yellow” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her debut album, “Invasion of Privacy,” won Best Rap Album at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
Her follow-up album, “Am I the Drama?,” arrived in September 2025. Cardi launched her first solo headlining tour the following year and sold out Madison Square Garden.
Howard University also launched a fall 2026 course examining the music, marketing and business decisions behind Cardi’s second album, alongside its cultural impact.
50 Cent previously praised her rise in a 2023 Billboard interview. He pointed to her move from working at Club Lust in Brooklyn to recording hit songs and described her success as an example of the American dream.
Cardi released “AH HA” in July 2026, and the single debuted at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Aug. 15. She told “The Breakfast Club” in September that she was working on another album and hoped to release it in 2027.