Cardi B is 31 years old, she’ll be 32 in October (Libra). I always have to remind myself that Cardi was pretty young when her life changed dramatically over the course of about a year and a half. She was 24-25 when she had a hugely successful debut album, married Offset, got pregnant, had her first baby, canceled a tour, and became a national and international star. More music and a second child followed, as did more stardom. Other things followed that: the marriage is touch-and-go, with a series of high-profile breakups and makeups; the Bardi Gang is getting restless waiting for a new album; a 31-year-old mother of two is basically frozen because of her own perfectionism and chaotic family life. That’s what this Rolling Stone cover story is about – a profile of an artist who certainly seems burned out and in need of a year off from everything. Of course, the biggest headline is not about Cardi’s on-again thing with Offset or even her upcoming album. It’s that she’s not going to vote or be active in this year’s election cycle. Some highlights from RS:

Trying to finish the album in LA: “Being out here is my punishment. Until I have the album ready, I’m not going home. When I come to L.A., I be like, ‘I’m ready to get sh-t done.’ Then, eight days in, my mind starts missing home, feeling lonely, and then I be like, ‘Girl … ’  I miss my kids.”

She spends too much time on social media: “Like yesterday, I was scrolling through TikTok and a bitch made me cry. She was just like, ‘She has got to give it up. She’s better off being an influencer. You was cosplaying being a rapper. Because you don’t take it seriously. That’s why you don’t put out your music.’ And it’s like, I take my music so f–king seriously that that’s why I don’t put it out. Because if it’s not perfect to my ear, if every f–king word doesn’t sound like it’s pronounced right, if the beat is overpowering the words or the words is overpowering the beat, I don’t want to put it out. When you give so much and somebody just drags it down, like you’re just playing with your p–sy all day, just watching Netflix all f–king day long, it’s very hurtful.”

Giving birth to Kulture at 25: “Then, it’s like, ‘Damn, you sent me a baby at 25, the age that I always want to have a kid.’ Then I took a gender test and it was a girl. I always wanted a girl.” Though she was “always afraid to have boys,” she conquered that fear with Wave. “It’s like it’s meant to be. The stars align. My kids are the best decisions I ever made.”

She’s back with Offset: In February, she went on a Valentine’s Day date with him and was caught trying to hide makeup smudged from making out. The next month, she’d clarify that despite the breakup, she was still married. She doesn’t include Offset when she lists the people who live with her, but later tells me, “When Offset comes around, he comes around, so he’s a helping hand, too.” In recent weeks, the couple attended a Knicks game and a Met Gala afterparty together. For Mother’s Day, Offset gifted Cardi three diamond chains and covered her mansion in flowers.

What she’s decided to do about her marriage. “I think it through. We think it through, because we do love each other. It’s not even about love. We’re best friends. And it’s like, ‘OK. Well, there was a time that I didn’t have a best friend, or I didn’t have a support system.’ It’s not even about ‘How do you leave a partner?’ How do you stop talking to your best friend?”

She’s not voting this year: By March, she had told L.A. radio host Big Boy she wouldn’t even vote in the upcoming presidential election. She tells me she means it. “I don’t f–k with both of y’all niggas,” she says of Biden and Trump. Before, she had seen Trump as a dire threat, but under Biden, she’s felt “layers and layers of disappointment” from what she sees as domestic and foreign mismanagement. The cost of living is too high, wages are too low, and too little is being done about it, she says. “I feel like people got betrayed. It’s just like, damn, y’all not caring about nobody. Then, it really gets me upset that there is solutions to it. There is a solution. I know there’s a solution because you’re spending billions of dollars on any f–king thing.”

[From Rolling Stone]

I don’t think Cardi is stupid and I know she loves American history and she knows a lot about American presidents. But god, this is so stupid. This reminds me of her idiotic rant about Biden last fall, when she took issue with budget cuts in NYC public schools and libraries, issues which President Biden does not control. This is happening among too many people screaming “F–k Biden” over every little thing – “F–k Biden, I broke a nail” or “F–k Biden, the Supreme Court sucks.” Open the schools. Anyone who is like “yeah, Donald Trump will end American democracy as we know it, but Joe Biden raised the price of eggs” is not serious. Besides that, if you tell me that you’re not voting, I don’t really give a f–k what you have to say about any f–king thing politically after that. You’re too stupid or lazy or or entitled or online to do the bare minimum of civil responsibility, why should I care what you think? Why should anyone?

Photos courtesy of Backgrid. Cover courtesy of Rolling Stone.