Cardi B accepted the Impact Of The Year Award from Billboard’s Senior Director of R&B/Hip-Hop Carl Lamarre at Billboard’s R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2025 event in New York City Thursday (Sept. 5). Her acceptance speech found her reminiscing on the influential women she aspired to be like as a young artist, as well as her desire to leave a lasting legacy.
“Hip-hop is a feeling. When I was growing up, I didn’t want to be the Shakiras, the J-Los, and the R&B artists; I wanted to be like Trina and Lil Kim. I wanted to be like them,” Cardi said. “I’m just so happy that I’m a part of something that I love. I always dreamed about this career — I just felt like with the environment that I was in, dreaming was dreaming. Reality crushes your dreams. So I’m happy that my career is the career that I always dreamed of.
“I want to be spoken about forever. We talk about all these hip-hop artists who came out 20 years ago and 30 years ago, and I want to be a part of that. I don’t want to be a moment. I want to be a legacy so I can die in peace one day and my kids can be like, ‘That’s my mama.’”
Other honorees included The Wu-Tang Clan, who accepted the Hip Hop Hall of Fame Award, and Leon Thomas, who took home the Breakthrough of the Year Award.
The event was held in concert with the release of Billboard’s annual R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players list, honoring executives throughout both genres, including Executive of the Year, TDE’s Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith.
Check out the full list here and snaps from the R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players party below.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Deanie Chen/Billboard via Getty Images) Cardi B at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Cardi B at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Cardi B at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Deanie Chen/Billboard via Getty Images) Cardi B, Carl Lamarre at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Cappadonna, RZA, Raekwon at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Punch, Top Dawg, Moosa at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Punch, Moosa, Top Dawg at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Joey Bada$$, Steve Rifkind at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Shawn Barron, Leon Thomas III, Ty Dolla $ign, Chris Herche at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Raekwon at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Ravyn Lenae at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) LiAngelo Ball at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Deanie Chen/Billboard via Getty Images) Joey Bada$$ at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Deanie Chen/Billboard via Getty Images) Bryan-Michael Cox at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Ski Mask The Slump God, Tariq Cherif at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Carl Lamarre at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Deanie Chen/Billboard via Getty Images) Mona Scott-Young at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Mona Scott-Young, Tina Davis at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Gail Mitchell at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Percy, Trevor Anderson at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) D Smoke at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Sherrese Clarke Soares at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard via Getty Images) Leon Thomas III and guest at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Image Credit: (Photo by Deanie Chen/Billboard via Getty Images) DJ Drewski at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.
