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bitchy | Cardi B: ‘I tried to warn ya. All I’m going to say is America is in a very bad place.’
Celebrity News

bitchy | Cardi B: ‘I tried to warn ya. All I’m going to say is America is in a very bad place.’

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Cardi B’s new album, Am I the Drama?, comes out on September 19th. She covers the latest issue of Billboard to talk about music, her first headlining tour (next year) and the state of American politics. In early 2024, Cardi said repeatedly that she wouldn’t get involved in the presidential election cycle and she wasn’t particularly inspired. Then Kamala Harris became the nominee, and Cardi immediately changed her mind and went out campaigning for Kamala. I appreciated that – even when I thought Cardi was being short-sighted about Joe Biden, I liked that she quickly saw the stakes and gave her full-throated support to VP Harris. Anyway, some highlights from Billboard:

Her first headlining tour is scheduled for next year: “A lot of people say I got comfortable because I make money, but the most money I make is when I go and do shows,” says Cardi, who tweeted in 2022 that she’d netted $1 million for a 35-minute show at a private event during Miami’s Art Basel. “I could rush and put out music like it’s nothing and then pick up millions of dollars per show, but it’s not about that. I want the music to be great. I want it to be amazing.”

The obsession with women MCs feuding: “No lie, these b–ches be catty. You can’t prevent a b–ch from being shady. Sometimes b–ches want to see what you’re about. They want to test you and they want to test your gangsta. A lot of the b–ches will come in this game and feel like they can challenge you. Some b–ches like to die young. In this game, you need to really know who you’re challenging.

Whether she would do the Super Bowl Halftime show: “Of course. I got asked to do the Super Bowl and I denied it. I feel like soon, if I get to do it, I’m going to have more hits. I’m going to be more experienced and I’m going to eat that up.”

How motherhood has changed her: “It turned me into a real woman. I was like, “What makes a woman? Her body? Her cooking?” It’s her maturity and her thinking. If I didn’t have kids, I wouldn’t sacrifice so much. This summer, I haven’t even put my feet in a pool. I do everything for my kids. I’m the only provider and you know what? Ain’t no complaining about it. I love them so much and they ground me. Sometimes I be so exhausted and it’s not even about work, it’s just life. If you think when you get rich you’re going to stop working, you’re never going to stop working. My mom used to be a freakin’ cashier and she used to work every single day. To this day, I still talk about how hard my mom worked. I had a very rough childhood, but my mom always made sure we ain’t go to no shelter. I want my kids to be like, “My mom made sure I had everything that I wanted.”

Whether she tries to mentor the younger women in the industry: “Have your ever read [Sister Souljah’s novel] The Coldest Winter Ever? (Laughs.) At the end of the book, the main character, Winter, was in jail. She cut a b–ch — or some s–t like that — then they let her out to go to her mom’s funeral. She saw her sister going in her same footsteps and wanted to give her advice. Before she gave her advice she was like, “You know what? F–k it. Let her go through what I went through. Let her learn on her own.” Sometimes you got to let b–ches learn on their own. I have to because there were so many b–ches that I’ve sat down and given advice from the heart. Like, if I see people bullying you because of whatever the f–k, I’m going to go in your DMs and give you advice. But sometimes I got to really hold myself [back] and say, “No, b–ch. Don’t do it,” because these b–ches turned their backs on me, f–ked my man, talked about me and somebody told me about it.

She hopes her kids are politically active: “You always have to be aware of what’s happening to the world and what’s happened before, because things really do repeat themselves. Maybe not something drastic like a world war, slavery or the Holocaust, but there’s always shady s–t going on. I just want them to always be aware of what’s going on and what could happen. But there’s something about politics that gets me in a rabbit hole. I remember wanting to say something so bad this week, but I was like, “I can’t.”

Why she bites her tongue about politics: “I have to bite my tongue. I really, really had to bite my tongue, but you know the reason why I’ve been so silent about politics? It’s because when I used to complain the past four years, I know for a fact that people watch my stuff. I know it. I know the White House watches my stuff. I have a big platform. I know they listen to what I say. I might not say it the prettiest way, but I know they listen to what I’m saying. There’s a president that knows I’ve never supported him and it’s like if I say something, he’s not going to care. I tried to give people warnings and it is what it is. What I can do? What I can say?”

America is in a bad place: “People made fun of my accent. People made fun of my speech [at a Kamala Harris rally days before the 2024 presidential election]. I was, “Aight. Y’all gonna see what’s funny.” S–t ain’t funny right now, isn’t it? It’s really tough out here. S–t is really rough out here for everybody. I tried to warn ya. All I’m going to say is America is in a very bad place. No matter who’s in charge, it’s going to stay like that because we’re paying for bad karma. Why [are we] paying for bad karma? Because we have been involved in something morally illegal, morally that God hates, morally that is disgusting. I’m not going to speak about it. Y’all should know why. All I’m going to say is we’re going to be paying for a very long time because there’s no bigger leader than God. We’ve been doing immoral stuff. We’ve been supporting and endorsing immoral, evil things. Not one person is going to pay for it; the whole country is going to pay for it.

[From Billboard]

I’m not sure if she means the Biden White House was watching her or whether she’s referencing the MAGA cult, honestly – there was some chatter among Democrats when Cardi was, like, hanging out with Bernie Sanders. But the MAGAts hate her and they’re constantly mocking her and criticizing her, so… I just don’t know. I actually agree that we’re witnessing karma unfold on the whole country. As for what she says about mentorship… I know for a fact that she has mentored and advised several younger artists, but there are also rumors that at least one of the younger girls slept with Offset. So I can see how she feels more cautious about who gets advice and who doesn’t.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, cover courtesy of Billboard.

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Want to personalise your rental place? 6 easy decor tips to make it feel like home
Lifestyle

Want to personalise your rental place? 6 easy decor tips to make it feel like home

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Does your rental home feel bland? While lease restrictions may make certain alterations off-limits, that doesn’t mean your interiors have to feel dull. A bare home, lacking warmth, can feel oddly empty and unwelcoming, even affecting your mood. With the right touches, your decor will even make your landlord stop and stare, in a good way, maybe even pick your brain about the creative process.

Smart decor ensures you don’t break any rules while also making your interiors stylish.(Shutterstock)

ALSO READ: Want your home to feel ‘lived-in’? Know the top design and decor tips for comfy interiors

The solution lies in finding creative but reversible ways to personalise your space without inflicting any damage. HT Lifestyle reached out to experts to understand how one can decorate their rented homes safely without permanently affecting the structure.

Ritika Rakhian, founder and principal architect at Urban Mistrii, recommended eight hacks that cover all the essentials, from wall treatments to creating signature corners:

1. Start with movable furniture and decor

  • Furniture is your best ally in adding personality without permanent changes.
  • Invest in versatile pieces that work across different spaces, like modular sofas, nesting tables, and multipurpose storage units.
  • Layer in area rugs to define spaces, add warmth, and hide less-than-ideal flooring.

2. Use temporary wall treatments

  • If painting isn’t allowed, peel-and-stick wallpapers and decals can transform a blank wall instantly and be removed without damage.
  • For renters wary of even that, large-scale art, framed prints, or fabric wall hangings can add colour and texture without touching the paint.

3. Lighting

  • Swap out harsh ceiling fixtures for stylish pendant lights or floor lamps (keeping the original fittings safe to reinstall before moving out).
  • Warm-toned LED bulbs can make your home feel cosier and more inviting.

4. Layer textiles for comfort

  • Soft furnishings like cushions, throws, and curtains are easy to update and move with you.
  • They add colour, texture, and personality, plus, they help soften echoey spaces common in rentals.
  • Opt for curtains that complement your furniture and can be adapted to different window sizes.

5. Bring in greenery

  • Indoor plants instantly make a space feel more lived-in and vibrant.
  • From low-maintenance succulents to statement fiddle leaf figs, greenery adds life and improves air quality without any permanent alterations.

6. Create a signature corner

  • Dedicate one area, whether it’s a reading nook, a home office desk, or a coffee corner, to reflect your personality.

While it is good to decorate your rented space, it’s important to also not go overboard and overstep the rules. Ritika cautioned, “Always review your lease before making changes, and choose updates you can easily reverse when moving out. This ensures you leave the property in its original state and keep your security deposit intact.”

Another expert weighed in on this from a layout perspective. Parul Agarwal, co-founder and director at Renascent Consultants, shared his insights on the spatial aspect of the layout, that is, how you arrange furniture and decor pieces to make your spaces more lively. He said, “Observe how you naturally move through the rooms, how the light enters at different times of the day, and which corners feel most inviting. Simple adjustments, like orienting your furniture to take advantage of natural light or clearing pathways to make movement more intuitive, can transform the experience of living in the space.”

Talking about how one can apply visual interest, he elaborated, “Introduce visual boundaries with rugs, open shelving, or even a folding screen can help carve out dedicated areas for work, dining, or relaxation.”

For a beautiful rental home, these clever hacks make your home feel warm and truly yours without breaching any rules.

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Water From Your Eyes: It’s a Beautiful Place Album Review
Music

Water From Your Eyes: It’s a Beautiful Place Album Review

by jummy84
written by jummy84

As they did on 2021’s concise yet intricate Structure, Water From Your Eyes once again prove that three perfect songs is all that one side of an LP really needs. “Nights in Armor”—written for Amos’ This Is Lorelei and then reworked—shuttles between glinting, Sarah Records-caliber indie pop, metal-adjacent chugging, and atonal skronk; part grunge and part shoegaze, “Born 2” traverses an Escherian staircase of changing keys that summits repeatedly on a note of fist-pumping triumph. Lyrically, it might be the most straightforwardly political thing that they’ve written, but the meaning is as cryptic as ever. For all the song’s promise of limitless possibility (“Born to become/Something else/Something melts”), Brown repeatedly drives home a single word—“psychopath”—like a silvery nail in a varnished coffin.

The second half repeats the format: three proper songs rounded out with two ambient sketches, but this time, one track hogs the spotlight: “Playing Classics,” a madcap dance-punk romp partially inspired by Charli XCX’s “Club Classics.” Its ebullience is almost awkward; its mismatching parts—disco hi-hats, Eurodance bass, too-bright keys, overdriven guitar solo, snatches of vocoder teased and just as quickly abandoned—summed up in the record’s most utopian sentiment: “Practice shake it you’re free.” I suspect it will be the album’s big hit, certainly in a live context. I don’t like it as much as anything on the A-side, but it is, truly, the album’s funniest song.

B-side opener “Spaceship,” though, is another roller coaster of backmasked guitars and shifting time signatures, closer in feel to the A-side’s contorted alt-rock. It’s hard to overstate how effortless Water From Your Eyes make even the most complicated grooves feel, and Brown’s hopeful singing (“So you dream, you build, you change/The cage looks like a window pane”) only adds to the suggestion of weightlessness. The country-fried “Blood on the Dollar,” on the other hand, feels almost like a demo, a bare-bones sketch for fuzzed-out guitar and muted drums. Slipping across slant rhymes and a sidelong Pixies reference, Brown might be singing about the end of empire, or the ennui of life online. The album’s lyrics never reveal anything as clear-cut as the thematic talking points—space, dinosaurs, measuring human existence on a cosmic scale—the duo routinely trots out in interviews, but that’s a point in favor of Brown’s suggestively mysterious writing. The duo’s banter may often resemble low-stakes brainrot, but Brown’s writing reaches beyond stoned dorm-room riffing into places where the punchlines dissolve.

“It’s either nothing is important or everything is important,” Brown recently told Fader; in context, they were talking about the cosmic existentialism that informs It’s a Beautiful Place, but it also feels like a fair assessment of Water From Your Eyes’ almost obsessive attention to detail. One detail in particular sticks out on this captivating, ambitious album: “For Mankind,” the ambient sketch that closes the record, is made of exactly the same sounds as the intro, “One Small Step”—a queasy wash of what might be a whirly tube run through digital processing, or perhaps a family of chipper sea lions. If you listen to the album on a loop, “For Mankind” will blur seamlessly back into “One Small Step,” effectively enclosing you within Water From Your Eyes’ invented universe. A front-row seat for the Amos-Brown mind meld—sprawling, amorphous, hermetic, overwhelming, heartbreaking, funny as hell. It’s a privileged vantage point.

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Water From Your Eyes: It’s a Beautiful Place

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