Cardi B has intensified her long-running feud with fellow rapper BIA, releasing a teaser for an upcoming music video that directly targets her rival. The clip, shared on social media Sunday, is for the track "Pretty & Petty" and features a pointed lyric challenging BIA's musical catalog.
The move signals a new chapter in a rivalry that has been simmering for over a year, drawing mixed reactions from fans and keeping both artists in the hip-hop spotlight. The conflict's origins trace back to a shared musical sample, but it has since evolved into a series of direct lyrical and social media confrontations.
Key Takeaways
- Cardi B shared a music video teaser for her song "Pretty & Petty," which contains a diss lyric aimed at BIA.
- The feud began in 2023 over both artists using a sample from Missy Elliott's 1999 hit "She’s a B*tch."
- BIA recently stated she intentionally kept any response off her new album, BIANCA, to avoid overshadowing her work with negativity.
- The latest development has generated significant discussion online, with some fans expressing fatigue over the ongoing dispute.
The Latest Shot Fired
The latest escalation in the conflict came via Cardi B's Instagram account. The short video clip promotes her song "Pretty & Petty," a track from her recent project, Am I the Drama?. In the song, Cardi B delivers a line clearly directed at BIA.
The lyric in question is both a challenge and a dismissal:
"Name five BIA songs, gun pointin’ to your head/ Baow, I’m dead."
This taunt directly questions the depth and popularity of BIA's musical discography. By choosing to highlight this specific line in a music video teaser, Cardi B is ensuring the diss receives maximum visibility, moving it from an album track to a visual centerpiece. This strategic move reignites public interest in the feud, which had quieted in recent weeks.
Public Reaction
Fan response to the video teaser has been divided. While some supporters praised Cardi B's confrontational style, many social media users expressed weariness with the ongoing drama. Comments on popular hip-hop news accounts suggest a growing sentiment that the feud has become tiresome and that public attention should be focused elsewhere.
A Timeline of the Conflict
The tension between Cardi B and BIA is not a recent development. The dispute has been building for more than a year, with its roots in a classic hip-hop tradition: sampling. Both artists found themselves in a contentious situation after releasing tracks that sampled the same iconic song.
The Missy Elliott Sample
In 2023, both Cardi B and BIA released songs incorporating a sample from Missy Elliott's influential 1999 hit, "She’s a B*tch." In hip-hop, using the same sample can sometimes lead to friction, as it invites direct comparison and can be seen as a competitive move. What began as a musical coincidence quickly spiraled into a more personal and public rivalry.
Following the releases, a series of subtle and direct jabs were exchanged. These took place across multiple platforms, including:
- Lyrical Disses: Both artists have embedded lines in their songs that are widely interpreted as being aimed at the other.
- Social Media Posts: Vague and direct posts on platforms like Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) have fanned the flames.
- Interviews: Comments made during media appearances have further clarified their positions and deepened the rift.
Hip-Hop's History of Rivalries
Public feuds, often referred to as "beef," have long been a component of hip-hop culture. From the East Coast vs. West Coast rivalries of the 1990s to modern-day social media spats, these conflicts often drive conversation, boost artist visibility, and result in some of the genre's most memorable diss tracks. However, they also draw criticism for promoting negativity and distracting from the music itself.
BIA's Calculated Silence
While Cardi B has chosen to actively continue the feud, BIA has recently adopted a different strategy. In a recent interview, she explained her decision not to include a response track on her latest album, BIANCA, which was released on October 10.
BIA stated that she wanted to protect the integrity of her project. She expressed a desire for her album to be judged on its own artistic merits, free from the "noise or negativity" of a public dispute.
"If I was to ever address it again, I would never attach it to my album, because this is a beautiful body of work that I believe in," she explained. "I wouldn’t want to disservice this and overshadow it."
This approach highlights a strategic divergence between the two artists. While Cardi B appears to be leveraging the conflict for engagement, BIA is attempting to separate her artistic output from the ongoing drama, positioning her album as a body of work that stands above the fray.
A Wider Web of Conflicts
The feud with BIA is just one of several public disputes involving Cardi B. In recent months, she has also been involved in highly publicized exchanges with other prominent figures in the music industry, including JT and Nicki Minaj. This pattern of conflict keeps Cardi B consistently in the headlines, a strategy that has proven effective for maintaining relevance in the fast-paced world of modern celebrity culture.
Alongside her professional rivalries, Cardi B has also shared significant personal news. She recently announced that she is expecting her first child with her new partner, NFL player Stefon Diggs. This announcement was made concurrently with the release of her project Am I the Drama?, blending personal and professional narratives in her public persona.
As the music video for "Pretty & Petty" prepares to drop, the hip-hop community watches to see how, or if, BIA will respond to this latest, very direct provocation.