Cardi B Explains Why She Reignited Feud With BIA on “Pretty & Petty”

Cardi B has never shied away from addressing her critics directly, and on her new album Am I The Drama?, she puts long-simmering tensions with fellow rapper BIA back in the spotlight. The Bronx star’s biting track “Pretty & Petty” takes aim squarely at BIA, reviving a feud that many thought had fizzled out last year.

During an appearance on The Breakfast Club Friday morning, Cardi explained why she decided to respond again, making clear that BIA’s decision to reference her children: Kulture and Wave, was a line she refused to let slide.

“You mentioned my kids tryna be cute,” Cardi told the hosts. “She did her little diss and it was trash… I could’ve left it at that. But everything on social media is gonna be seen. When my kids grow up one day and they see that you mentioned them, they’re gonna ask me, ‘So what you said? What you did ?’ I’m not gonna tell my kids, ‘I took the high road cause she lost, cause people wasn’t on her side.’ Naw. I’m gonna be like, ‘You see how I violated?’”

The rift between Cardi and BIA stretches back to 2023, when BIA appeared on the remix of Dreezy’s “Bitch Duh.” In her verse, she rapped: “I hear bitches poppin’ sh*t and that’s so funny to me / How you say you runnin’ down but you can’t walk on the beat?” Many fans interpreted the lines as a jab at Cardi, who had previously admitted struggling to catch the flow on Ice Spice’s “Munch (Feelin’ U).”

Cardi responded on the remix of GloRilla and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Wanna Be,” spitting: “Hope she talk like that when I see her / Bitch, please, don’t nobody wanna be ya.”

BIA escalated the back-and-forth with her own diss track, “SUE MEEE?,” where she rapped: “Thought your ass was for the culture, you just tryin’ to ride the wave / You should be home with your kids ’cause bitch, you speak like second grade.” That lyric, which appeared to mock both Cardi’s parenting and her speech, drew backlash online and largely fell flat with listeners. By the end of 2023, the spat appeared to have lost momentum.

On Am I The Drama?, Cardi makes it clear she hasn’t forgotten. “Pretty & Petty” is one of the album’s most aggressive tracks, opening with a dismissive challenge: “Name five BIA songs, gun pointin’ to your head.” Cardi goes on to attack BIA’s career credentials, sneering: “Talkin’ about Kulture, you wildin’,” and “They only book you when they can’t afford Coi .”

The verses are a calculated takedown, suggesting that BIA’s standing in the industry has stagnated. Cardi also mocks the lack of commercial success in her rival’s recent output, rapping: “It’s been two years since you put a number on the board.”

Cardi told The Breakfast Club the feud wasn’t sparked by music alone. She claimed BIA had once accused her of copying her style, leading to an exchange of insults before the two briefly attempted to clear the air. “Listen: I’m not copyin’ you. You’re not a person that I look at or that I’m inspired by,” Cardi recalled telling BIA.

But according to Cardi, the situation escalated when BIA allegedly fueled rumors about her marriage to Offset. “You was tryna mess things up in my home,” Cardi said. “You hated on me so much, and I kept saying prove it. You was doin’ all that sh*t and it was like, ‘Aight bitch, now I got a wet belt for you and you ain’t even gonna know when it’s coming.’”