Cardi B may be one of the most outgoing presences in hip-hop, but she doesn’t always feel so confident.

In a vulnerable new interview on the Complex series 360 with Speedy, the Grammy-winning rapper opened up about feeling “afraid” of negative feedback throughout 2023 and spending less time in public as a result.

“I just feel like I lost myself with everything, you know, like, a lot of music commenters and everything and a lot of people just be like, you know, ‘She’s afraid to drop an album, she’s afraid to drop music,’” said Cardi, 31. “Last year, I barely dropped music. It’s just like I was just afraid to do everything.”

Cardi B in Paris in July 2023. 

While the former Love & Hip Hop star hasn’t released a full-length album since 2017’s Invasion of Privacy, she’s remained quite active in subsequent years with hit singles like “Money,” “WAP,” “Up” and “Press.”

Last year, however, she only released one official single where she was the lead artist: “Bongos” with Megan Thee Stallion. According to Cardi, fear was the reason she was less active in public than normal throughout 2023.

“I was afraid to go live, I was afraid to post a picture, I was afraid to go to the club, and then the next day seeing people, what they going to say about me, and everything,” she admitted.

Cardi B performs in Arizona in February 2023. 

Cardi also rarely spoke on political and social issues in 2023, which may have come as a surprise to some fans, as she’s previously conducted interviews with the likes of Bernie Sanders and President Joe Biden.

“I love talking about politics and everything,” she told 360 with Speedy. “I don’t even want to talk about it anymore because I’m just so afraid of just getting dragged every single f—ing day. Like, I’m tired.”

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Lately, Cardi seems to be feeling comfortable enough to be seen and heard more often. She’s released two solo singles in 2024 thus far — “Like What (Freestyle)” and “Enough (Miami)” — and appeared on stage with Madonna at the Queen of Pop’s Celebration Tour in L.A. earlier this month.

Elsewhere in the interview, she spoke about wanting to be more active for her fans and worry less about what others will think. “I should be catering to you, ’cause you’re the ones that put money in my pocket, and you’re the ones that love me,” said Cardi.