6 min read
Major Takeaways
- 50 Cent called Cardi B a hit on the October 13 episode of The Crew Has It and said she escaped what he calls the Love and Hip Hop graveyard.
- He argued the reality show was a dead hip hop section where struggling artists went to be seen, but Cardi turned comedy and charisma into a bulletproof career.
- Cardi left Love and Hip Hop New York after two seasons, then took Bodak Yellow to number one and became a Grammy winner.
Cardi B has heard the praise before, but it hits different when it comes from Curtis Jackson. On the October 13 episode of The Crew Has It, 50 Cent gave Cardi B her flowers for doing what almost nobody else has done. She walked out of reality television and built one of the biggest rap careers in the world.
He did not sugarcoat his view of the franchise that launched her. 50 Cent called Love and Hip Hop the graveyard and the dead hip hop section. In his view, it was the place artists went when their careers were dying. Cardi B was the exception who came out alive.
What 50 Cent Said on The Crew Has It
The conversation started with talk about hit records. Co host Gianni Paolo brought up Sexyy Red. Then 50 Cent turned to Cardi B and broke down why her path was so rare.
He said both Cardi and Sexyy Red embrace street culture and stay entertaining to watch even without a hit record. He argued they were already going viral just by being themselves.
Then came the line everyone is quoting. 50 Cent said, “Cardi’s from the graveyard. She came out the graveyard, bro. Love and Hip Hop. Everybody that was there was dying. That was the dead hip hop section.”
He explained that the people who could not expect hit records went to the show to be seen. But Cardi, he said, was funny and unfiltered in a way that made her bulletproof. Her comedy became her armor.
From the Bronx to the Center of Reality Television
Cardi B was born Belcalis Almanzar in the Bronx. Before television, she worked at a supermarket and later as an exotic dancer in New York clubs.
She built a massive following on social media with funny and brutally honest videos about relationships, money, and everyday life. Hundreds of thousands of followers arrived before she ever recorded a hit.
On December 14, 2015, she debuted on season six of Love and Hip Hop New York. The season also featured Remy Ma, Papoose, and Mariahlynn.
Her confessionals, facial expressions, and take no prisoners attitude made her a breakout star. Fans loved that she never seemed worried about how she looked to other people.
But behind the cameras, she was serious about rap. Her storyline with New York radio personality DJ Self showed the tension around her early music ambitions. When he hesitated on her career, she kept recording anyway.
In February 2016, she released Stripper Hoe. Then came her debut mixtape Gangsta B Music Vol 1 on March 7, with the track Foreva introducing a harder sound.
The Exit That Changed Everything
By the time season seven premiered on November 21, 2016, Cardi was outgrowing the show. On December 29, 2016, she announced she was leaving Love and Hip Hop New York after two seasons.
She said on Instagram that the decision had nothing to do with a feud with creator Mona Scott Young or a money dispute. She wanted to focus on her music career because her schedule was about to explode.
She was right. On January 20, 2017, she released her second mixtape Gangsta B Music Vol 2, featuring Lick with Offset. In February 2017, she signed a recording deal with Atlantic Records.
Then came June 16, 2017. Cardi released Bodak Yellow. The record climbed the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one in September 2017. She became the first solo female rapper since Lauryn Hill in 1998 to top the chart without a featured artist.
Her debut album Invasion of Privacy arrived in April 2018 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. It won Best Rap Album at the 2019 Grammy Awards, making Cardi the first solo female rapper to win the category.
Why 50 Cent Keeps Giving Cardi Her Flowers
This is not the first time 50 Cent has praised her. In a 2023 interview with Billboard, he called Cardi the American dream. He pointed to her rise from Club Lust in Brooklyn to marriage, motherhood, and superstardom.
He said she got everything fast and that he did not know why anybody would not want to see that story. Coming from a man who built a television empire with Power, that respect carries weight.
Her second album Am I the Drama arrived in September 2025. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 200,000 equivalent album units in its opening week. That gave her two consecutive chart topping studio albums nearly a decade after she left reality television.
She is now working on an album slated for 2027. Her single AH HA debuted at number 25 on the Hot 100 in July 2026, proving she still moves the culture. For more on the biggest names in the game right now, read Drake Breaks Billboard Record With 18th No. 1 Hip Hop Album.
What This Means for Black Women in Hip Hop
Here is the part 50 Cent left unsaid. Love and Hip Hop, created by Mona Scott Young, a Black woman executive, became one of the most watched franchises on cable by centering Black stories. Critics mocked it. Millions of Black viewers tuned in anyway.
Cardi B understood the assignment better than anyone. She used the platform without letting the platform use her. She arrived with her own audience from social media. She left on her own terms. Then she built an empire that eclipsed the show.
That matters because Black women in entertainment are so often told to be grateful for any stage. Cardi showed a different blueprint. Take the exposure. Build the brand. Walk away when the ceiling gets too low.
50 Cent called her bulletproof. In a business that chews up Black women and spits them out, that word means something. Comedy was her shield. Authenticity was her sword.
Her story also says something about ownership. Reality television pays in exposure and drama. Music pays in masters, tours, and legacy. Cardi chose the long money, and the culture is still paying her for it.
For more stories about Black creatives reshaping the industry, see Streaming Wars: How Black Creatives Are Winning Big in 2025 and The Disciple Brings Wu Tang Secret Album Saga to Netflix.
