Missy Elliott Gave Cardi B Killer Advice About Staying True to Herself on Second Album: ‘It’s Time to Experiment’

Gil Kaufman
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Cardi B has been teasing news about her as-yet-unscheduled, untitled sophomore album for months now. The “Bongos” MC hasn’t given any indication of how far in she is or when we can expect the follow-up to her 2018 smash full-length debut album, Invasion of Privacy, but over the weekend she got some killer advice from Missy Elliott about the importance of listening to your inner voice.

During a Twitter discussion on Saturday about the new LP, a fan suggested, “your second album is not the time to be experimenting… maybe the third album but definitely not the second.. just give people what they need. She still needs to win people back.”

More from Billboard

That bit of unsolicited advice elicited a response for legendary rule-breaker Elliott, who responded, “Absolutely yes it’s the time to experiment take it from someone who experimented and many others which allowed them to NOT be BOXED in to one sound and style… I can name tons who each of there albums sounded nothing like the one before [smiley face emoji].”

The sage counsel from Elliott appeared to help Cardi calm her fears, as she replied, “Yeup!!! I’m a little nervous… but I don’t care! I’m liking doing things that my ears want to listen to and reflecting the moods I been in. It feels good.”

Last week, Cardi celebrated the sixth anniversary of Invasion‘s release, while dropping another teaser for her next era. “6 years ago I released my first album and it broke so many records GAH LEE!!” she wrote of the LP that debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and earned a Grammy for best rap album in 2019 while launching the Hot 100 No. 1 singles “Bodak Yellow” and “I Like It.” “6 years later I’m preparing to drop the next one this year.. it’s so different from what everyone is expecting and I’m sooo excited. Love you guys and thank you for the support! I’ll talk to ya soon I been so busy these last few days.”

Cardi dropped the single “Enough (Miami)” on March 15 alongside the Patience Harding-directed video for the track that served as the follow-up to her “Like What (Freestyle).” She’s also featured on the opening track from Shakira’s new Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran album, “Puntería.”

Check out the exchange below.

Best of Billboard