At some point, folks are gonna stop worrying about how Cardi B spends her money, and Cardi is going to stop rising to take the bait. But today is not that day, and what y’all not about to do is project your racism onto her retail therapy—namely, her extensive and much-written-about collection of Birkins. Anyone familiar with the famed Hermès bag knows they aren’t easy to obtain—or to afford. Variations on the nearly 40-year-old design retail to well over $200,000, making them widely considered a recession-proof investment. But some folks simply can’t believe that a multi-platinum, megastar rapper—who is (still) married to a megastar rapper and exchanges ridiculously expensive gifts (including Birkins) with megastar friends like Megan Thee Stallion and Kylie Jenner—could afford the prohibitively expensive accessory, let alone an ever-increasing collection of them.
As reported by People:
A social media post started circulating that claimed the expensive Birkin bags (which typically range anywhere from $12,000 to $200,000) have “literally lost their value” because female Black rappers make them “easy to get” and less “exclusive.”
Naturally, the always social-media-savvy Cardi caught wind of the post, and decided to make one of her own, via a video on her favorite medium, Instagram.
“I’ve been seeing this tweet, right?” she began. “It had me and it had other female rappers on it. They were talking about if we could get Birkins from the Hermés store and they was also saying how we depreciate the value of a Hermés Birkin bag. I find that really interesting because, first thing first, I definitely could get a bag. Actually, I got four bags today from the Hermés store; that’s one. I don’t wanna brag, but don’t even try it.
“And second of all, why is it that y’all asking female rappers if they could get a bag from the Hermés store? Y’all don’t do this to these white celebrities...so why is it that y’all gotta be asking us? What the fuck? It just makes you want to brag like, ‘Bitch do you know who the fuck you’re talking to?’ But no, I’m not even going to take it there.”
But leave it to the woman who held her own in interviews with both Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden to take the kids to school with some Marketing 101. When addressing the claim that affiliation with her—who, last time we checked, is a well-established fixture in global Fashion Week front rows and is literally hanging on the Louvre as a campaign star for Balenciaga as we speak—somehow diminished a brand’s value, the raptress broke it down like a fraction:
“Another thing is, when y’all say we depreciate the value, actually we add value,” she explained, pointing out the massive sales increases luxury labels like Balenciaga, Louboutin, Versace, and more see each time they are name-dropped in a hit single. “When we mention brands in hip hop, they shit go up...Like hip hop, we start trends,” she added.
But we all know what this was really about—and so does Cardi.
“And another thing is, why when a Black girl, why when a Hispanic girl have a bag, y’all have to question it? Whether, ‘Oh is it fake?’ or ‘She’s a scammer’ or ‘She’s fucking a nigger for it,’” she asked. “There’s a lot of boss-ass bitches out here. There’s a lot of boss-ass bitches that own they own company—there’s realtors, there’s PRs, there’s A&Rs, there’s doctors, there’s dentists, and the list goes fucking on...There’s bitches that’s getting money out here.”
Damn straight—and while Cardi may be well known for an overshare, it’s nobody’s damn business how she or anyone else got their Birkin—not that she thinks a Birkin a “bad bitch” makes.
“Let me tell you something: if you’re a regular girl you don’t gotta break your neck to have a Birkin. A Birkin don’t make you,” she said. “So don’t ever feel like you gotta compare yourself. Don’t compare yourself to nobody [on] the internet. This internet shit is fake...You still a bad fucking bitch. Period.”