Cardi B returns today with “Like What (Freestyle),” her first solo single in just over three years. Produced by DJ SwanQo, Sean Island, OctaneThisThatGas, and Lateef the Truthspeaker, “Like What” samples Missy Elliott’s 1999 single “She’s a Bitch,” which is fitting, since Cardi taps into Missy’s spirit of feisty self-empowerment. Naturally, “Like What” debuted inside the Top 10 on the Genius Top Songs chart.
In the song’s intro, Cardi acknowledges that she’s been away for a while. After a whole mess of collaborations, including last year’s “Bongos,” with Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi is back to blast us with her personality and spice up the rap game.
Ayo, let me put some gas in this motherfuckin’ year, bitch
I ain’t really talked my shit in a minute
Like who the fuck these bitches really think they talkin’ to?
Like, bitch, is you fuckin’ dumb?
In the chorus that follows, Cardi refers to herself as “classy and a cunt.” Lounging in Yves Saint Laurent, she offers some choice words for anyone who’d dare to cross her.
Bitch said she wanna be my opp, God bless (God bless)
Look, I ain’t even got dressed
Any L that I took, come after YS
Oh, man (Oh, man)
To start the first verse, Cardi raps about two of her foes who’ve become allies. She doesn’t name either of these individuals, but as Genius user @cantstopthebeet points out in an annotation, Cardi may be referring to City Girls rapper JT and her recent support for Nicki Minaj.
First, that bitch hate me, then this bitch hate me
And somehow, they link up and they become friends, like, how?
Bitch, pipe down (Pipe down)
Moodboard, all y’all imitatin’ my style (Mm)
It’s possible Cardi takes another shot at Nicki at the end of the verse. While Cardi is seemingly talking about fashion and bragging about how she wears everything five years before everyone else, it’s worth noting—as @cantstopthebeet does—that Cardi’s first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 came with “Bodak Yellow” in 2017, five years before Nicki scored her first solo chart-topper with 2022’s “Super Freaky Girl.”
You dumb, you slow, you wildin’ (You wildin’)
Got your first pair of Ricks, now you stylin’? (You stylin’)
Everything you got, I had five years before
I put it on the ’Gram (Haha, haha) ’fore it even hit the store, look
The most memorable line of the second verse comes right at the top, where Cardi manages a hilarious rhyme for “Stone Cold Steve Austin.”
I know y’all bitches be horsin’ (Horsin’)
Lookin' this good is really exhaustin’ (Exhaustin’)
Diamonds hit, Stone Cold Steve Austin (Brr)
Just got my lasered pussy smooth like a dolphin (Ah)
“Like What (Freestyle)” arrives with a music video directed by Cardi’s estranged husband, Offset. The clip features Cardi parading around a mansion in skimpy, glamorous outfits, and it ends with the words, “This is just the beginning… Stay tuned.” Could this mean the eagerly anticipated follow-up to Cardi’s 2018 debut album, Invasion of Privacy, is finally on the way?
You can read all the lyrics to “Like What (Freestyle)” on Genius now.
