Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion put on one of the wildest Grammy Awards performances ever, on Sunday night — which marked the duo’s first live performance of their No. 1 hit, “WAP“. The duet included seductive choreography and a larger-than-life bed, which served as a cozy (and safe) base for the rappers’ to roll around on. Seriously, at one point, they intertwined their bodies in a twisted move that we wouldn’t recommend trying at home.
First Megan, who won her first Grammy just moments before (and after!) she took the stage, performed solo to her hit “Savage”, featuring Beyonce — who didn’t join her on stage, despite sitting in the celebrity-filled audience with husband, JAY-Z.
REAL HOT GIRL SH*T 🔥 @theestallion #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/3F7FgUJOQm
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) March 15, 2021
Cardi then transitioned into her hit “WAP”, featuring Meg, who appeared on stage for her verse and absolutely crushed it. In the latter half of the performance, the pair pranced up a set of stairs to a massive bed, where they twerked and performed sexy choreography with the help of masked backup dancers.
*Sings*
🎶I don't cook, I don't clean
But let me tell you how I got this ring (Ayy, ayy)🎶 #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/ZkYX2X9tSl— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) March 15, 2021
After Megan nailed her Grammys gig, Cardi emerged on stage in a silver robot-style bra top and short bottoms to perform her new song “Up“. She sang the radio-edited version due to the song’s NSFW lyrics, some of which include: “Came from a b–ch who n—a wanna f–k on me” and “Broke boys don’t deserve no p—y (I know that’s right!)”
Ahead of the 2021 Grammy Awards, Cardi took to Twitter to honor some of this year’s lesser-known nominees. The Grammy-winner even alluded to the controversy surrounding the Grammys and artists, including The Weeknd and Zayn Malik, citing snubs and other issues with the Recording Academy.
How I feel bout the Grammies .Don’t forget to congratulate the small black artist that got nominated that got overshadowed again cause of the drama .It’s their moment finally ! pic.twitter.com/uoSJtG1aqi
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) March 13, 2021
“How I feel bout the Grammies,” she wrote above a lengthy explanation in a series of notes. “Don’t forget to congratulate the small Black artist that got nominated that got overshadowed again cause of the drama. It’s their moment finally!”
Cardi explained, “I do feel that there were some albums and songs that should have been considered for nominations, maybe next year they will get it right. However, let’s not forget the Grammy’s nominated soo many independent Black artists this year that don’t get the exposure by blogs, magazines, and other award shows.”
She went on to name-drop artists including, Chika, Royce 5’9”, Freddie Gibbs, Jay Electronica, Kaytranada, Brittany Howard, Free Nationals, D Smoke, Thundercat, and more. Cardi continued, “It’s frustrating sometimes to work and work on your craft and you feel overlooked because you might not look like others, are not mixxy, so you not always around other artists, you rap or sing about different material, you stay out of drama and the media or yet still not as popular,” she wrote, noting, “However you’re talented ass f–k and one day you wake up and you find out you’re nominated and got a notice from one of the biggest award shows purely cause of your TALENT!”
Despite not being nominated for a Grammy in 2021, Cardi already has a coveted award under her belt. She took home the Grammy for Best Rap Album in 2019, for her debut album Invasion Of Privacy. Since then, the rapper has been busy working on a number of different projects, including her sneaker collaboration with Reebok. She’s previously noted that the COVID-19 pandemic put a damper on a portion of her music plans in 2021.
In a recent interview with Mariah Carey (via Interview magazine) — in which Cardi, 28, poses completely nude on the cover — the rapper discussed her forthcoming second album. The artists also discussed collaborating on a song, and it was Mariah who proposed the idea. She suggested, “… one of these days, can we do a song together?”, to which Cardi replied, “I would love that. I would love to do a record that touches souls.”
Meanwhile, Cardi teased her sophomore album and admitted, “I feel like I’m missing some songs. Everybody’s rushing me to put it out, but I don’t know if it’s the right time.” Mariah later asked if Cardi’s new album will feature any relationship or emotional tracks like her song, “Be Careful” (Invasion of Privacy). The track was initially inspired by Cardi’s tumultuous marriage with Migos rapper, Offset.
“I do have a song like ‘Be Careful'” [on the new album], Cardi teased, “but I think it’s more personal.” She explained, “People were saying, ‘You need to be softer. You need to talk more about yourself.’ And I was telling them that it’s really hard for me to do love records and express myself like that because I never do that. I don’t talk about love and sh-t.”