โYou can do positive things, but you can also be yourself. Iโm a very sexual person. I love sex, and I like to rap about it,โ ๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ told Billboard
๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ is opening up about the pressures of life in the spotlight.
In herย Billboardย Woman of the Year cover story, the rapper, 28, defended her status as a role model after detractors โ including conservative pundits Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens โ criticized her for the sexually charged lyrics in her hit โWAP.โ
โAm I a role model? I know Iโm a role model because I know thereโs a lot of women like me,โ ๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ said. โAt the end of the day, I know Iโm a bitch that made it through because I work my ass off, not because luck fell on my thighs.โ
โI want to show people that you can do positive things, but you can also be yourself,โ she continued. โIโm a very sexual person. I love sex.โ
๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ explained that she also liked to rap about sex in her music.
โI admire my husbandโs penis. I love pโy, and I love my body, and I want to be able to express that,โ she said. โIโm just a naughty girl, and Iโm not hurting nobody because I love my pโy and want to rap about it.โ
๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ (nรฉe Belcalis Marlenis Almรกnzar) then went on to address the double standards female artists still face in the industry.
โI donโt want to be like, โOh, female artists, we have it hard,’โ she said. โBut we do fโing be having it mad hard! I could be bumping to one bitchโs music, and the next day, people are telling you, โOh, this girl is better than ๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ. Sheโs gonna end ๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ.โ I hate that yโall do that. Why do you want me to argue and not like this girl?โ
โNโs be out here doing the most, being disrespectful, [but] just the other day, I was getting chewed up because I said the R-word,โ she added. โLike, how you gonna cancel me for calling myself rโded? They want you to be Mother Teresa, they want you to put out music, and they want you to look a certain way. Itโs like, โYโall gotta chill โ Iโm just a regular-degular bitch, man.’โ
๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ also recalled the criticism she faced for not putting out music for nearly a year.
โThroughout those 10 months, I kept seeing thousands and thousands of comments and tweets like, โSheโs over. Sheโs a flop. Sheโs done with.โ People tried to erase me,โ she said. โAnd Iโm like, โDamn, thatโs not fair. Iโm taking a little break!โ If I put out bad music, Iโm gonna get called a flop, and if I take my time, people are saying Iโm over. Thatโs not fair.โ
Before she dropped โWAPโ featuring Megan Thee Stallion, ๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ said she โjust hoped it would debut in the top 20.โ It ended up far exceeding her expectations, becoming a multiplatinum success, spending four weeks at No. 1 on theย Billboardย Hot 100.
โIt did better than I even thought it would,โ ๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ said. โI was crying and sโ. When I heard Meganโs verse, Iโm like, โOh, sโ. Sounds even better now. Woo!โ I had this song for almost a year. I said Iโm a Libra, so you know Iโm very indecisive. The guys around my team liked other songs because theyโre more gangsta. When I linked up with Megan and it was time for me to send her a song, I was like, โThis has to be the song. Thereโs no other song that makes sense for me to put her on. This girl is freaky-deaky โ I know sheโs gonna kill it,โ and she did.โ
โWhen female artists are rising, you donโt have to put one down because the others are rising,โ she added.
When fans celebrated the election of Joe Biden by singing โWAPโ outside the White House last month, ๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ said it was a โbig victoryโ for her and Megan.
โIโm so used to listening to raunchy female rap music since I was a little girl โ Trina, Khia, Lilโ Kim, Jacki-O, Foxy [Brown],โ she said. โโWAP,โ to me, was just a regular raunchy female rap song, but it caused so much controversy โฆ So it was just a victory for me seeing people celebrating Bidenโs win with my and Meganโs song. Power of the pโy, ya heard?!โ
When asked if sheโs opening herself up on her forthcoming second album as she does on social media, ๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉsaid, โKinda sorta.โ
โWhen it comes to me writing or putting ideas of my personal life [in the music], I get really shy,โ she said. โWhen I perform songs like โBe Carefulโ or โRing,โ I usually close my eyes because I get really shy about showing that lovey-dovey side. Even to my engineer, I start giggling. I be like, โOh, my God, I canโt. This is so embarrassing.’โ
โWhen it was time to get more creative with my love side or my R&B side, I was like, โThis makes me feel weird and uncomfortable,’โ she later added. โIโm getting better at it. I have one song that is very personal and deep. Itโs with another female artist, but even when I was recording it, I had to take a lot of breaks. I was looking at my engineer and he was looking like, โYeah, ๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ, I feel you.’โ
The only song ๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ said ever made her cry was one written while she was pregnant with her now 2-year-old daughter Kulture Kiari, whom she shares with husband Offset.
โIt was about my daughter,โ she said. โI just felt like, โCan you guys stop looking at me recording this? Matter of fact, stop!โ I really wanted to put the song out, but I was pregnant and had a really bad cold, so I didnโt sound right. My nose was just too stuffy. Putting it out now [would just be] weird because Iโm not pregnant anymore.โ
While ๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ said 2020 has been โa bad yearโ for work with the coronavirus pandemic, sheโs been relishing in the quality time with her family.
โI feel like I havenโt laughed like I have in 2020,โ she said. โMy daughter is so funny, and Iโm with her every single day. Thatโs what brings me happiness โฆ Iโm not gonna front, Iโve been really happy. I gained weight โ thatโs how happy I am.โ
VIDEO: