Grammy award-winning rapper Cardi B stalwartly partook and completed her Hot Ones episode, posted on YouTube on Sept. 28.
The “Bongos” hitmaker encountered some challenges with the row of hot sauces but managed to power through, tasting each one. Hot Ones host Sean Evans guided her through the iconic challenge while asking her burning questions about her career and personal life. The first few questions addressed her latest “Bongos” track, featuring Megan Thee Stallion. Cardi revealed she wanted to go big with the music video, from the choreography to the ensemble, which featured multicolored bathing suits and feathered headpieces.
The “Money” rapper got excited with the Blistered Shishito and Garlic Hot Sauce, sharing with Sean that she would eat shishito peppers at Nobu, a worldwide upscale Japenese-Peruvian restaurant.
At first bite, Cardi was impressed with the flavor and claimed it wasn’t spicy. Amid Sean’s question regarding her 2018 Invasion of Privacy album, Cardi gave a strange look and called the sauce “a scammer,” feeling an unexpected little kick.
“She’s a little scammer because you weren’t spicy. Now, suddenly, I feel a little tingle in my mouth,” Cardi said.
Following the Los Calientes Barbacoa sauce, Sean asked Cardi about her thoughts on recording a cleaner version of her tracks for pop radio stations.
Cardi B is known to have colorful language in her songs, deeming them inappropriate for airplay, requiring her to have a cleaner version.
The “WAP” co-songwriter admitted that it was an annoying process.
“I just did it like practically two weeks ago,” she said, bringing up “Bongos” as an example. “You know my new song. I be like, ‘N—a, eat this ass like a plum.’ So, I’m doing the clean version, and it’s like, ‘Baby, eat it up like a plum.’ And it’s like, ‘No, you still can’t play that for pop radio.’ I’m like, ‘Baby, eat these peaches and plums.’”
Cardi didn’t like switching the original lyrics to “peaches and plums” because it sounded corny to her, like a Kidz Bop cover.
Sean asked her about her take on aliens and UFOs, which Cardi declared weren’t real because they hadn’t invaded Earth and had plenty of opportunities.
Marshall’s Whiskey Smoked Ghost Haute Sauce had the rapper reaching for the glass of milk beside her.
Sean explained that the sauce tasted good but left an after-effect.
“Yeah, she left some violence behind,” Cardi said of the sauce.
Cardi couldn’t finish answering the question about her hip-hop role models because of the spicy sauce, which contained a Scoville levels of 71,000.
“I feel like my tongue is drunk,” Cardi said. “I can’t even focus on the f—g question…my mouth is hurting!”
Cardi was a whole mode during sauce seven, Ginger Goat’s Tropic Star Hot Sauce (Scoville level 110,000). Feeling the heat on her tongue, Cardi took sips of her milk, exclaiming, “Mmm, but the milk…this is how I imagine my breast milk to taste like.”
Da Bomb’s Evolution Hot Sauce (level 135,600) had the rapper screaming, “When is going to stop,” and chugging her milk.
Eventually, the milk stopped working, and producers handed her a styrofoam bowl of ice cream.
During this part of the Hot Ones interview, Cardi showed her nerd side, talking about her interview with David Letterman. She said sharing a chopped cheese sandwich with the talk show host wasn’t the best part. It was when she got to be in the same room where Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill during World War II to discuss “the nuke.”
Cardi powered through Dawson’s Hot Sauce’s Zuzu 7-Pot but struggled with Hot Ones Hot Sauce’s The Last Dab: Xperience (TBD Scoville level).
Before sharing that there wasn’t a difference between Cardi and Belcalis (her real name), the rapper struggled to breathe and couldn’t conjure an answer after Sean asked about the difference between the two.
“Oh s—t!” Why’s it the more I talk…what the f—k…the more I talk, I feel like it’s burning my mouth.”
She added, “I just wanna go home to my kids. This is crazy!”
Four years before her Hot Ones interview, Cardi’s husband and Migos member Offset guest starred on the show.
Watch the full interview below!
