Be Careful

Album: Invasion of Privacy (2018)
Charted: 24 11
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Songfacts®:

  • Cardi B and Offset started dating in early 2017, with the Migos member proposing later in the year. However, rumors of Offset's cheating later emerged after an alleged sex tape surfaced of him with another woman. Many fans have interpreted this song as the Bronx rapper warning her fiancé not to stray.

    You gon' gain the whole world
    But is it worth the girl that you're losin'?
  • During the first verse, Cardi utilizes pop culture and music references to emphasize her desire for commitment. "I wanna get married, like the Curries, Steph and Ayesha s--t," she raps. "But we more like Belly, Tommy and Keisha s--t. Gave you TLC, you wanna creep and s--t. Poured out my whole heart to a piece of s--t."

    Speaking in the April 2018 issue of Cosmopolitan, Cardi described the pressure put on to end her relationship with Offset over his alleged infidelity.

    "It's like everybody is coming down my neck like, 'Why are you not leaving him? You have low self-esteem,'" she said. "I don't have low self-esteem... I know I look good. I know I'm rich, I know I'm talented. I know I could get any man I want - any basketball player, football player. But I want to work out my s--t with my man, and I don't got to explain why."
  • Lauryn Hill gets a songwriting credit as Cardi B interpolates part of the Fugees' singer's 1998 single "The Ex Factor" for the bridge. Cardi admitted to being nervous about Lauryn Hill's reaction to the song.

    "If she didn't approve it, it a no-go for it," she told Beats 1's Ebro Darden.

    However, once Hill gave the go-ahead, she felt honored. "Not only was I relieved, I was like I cannot believe Lauryn Hill approved this record. For her to approve, it was the biggest stamp to it," she said. "Nobody could talk s--t about this record to me because the sensei approved it."
  • Despite the widespread interpretation among fans hat the lyrics are about her relationship with the Migos rapper, Cardi B told Ebro Darden this is not the case. "I was talking about things that I relate to," she said. "I heard the record before I was even in love with Offset."
  • The song's music video, directed by photographer and designer Jora Frantzis, evokes the infamous desert church ambush from Kill Bill. Not unlike the Quentin Tarantino classic movie, the clip tells the story of Cardi getting her revenge on an unfaithful partner.

    "It was one of the hardest videos I ever did because it was in the desert, like the middle of nowhere, and bitch I was so hot. I never sweat and I was sweating that day," Cardi shared on Instagram.

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