The Breakfast Club – Cardi B Opens Up on Pregnancy, Separation & "Am I The Drama?" Album + Hit-Boy Talks Music, Ye & Alchemist Collab

Date: September 19, 2025
Hosts: DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne Tha God (w/ Lauren LaRosa guest-hosting)
Guests: Cardi B, Hit-Boy

Episode Overview

This lively episode of The Breakfast Club dives deep into the personal and professional lives of Cardi B and superproducer Hit-Boy. Cardi B candidly discusses her pregnancy, her new album "Am I The Drama?", and addresses rumors and realities around her separation from Offset. She offers an unfiltered look at her struggles balancing fame, motherhood, and mental health. Hit-Boy shares hard-won wisdom from his long journey in the music industry, including finally becoming a “free man” after 18 years locked in a bad publishing deal, and teases his upcoming collaborative projects.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Cardi B: Album Release, Motherhood, and Handling "Drama"

[23:17–67:46]

The 8-Year Wait for "Am I The Drama?"

• Challenge of Sophomore Album: Cardi speaks on why it took eight years to drop a follow-up to "Invasion of Privacy," explaining, “It was never because I was pregnant… I'm just very, like, picky… I didn't like nothing. It shouldn't be my second album” (29:35).
• Overthinking & Pressure: She acknowledges overthinking hindered her creativity, especially after initial success: “You just gotta do it... I think I overthinked it” (30:32).

Touring and Mental Preparation

• Family Balance: Cardi reveals that Live Nation wanted her to delay her album and tour due to her pregnancy, but she pushed back: “I’m going to put out my album in September, and we gonna go on tour in February. I got things to do in the summertime” (34:08).
• Physical Preparation: Cardi discusses how prior pregnancies helped her with resilience and preparation for a tour: “My feet hurt every single day. But…if you want this to be successful, you gotta get out there…if I want it, like, it’s like, go get it” (33:28).
• On Having It All: “If I want something, I’m gonna make it happen. It’s really about how bad you want it” (33:28).

Mental Health & Taking Breaks

• Realizations About Burnout: Cardi opens up about failing to recognize her own need for breaks, which sometimes stretched into months off due to overthinking and stress (35:46).
• Impact of Industry Pressures: She points to the immense public scrutiny and online negativity as triggers for her mental health struggles: “When I’m in mental distress, I don’t want to do nothing, but I feel very, like, ain’t nothing really bothering me right now…” (34:08).

Addressing the Drama: Beef, Diss Tracks, and Public Feuds

• Authenticity in Diss Tracks: On why she responded to other artists’ shots: “When my kids grow up one day and…see that you mentioned them, they’re gonna ask me...I’m not gonna tell my kids…I took the high road…No, I’m not saying that to my kids. I’m like, 'You see how I violated'” (41:12).
• Industry Conflict: She breaks down the cycle of artists beefing for attention and how industry insiders can seed damaging rumors about her personal life (42:37).

Sharing Her Truth, Social Media, and Criticism

• Exposing Vulnerability: Cardi admits to sometimes lashing out online, then pulling back: “Sometimes I just can’t help myself. I’m gonna say what I want to say. But sometimes I gotta reserve myself…” (45:12).
• Why Select Where She Sits for Interviews: “Why am I gonna go to podcasters that I don’t like?…You contribute to my pain, you contribute to my pressure…So why am I gonna sit down with your ass?” (61:41).

On Motherhood, Family, and the Meaning of Success

• Life Lessons from Motherhood: “Motherhood is hard no matter how much money you have, no matter how much you plan. It makes me not wanna lose anything” (46:03).
• Resilience as a Parent: “I don’t want to be a quitter. I don’t ever want my kids to be like...‘Why you ain’t did this?’...if people are being mean…you automatically quit?” (46:03).

Love, Separation, and Moving On

• Current Relationship Status: On Offset and divorce: “No, it’s not peaceful at all. It is not. I can’t even talk about it because it’s like…a court thing” (48:08).
• Loving Again: “I will get married again…but not as quick as I got married the last time. It’s really a lot. It’s actually disgusting” (49:31).
• On Dating Again: Navigating vulnerability and fear after public breakup. “Dating is scary. Being vulnerable with a person again after what you went through is what you were scared of…” (53:04).

Notable Quotes:

• “If you want it bad, you get up and you go get it. Ain’t no complaining. Ain’t no crying about it...This is what you chose…it is what it is.” (33:28)
• “I like people that make me feel good…if I don’t like you, why am I sitting down with you? To prove what point?” (62:35)
• “I always feel like people…pick on me or something…Why am I always the drama? Am I the one? Is it me?” (66:09)

2. Hit-Boy: Breaking Free, Music Industry Lessons, and New Projects

[75:09–96:34]

18 Years in a Bad Deal, Now a Free Man

• The Long Grind: Hit-Boy details signing at 19—locked in for 18 years: “I was in my deal for 18 years…July 1, 2025, I woke up feeling like a new man. The pressure, that dark cloud is just gone now.” (83:02)
• Depression & Therapeutic Growth: “I didn’t realize I was depressed…my therapist made me realize I never had boundaries…that’s why I was handing everybody the same lifestyle” (83:02).
• Music Industry Realities: “I didn’t even know I was in a bad deal till I made 'N****s In Paris'…then I’m like, where the real money at?” (75:39)

Business, Boundaries, & Getting Help

• On Not Knowing, Asking for Help: Hit-Boy credits Jimmy Iovine: “I told him, ‘I don’t know nothin’ about none of this’…He said, ‘That’s the smartest thing you ever said,’ everything I do, you can learn” (76:50).
• Jay-Z, Roc Nation's Role: “Jay Z and Desiree Perez…stepped in and got me out my deal. The best we could do was run down my contract to July 2025, so I did the last four years” (82:20).

Giving Back and Expansion

• Starting a Foundation: “The Next Hits”—to help underserved youth with incarcerated parents understand music business and production (94:13).
• New Projects:
  • Album & film collaboration with Alchemist (drops Oct 24).
  • Solo album "Software Update."
  • Expands into horse racing and film.

On Resilience and Mindset

• Enduring Dark Periods: “Man, bro, I was…depressed for years…Stuff like that, just trying to put pressure on artists, maybe if I make a bigger song, I can get out this deal…” (93:27).
• Closing the Circle: “Is my circle small now? It’s like a dot…more condensed, right people around me who care for me” (83:39).

Notable Quotes:

• “I just feel like I made it when I got out my deal” (82:03)
• “I feel refreshed, I feel like I just started, though…with more knowledge, way smarter, way flyer, way richer” (86:15)
• “I sacrificed. I was giving up like 40% of my money at that time…me being associated with Ye, a lot of good came from that too” (92:24)

3. Community, Work Culture, and Listener Engagement

[6:00–22:33]

• Listeners call in and discuss work-life challenges, working with people they don't like, and balancing mental health and family.
• Notable moment: Encouragement for therapy and open communication within families impacted by loss (14:32–17:12).
• Candid conversations around vulnerability in men and evolving gender roles at work (8:29–10:45).

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Cardi B (on drama):
  “I always feel like people…pick on me or something… Why am I always the drama? Am I the one? Is it me?” (66:09)
• Cardi B (on motherhood):
  “Motherhood is hard no matter how much money you have…It makes me not wanna lose anything.” (46:03)
• Cardi B (on work ethic):
  “Ain’t no complaining. Ain’t no crying about it...This is what you chose…it is what it is.” (33:28)
• Hit-Boy (on freedom):
  “I feel like I made it when I got out my deal.” (82:03)
• Hit-Boy (on therapy):
  “I didn’t realize I was depressed…my therapist made me realize I never had boundaries.” (83:02)
• Charlamagne tha God (on choices):
  “The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice. And I make better choices than you.” (70:10)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [23:17–67:46]: Cardi B Interview – Pregnancy, album, personal growth, marriage, motherhood, beefs, mental health.
• [75:09–96:34]: Hit-Boy Interview – Music journey, industry lessons, deals, Roc Nation, new projects, personal growth.
• [6:00–22:33]: Listener Calls – Working with people you don’t like; community.
• [67:46–75:09]: Donkey of the Day – An impassioned monologue on “prison math” and life choices by Charlamagne.
• Miscellaneous: Several commercial/intermission breaks (skipped in this summary).

Tone & Language

The tone is raw, honest, and at times humorous, with the hosts and guests providing candid, sometimes vulnerable insights. Cardi is real and relatable, unapologetically herself. Hit-Boy is calm, reflective, and eager to share hard-earned lessons.

Conclusion

This episode of The Breakfast Club spotlights the cost of vulnerability, the struggle for autonomy in the industry, and the personal stakes behind public personas. Cardi B’s second album is more than music; it’s a chronicle of her struggles and triumphs as a mother, artist, and woman in the public eye. Hit-Boy’s revelations underscore the need for ownership, support, and mental health care in creative careers. Both guests remind listeners that growth means facing the drama, setting boundaries, and, above all, owning your story.