The pressure’s getting to her. Her insecurity is showing. Cardi’s responding this way to Joe Budden because she knows in the back of her mind there’s truth to what he’s saying. She knows that he’s probably the only hip hop media personality with some respect. It’s been six years since her first and only album came out! It’s been at least three years now of people expecting a follow-up album to drop, and instead she drops singles. And those singles haven’t been getting anywhere near the big streaming numbers she’s been accustomed to. She’s struggling because her formula of repackaging and remaking past hits is getting stale and played out. Not to mention, much more competition in the space of female rappers. This call-out by Joe Budden comes with the territory of being a hip hop star. She’s not above criticism, and it’s naive that she thinks he’s targeting her and uses the word “harass” to describe it. Of course, she’s always gonna get sympathy and coddling by crying to Twitter simps. I’m sure she has one more hit in her, but when you’re becoming more known for being a personality and “hip hop wife” than for any relevant songs, the clock on your fame starts ticking faster and faster.