Meaning of “JEALOUSY” by Cardi B & Offset
For those who may not know, Offset and Cardi B are married and have been since 2017. By that time both had already made a name of themselves as A-list rappers, with the former being down with Migos and the latter, a soloist. The pair have also collaborated musically a few times throughout the years, seemingly dating back to the 2017 remix of Offset’s track “Lick”.
As for “Jealousy”, it came out on 28 July 2023 via Motown Records (which is one of the labels that Offset is signed under) and was first teased in early April of this same year. Upon release, it immediately hit, i.e. topping the Hot Trending Songs chart which was published by Billboard the following week. As explained, what that means is that this song proved especially popular on Twitter.
The Lyrics of “Jealousy”
As implied earlier, Cardi B and Offset are a celebrity power couple. Along with that status comes the reality that every once in a while, gossip sites will start publishing articles insinuating that they’re breaking up or what have you.
Such recently transpired amidst cheating rumors, which this song is meant to address, as verified by the way Offset teased the track a couple of days prior to its release.
To note, Hollywood A-lister Jamie Lee Curtis participated in said teasing, as she does the intro of this song, by taking on the role of an interviewer. And when she brings up the topic of “the drama between” the rapper and his “beautiful wife”, ‘Set opts to “talk about some music” instead, i.e. focusing on the task at hand.
Thereafter the motif or subject of the song is set, via a sample of Three 6 Mafia’s track “Jealous Ass B*t*h” (2000), in which the addressee is called out for fitting such a description, i.e. being a “jealous ass b*t*h”.
In context, said “b*tch” is not a gender-based term per se. So at the beginning of the first verse, we see Offset directly speaking to a “hating ass n*-ga”, which is synonymous with a “jealous ass b*t*h” since, in the world of hip-hop, jealousy is recognized as being the main source of hatin’.
And relatedly, the rest of this extended verse has the rapper throwing salt on the wound of haters by referencing his wealth and success, while portraying his haters as belonging to a weaker lot. Or viewed from a different angle, ‘Set feels that such individuals have compelled him to ‘bring the beast out’, i.e. respond to them in such a confrontational manner, which he does via braggadocio and threats.
Cardi B
Meanwhile, in her verse Cardi B focuses on her female haters. In the process, she advises them that instead of being preoccupied with what’s going on in her marriage, they should instead be more concerned with who their own respective men are sleeping with.
She also alludes to such rumors in her life being sourced from Atlanta, which is likely an acknowledgement of her rivalry with celebrity gossiper Tasha K, who was perhaps the main figure behind the recent Offset cheating rumors.
And to make a long story short, B goes about implying that the reason she has such rivals is due to b*t*hes being jealous of her wealth and associated fashion sense, as they don’t have the resources to match.
Also, as buttressed in the outro, she presents her opps as being the types who talk sh*t behind her back, but when they see Cardi in person they ‘act so different’ or “duck”. Or another way of interpreting what’s being put forth is as Cardi’s way of arguing that she doesn’t really take her rivals seriously, as they aren’t on her level.
“Mafia, mafia, mafia, mafia
Jealou—, jealous, jealou—
Jealous a—bi—h
What the f–k these bi–hes talking ’bout, man?
Mafia, mafia, mafia, mafia
I mean, who’s tellin’ us what?
Jealou—, jealous, jealou—
Jealous a—bi—h
Bardi”
Composers of “Jealousy”
The producers of this track are Jahaan Sweet, OZ and Boi-1da who, as is sorta standard these days, are also given songwriting credit. The other writers of the song, beside its two vocalists, are as follows:
- Billie Holiday
- Arthur Herzog Jr.
- Juicy J
- DJ Paul
As of this writing, it is not clear why mid-20th century songstress Billie Holiday (1915-1959) is credited as a co-writer of “Jealousy”, and the same goes for Arthur Herzog Jr. (1900-1983), who was one of her regular collaborators. As for Juicy J and DJ Paul, they are both members of the aforementioned Three 6 Mafia. But according to a number of sources, they are acknowledged as co-writers of this song because “Jealousy” officially samples “Out There” (1999) by Project Pat, which the pair produced.
