“Up” by Cardi B

The last track Cardi B dropped prior to this one was WAP (2020). Anyone familiar with that song knows that it is highly-sexual in nature. Well on her forthcoming tracks Bacardi has vowed to make more of an effort to deviate from the well-established hip-hop themes of sex and money and go back to her more-versatile roots. And whereas this song of course has strong allusions to both sex and money, “Up” is more of your general rap-music braggadocio tune.

For instance, one may presume right off the bat that the title, given Cardi’s musical history, may be a reference to her lover’s manhood or something like that. And if a listener decides to interpret the chorus in such a manner, maybe its meaning can be credibly stretched to such a point. But what the rapper is actually referring to is herself. Or looked at alternatively we can say that “up”, as used in this song, is synonymous with highly-successful or widely-popular.

Braggadocious Lyrics

And the verses serve the purpose of allowing Cardi B to prove the point that she is in fact “up”. For instance, the vocalist touts her strong physical attractiveness and powerful sexual wherewithal. And these traits give her the ability to p***ywhip a lover, as some would say.  She also lets it be known that she has plenty of money and owns a lot of jewelry. Additionally she goes about calling out her haters, i.e. rival females who have issues with B but all things considered can’t hang.

And beyond that we can say that the lyrics also provide a glimpse into the artist’s personal ideology, if you will. And yes, there is a whole lotta raunchiness going on. For instance, Cardi states her willingness to have bedroom fun with the “twin” of the man she’s dating. She even goes as far as stating that would “them run a train”, i.e. have ‘fun’ with her simultaneously or directly back-to-back. She also lets it be known, in a more general kinda way, that “broke boys don’t deserve” sex whatsoever.  But we know amidst all of the hardcore lyricism that she is actually a faithful wife to another wild rapper, Offset. So it can be said that all of such talk is primarily for the purpose of shock/commercial value, given the musical day and age that we live in.

Conclusion

So conclusively, “Up” reads more or less like your run-of-the-mill boasting track being presented by yet another multi-millionaire rapper. However, in this case said rapper is in fact a female, and there is also a very strong, sexually-explicit undertone.

Facts about “Up”

Up was officially released on 5 February 2021 via Atlantic Records. It is believed to be the second single from Cardi B’s forthcoming sophomore studio album, which concurrently has no set release date or title. And it is also the first track she’s dropped since WAP, which was one of the biggest songs of 2020 and is believed to be the first single from said album.

At the time of the release of this track, Cardi is one of the most-popular musicians in the world. And her second album isn’t being held up by music executives or the coronavirus or anything like that. Rather as she has explained the situation, despite the fact that she has already laid down “like 50 songs” which can be featured on it, she’s “just not satisfied” yet. But still, she is highly determined to “put out an album this year [2021]”.

And for the record Cardi B’s first album, Invasion of Privacy, came out in 2018.

Fans of Cardi B knew she was working on new music since at least early-October 2020. However, she did not get around to specifically teasing “Up” until 2 February 2021.

The director of this song’s music video is Tanu Muino, a Ukrainian filmographer whom Cardi B specifically flew in from the Ukraine to participate on the project.

Cardi B really does return to her rap roots in this song, as she wrote the entirety of “Up” by herself. And the two producers of the track are Yung Dza and DJ SwanQo. The former is from Serbia, and the latter is an artist whom Cardi has worked with a number of times in the past.

Performance on the Charts

“Up” hit #1 in these countries:

It was also placed in the Top-10 in the following countries: