‘I Want to Be a Legacy’

On Thursday (Sep. 4), Cardi B accepted the 2025 Billboard impact of the year award at the R&B / Hip-Hop Power Players Event in Brooklyn.

Presented by the senior director of R&B / Hip-Hop, Carl Lamarre, Cardi delivered a rousing speech, highlighting her love for hip-hop and building a long-lasting legacy. “Hip-Hop is a feeling. When I was growing up, I didn’t want to be the Shakiras, the J-Los, and the R&B artists; I wanted to be like Trina and Lil Kim. I wanted to be like them.”

More from Billboard

Cardi’s affinity for the culture continued when she spoke on wanting to fulfill her passions for hip-hop as a child growing up, who was once fearful that she would shatter her dreams living situation.

“I’m just so happy that I’m a part of something that I love. I always dreamed about this career — I just felt like with the environment that I was in, dreaming was dreaming. Reality crushes your dreams. So I’m happy that my career is the career that I always dreamed of.”

She added, “I want to be spoken about forever. We talk about all these hip-hop artists who came out 20 years ago and 30 years ago, and I want to be a part of that. I don’t want to be a moment. I want to be a legacy so I can die in peace one day and my kids can be like, ‘That’s my mama.’”

Cardi was one of the handful of artists honored at the 2025 Billboard’s R&B / Hip-Hop Power Players Event. Wu-Tang, a legendary hip-hop group, was inducted into Billboard’s Hip-Hop Hall of Fame, while Leon Thomas, a rising star, earned breakthrough artist of the year. Gelo, Odeal, and Ravyn Lanae, promising newcomers, were each named rookie of the year for hip-hop, african music, and R&B, respectively.

Watch Cardi B’s full acceptance speech.

Best of Billboard

Sign up for Billboard’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.