Cardi B says that before her, “labels were signing female rappers and putting them [on] a shelf”

Cardi B is doubling down on her influence within the female hip hop sphere. In a recent interview for Tidal's Rap Radar series, Cardi B claimed that her success has led to a number of major label deals for rising women rappers. "I feel like after me... it's easier for a lot of female rappers," she said in the video, explaining "Before me, there was no female rapper that was signed to a label. Well, you know, the ones that had been established. Nobody was signing them. Now, everybody's just signing them, if you can rap and you got a couple of followers."

Now, after catching some flack on Twitter for her statement, Cardi is clarifying that she never claimed she "paved the way" for women in the rap game. "Labels were signing female rappers and putting them in a shelf and not focusing on them," she explained on Twitter. "Bitches been rapping, bitches been have talent, but the music industry wasn’t believing... You tell me what rappers was giving features to female rappers? What label was pushing a female rapper? What TV music show was inviting female rappers. Only 2 female rappers for years and one ain’t last too long... now you tell me!" Read her entire thread below.