Fans Are Convinced Cardi B Dissed Ice Spice At Hot 97 Summer Jam But Cardi Thinks They’re Being ‘Messy’

Here we go again. Cardi B has spoken before about how much she dislikes being pitted against “every new female rapper” but that won’t stop fans from looking for signs of friction every chance they get. The latest opportunity came with Cardi’s set at Hot 97 Summer Jam this weekend, where one of Cardi’s background graphics caught fans’ attention and has them thinking that Cardi’s latest target is “Boy’s A Liar” rapper Ice Spice.

During Cardi’s set, she set up her performance of “Tomorrow 2” with a clip from Annie while an illustrated caricature of the red-headed orphan appeared on the screen behind her. Fans seeing this image online decided that this was somehow a reference to Ice Spice because the rapper’s look — which usually consists of bright orange curls styled into an afro — has become so iconic in such a short amount of time. This led to an avalanche of tweets accusing Cardi of spoofing Ice Spice’s look — although, inarguably, Annie did it first.

Of course, it should be noted that the fans driving this particular narrative seemingly all come from a specific fan base (rhymes with “carbs”), while others — including, apparently, the person who created the graphic in the first place, called it out as ridiculous. A video of Cardi defending Ice Spice recently also surfaced as evidence she wouldn’t feel the need to shade the new rap it-girl, even though she recently collaborated with Cardi’s ostensible rival.

Incidentally, Cardi’s verse on “Tomorrow 2” contains a nod to Ice Spice’s breakout hit “Munch,” which Cardi also considered remixing, although she decided later not to put the song out. But Cardi herself went on Instagram Live shortly after her performance to lay the speculation to rest. “Cut the bullsh*t, please,” she said. “Get the mop. Y’all being too messy and y’all being annoying.”

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.