From humble beginnings to ‘Love & Hip Hop’ and superstardom, Cardi B has experienced a meteoric rise to fame. Here is a complete timeline of her success

1992: Cardi B is born in N.Y.C.

Instagram/ @iamcardib

Born Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar in October 1992 to a Dominican father and Trinidadian mother, The Bronx native got her moniker after going by Bacardi (yes, like the rum) for some time. Cardi B’s younger sister, Hennessy Carolina, also chose an alcohol-inspired nickname.

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2011: Cardi B goes viral

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Cardi B started stripping when she was 19 years old (after getting fired from an Amish supermarket), keeping her decision to dance under wraps from her relatives for years. While dancing, Cardi became an Internet sensation after her videotaped rants went viral on Vine and Instagram.

Later, the “Bodak Yellow” rapper would reveal more details about her pole-dancing days and her mother’s displeasure with her working as an exotic dancer to Cosmopolitan.

“When my mom found out I was a dancer, she was pretty upset,” Cardi told drag queen Naomi Smalls in a video for Cosmopolitan in 2018. “Me knowing that she used to hate it, it didn’t allow me to get comfortable with what I was doing.”

She added, “People say, ‘Why do you always got to say that you used to be a stripper? We get it.’ Because y’all don’t respect me because of it, and y’all going to respect these strippers from now on … Just because somebody was a stripper don’t mean they don’t have no brain.”

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2015-2017: Cardi B stars on ‘Love & Hip Hop: New York’

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Starting in 2015, Cardi B made waves as the “regula, degula, schmegula girl from the Bronx” on Love & Hip Hop: New York, where her personality instantly made her a fan favorite. She had a hard time convincing other cast members that she had talent when it came to music but always had faith that she would eventually make it.

Best known for saying things like, “If a b—- beef with me, we ‘gon beef…foreva” and throwing a shoe at a rival, Cardi only appeared on the show for two seasons, but she is a Love & Hip Hop legend.

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May 1, 2017: Cardi B is rumored to be dating Offset

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In May 2017, rumors began to circulate that Cardi B was seeing Migos rapper Offset after they were spotted enjoying themselves at a Met Gala afterparty. The couple actually had their first date three months earlier at the Super Bowl.

“My first date, I went big,” Offset told guest host Anthony Anderson during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2021. “I wanted to do something that was not normally done, you know what I’m saying? I wanted to have fun … so I took her to the Super Bowl.”

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June 16, 2017: Cardi B releases major label debut single “Bodak Yellow”

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When “Bodak Yellow” was released in June 2017, no one could have predicted how quickly it would catapult Cardi into the spotlight.

But catapult it did! The track became the song of the summer, and when it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July of that year, Cardi made history as the first solo female rapper to hit the milestone since Lauryn Hill did with her 1998 hit “Doo-Wop (That Thing).”

Cardi would go on to earn two Grammy nominations for best rap song and best rap performance for the hit.

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August 28, 2017: Cardi B performs “Bodak Yellow” at pre-show for MTV Video Music Awards

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Cardi B performed “Bodak Yellow” on the red carpet at the MTV VMAs pre-show, giving an iconic interview that made her a meme queen. She also presented a Moon Person at the awards show.

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September 14, 2017: Cardi B attends Rihanna’s Diamond Ball

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Cardi B stunned in her off-the-shoulder ball gown by Christian Siriano at Rihanna’s Diamond Ball. Scoring an invite to the exclusive event meant that Cardi and her robin’s egg blue dress were RiRi-approved.

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October 27, 2017: Offset proposes to Cardi B during a concert in Philadelphia

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Offset proposed to Cardi B on stage during an Oct. 27 performance at Power 99’s Powerhouse concert in Philadelphia, and Cardi accepted.

Though, as we’d later learn from TMZ, the stars were already married at the time of the proposal, having previously tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in Atlanta on Sept. 20, 2017, with only Cardi’s cousin as the witness.

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January 4, 2018: Cardi B is featured on the remix of Bruno Mars’ 2016 single “Finesse”

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In 2018, Cardi and Bruno Mars were “drippin’ in finesse!” Cardi collaborated with the singer on “Finesse (Remix)”, performing the song together at the Grammys on Jan. 28, 2018.

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March 11, 2018: Cardi B’s outfit sparks pregnancy rumors

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Cardi B’s fashion choices got the rumor mill churning as fans suspected she was pregnant. Here, she’s pictured at the iHeart Radio Music Awards (accepting the award for best new artist) wearing a tulle skirt that had everyone talking.

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April 6, 2018: Cardi B releases her debut studio album

In April 2018, Cardi B released Invasion of Privacy, her first studio album, and the record debuted at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart.

The album was highly anticipated, as fans speculated that Cardi would end up being a one-hit wonder.

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April 7, 2018: Cardi B reveals pregnancy during ‘Saturday Night Live’ performance

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The day after Invasion of Privacy dropped, Cardi went on Saturday Night Live and revealed that she and Offset were expecting their first child together. While rocking a tight sheer white dress during her performance of “Be Careful” from the album, the rapper revealed her baby bump.

“I’m finally free,” she said in a video posted on social media following her performance, signaling to the months she spent stylishly hiding her pregnancy amid widespread speculation and rumors.

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April 13, 2018: Cardi B performs at Coachella

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Cardi didn’t let pregnancy slow her down! She werked and twerked all over the stage at Coachella in April 2018. She was joined by special guests G-Eazy, Chance The Rapper, 21 Savage and Kehlani.

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April 19, 2018: Cardi B named one of ‘TIME’s’ 100 Most Influential People

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Cardi absolutely proved the haters wrong as Invasion of Privacy broke all sorts of records.

She was the first woman to have three No. 1 singles on the Billboard chart, it was Apple’s fifth most-streamed album of all time and the album had 100 million streams on Apple Music in its first week.

In 2018, Cardi was also named one of TIME‘s 100 Most Influential People, with actress Taraji P. Henson penning a touching essay on the rapper for the magazine.

“When her mixtape came out, I thought, That’s it. She found it! She’s clear on her talent, and she’s not trying to get in anybody else’s lane,” Henson wrote. “She recorded ‘Bodak Yellow’ because it’s what she loved. Now she’s the biggest thing in music. And even with all those eyeballs watching, she’s still unapologetically herself. Cardi B’s here to stay, baby, and I’m happy to be a witness.”

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May 7, 2018: Cardi B attends the Met Gala

Cardi B at the 2018 Met Gala. Dia Dipasupil/WireImage

You know you’ve made it when you score an invite to the Met Gala. Cardi showed up to the anticipated May event with her husband, Offset, dressed perfectly for the Heavenly Bodies theme.

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July 10, 2018: Cardi B and Offset welcome daughter Kulture

Cardi B and Offset. John Parra/Telemundo/NBCU Photo Bank

Cardi and Offset welcomed baby girl Kulture Kiari Cephus into the world on July 10. She announced the news on Instagram alongside a nude maternity photo. Cardi dropped hints that her little bun in the oven would be a little girl back in May 2018, repeatedly referring to the new addition as “she” when talking to The New York Times.

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August 20, 2018: Cardi B performs at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards

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Cardi B opened the MTV Video Music Awards in 2018, teasing fans with a baby reveal fake-out. She was nominated 12 times that year, taking home three Moon Person trophies, including best new artist, best collaboration and song of summer for “I Like It,” featuring J Balvin and Bad Bunny.

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September 7, 2018: Cardi B and Nicki Minaj get into an altercation

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Cardi and rumored rival Nicki Minaj got into an altercation at the Harper’s Bazaar September party after Cardi B alleged that Minaj was spreading lies about her.

Cardi was elbowed in the head by a security guard and allegedly threw a shoe at Minaj before being escorted out.

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October 1, 2018: Cardi B is charged with allegedly ordering an attack on two bartenders

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Cardi B was escorted out of a New York precinct after turning herself in for allegedly ordering an attack on two bartenders at a strip club in New York. Allegedly, Cardi believed that the women were sleeping with her husband, Offset.

Cardi was charged with two misdemeanors, assault and reckless endangerment. In June 2019, she pleaded not guilty.

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October 9, 2018: Cardi B performs at the 2018 American Music Awards

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But drama with other A-listers and her legal woes didn’t bother the rapper — Cardi continued to dominate the charts and the awards circuit, hitting the 2018 American Music Awards to perform her hit Spanglish single, “I Like It.” Following her co-headlining performance at the Global Citizen Festival on Sept. 29, the AMAs marked the second live performance for Cardi after giving birth. She also thanked her daughter in her acceptance speech after winning favorite rap/hip-hop artist.

“I really want to thank my daughter,” she said. “I was so influenced when I was pregnant with her to be like, I gotta do this; I gotta show people wrong, prove people wrong — because they said I wasn’t gonna make it after I had a baby.”

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December 5, 2018: Cardi B announces split with Offset

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Cardi announced on Instagram in early December 2018 that she and Offset were calling it quits. The decision to end things came after months of infidelity rumors surrounding Offset.

Cardi wrote in the caption, “So everybody been bugging me and everything and you know, I’ve been trying to work things out with my baby father for a hot minute now and we’ve been really good friends and we know we’re really good business partners. And he’s always been somebody I run to, to talk to and we got a lot of love for each other but things just haven’t been working out between us for a long time and it’s nobody’s fault. I guess we just grew out of love but we’re not together anymore. I don’t know it might take time to get a divorce. And I’m always going to have a lot of love for him because he is my daughter’s father and, yea.”

Offset’s comment on the split was a somber, “Y’all won,” directed at the fans.

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December 5, 2018: Cardi B shares first photo of her daughter

Cardi B/Instagram

On the day Cardi announced her split from Offset, she also let the world see her adorable daughter, Kulture, for the very first time.

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December 15, 2018: Offset interrupts Cardi B’s performance with “Take Me Back Cardi” cake

Cardi B and Offset. Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

In an effort to win Cardi back, Offset interrupted her Rolling Loud Festival performance in Los Angeles with a cake that read: “TAKE ME BACK CARDI.”

Fans’ reactions to the incident were mixed, with some supporting the couple and others thinking he was out of line.

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January-February 2019: Cardi B and Offset reunite

Cardi B and Offset. Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock

Offset’s tactics seemingly worked, as rumors swirled of reconciliation after Cardi was caught by TMZ referring to Offset as her “significant other” on FaceTime in February.

The pair, here at the 2019 Grammy Awards, even had tattoo tributes of each other.

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February 3, 2019: Cardi B stars in a Super Bowl commercial

Cardi landed the holy grail of pop stardom: A Pepsi commercial that aired during the Super Bowl.

Cardi starred in the ad alongside Steve Carell and Lil Jon.

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February 10, 2019: Cardi B wins her first Grammy Award

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Cardi received five nominations for the 2019 Grammy Awards. She went home with the award for best rap album, becoming the first female solo artist to win a Grammy in the category.

Before accepting her gramophone and performing the hit single “Money” at the ceremony, Cardi appeared on the red carpet with Offset, showing major P.D.A.

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March 1, 2019: Cardi B breaks attendance record at Houston’s rodeo

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While dominating the tour circuit, Cardi broke another record: According to CBS News, she set an all-time attendance record of 75,580 concert-goers at the Houston rodeo, beating out Garth Brooks.

Cardi also honored Tejano icon Selena Quintanilla-Pérez at the rodeo, revealing in a video shared on Instagram how the late singer inspired her costume and motivated her to power through her performance despite being ill.

“I was so nervous to perform in front of 70,000-plus people, but when i saw this picture, like, out of all the outfits that she [Selena] wore, for me to see this picture with this outfit — this was the inspiration for ‘Please Me’ — I knew I was going to be alright,” Cardi said before ending the clip with a brief snippet of “Como La Flor.”

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May 1, 2019: Cardi B is nominated for 21 Billboard Music Awards

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Cardi B was nominated for 21 Billboard Music Awards (including top artist), the most of the night. She walked away with six statuettes.

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August 26, 2019: Cardi B wins another MTV Video Music Award

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After being nominated for four MTV Video Music Awards, the rapper walked away with a Moon Person for best hip hop video for her hit song, “Money.”

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September 7, 2019: Cardi B’s film ‘Hustlers’ debuts at the Toronto International Film Festival

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Cardi channeled her past as a dancer and made her film debut alongside Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu in 2019’s Hustlers.

“I couldn’t believe I was on set for 16 hours,” Cardi said of the experience. “It’s like, ‘Is this what actors and actresses gotta go through?'”

She elaborated, “Artists, we have long days ,but it’s just full of excitement. We move around, we doin’ something. [Acting], you like, you gotta wait on the trailer until it’s your turn. You gotta do the same scene 20 times.”

Cardi also told Ellen DeGeneres that she had another film in the works, so she must have enjoyed acting at least a little bit!

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October 10, 2019: Cardi B speaks at Vogue’s Forces of Fashion conference

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After taking bold risks with her fashion choices, Cardi B was asked to speak at Vogue‘s Forces of Fashion conference. In the lead-up to the event, Cardi showed off look after look at Paris Fashion Week.

“I’ve worked so hard to be able to get to these shows,” she said at the event. “When it comes to the fashion industry, they don’t care if you’ve got No. 1 hits, all the awards, if you just ain’t stylin’ right, they just ain’t gonna invite you to their shows, they just don’t care. You’ve got to be into it, and you’ve got to have a sense of style. It’s something that you’ve got to prove. It’s taken me years for me to prove it, and I’m finally where I want to be.”

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2019: Cardi B and Offset take a family vacation

Cardi B, Offset and Kulture. Cardi B/Instagram

Cardi was still touring up a storm, but she also took time to enjoy her sweet family. Here she is pictured with Kulture and Offset on a family vacation.

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October 9, 2019: Cardi B appears as a mentor on Netflix’s ‘Rhythm + Flow’

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The “Press” rapper served as a mentor on Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow, where she critiqued and coached aspiring rappers alongside T.I. and Chance The Rapper.

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August 7, 2020: Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion release sexy music video for “WAP”

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion in the “WAP” music video. Cardi B/YouTube

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion teamed up for their explicit “WAP” collaboration and music video. The steamy video featured cameos from Kylie Jenner, Normani, Rubi Rose, Sukihana, Rosalía and Latto. The song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making history as the first female rap collaboration to debut at the top spot.

Following the single’s success, the pair partnered with Cash App to give away a total of $1 million on Twitter, with Cardi encouraging fans to name “a woman you know can use a piece of the $.” Megan added that the partnership was to “celebrate all the powerful women out there.”

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September 15, 2020: Cardi B files from divorce from Offset

Offset and Cardi B. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

After three years of marriage, Cardi filed for divorce, reportedly after discovering that Offset had been unfaithful yet again.

By November, however, the couple called their divorce off, and Cardi was honored with the woman of the year award at Billboard‘s annual Women in Music event.

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December 2020: Cardi B launches new Facebook Messenger series

Cardi launched a Facebook Messenger series titled Cardi Tries, a series of short videos featuring the rapper attempting to master new skills like ballet, basketball and firefighting alongside field experts like basketball star Damian Lillard, country music singer-songwriter Mickey Guyton and actress Michelle Rodriguez.

On a memorable episode, Cardi was joined by Megan Thee Stallion to learn how to play football, which also featured the Los Angeles Chargers.

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March 9, 2021: Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” is certified diamond

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The star’s 2017 single “Bodak Yellow” earned an RIAA diamond certification (10x platinum) in March, making her the first female rapper to reach the achievement.

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June 27, 2021: Cardi B reveals she and Offset are expecting second child

Cardi B and Offset. Johnny Nunez/Getty

The rapper revealed she and Offset were expecting their second child together during her surprise performance with Migos at the BET Awards. Cardi joined the group for “Type S—” wearing an embroidered Dolce & Gabbana bodysuit with a sheer panel in the abdomen area that exposed her baby bump.

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September 4, 2021: Cardi B and Offset welcome son Wave

Cardi B/Instagram

The couple announced the arrival of their second child on Instagram with a photo of the two looking lovingly at their new bundle of joy. They did not reveal their son’s name, Wave Set Cephus, until April 2022.

“9/4/21🦕💙🧸,” Cardi captioned the sweet family photo.

“We are so overjoyed to finally meet our son,” the couple said in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “He is already loved so much by family and friends, and we can’t wait to introduce him to his other siblings.”

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November 21, 2021: Cardi B hosts the American Music Awards

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Cardi B made her award show hosting debut as the host of the 2021 American Music Awards. Before the show, Cardi said, “I’m ready to bring my personality to the AMAs stage!”

She nearly turned the show into a one-woman fashion show with all the outfits she wore during the event.

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September 13, 2022: Cardi B donates $100K to her old Bronx middle school

Cardi returned to her former middle school, I.S. 232, in New York City’s Morris Heights neighborhood for a surprise visit. But that was not all — she also brought a $100,000 donation to the school to financially assist its arts department.

She shared the moment on Instagram with the caption, “I hope my donation can help create an amazing after school program that will help kids stay out the streets or a troubled home and most importantly allow them to learn something that they can take with them through LIFE.”

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November 20, 2022: Cardi B joins rapper GloRilla for surprise performance of “Tomorrow 2” at 2022 AMAS

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At the 2022 American Music Awards, Cardi made her first televised performance since the death of Migos’ rapper Takeoff, who was in the group with her husband, Offset. Cardi made a surprise appearance alongside GloRilla when the duo rapped the debut performance of their hit “Tomorrow 2,” a remix of the Memphis rapper’s “Tomorrow.”

The performance came just days after Cardi made another surprise appearance at Lizzo’s Special Tour concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., to perform their 2021 collaboration, “Rumors.”

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December 1, 2022: Cardi B teases new album for 2023

During an interview on The Breakfast Club, Cardi revealed that her long-awaited sophomore album would be released in 2023 — though she indicated there was more work to do on the project before its release.

“I have no choice … I have to put it out,” she shared. “I have like a couple of songs that are like definite … I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on with me. I need to just make up my mind and put it out.”