Kanye West, known as Ye, March 11, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)/Cardi B on Sept. 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
In a leaked 2018 documentary, Kanye West, now known as Ye, made controversial claims suggesting that Cardi B is an industry plant manipulated by the Illuminati, a secret society often associated with conspiracy theories. The resurfaced footage has sparked a public exchange between the two musicians.
The documentary footage captured Ye claiming that Cardi B, propelled to fame by her hit single “Bodak Yellow,” was a creation of the Illuminati and that her rise to stardom was not genuine. “Cardi B is a plant by the Illuminati,” Ye said in the video.
He said she was brought to the forefront to replace Nicki Minaj and that her lyrics are being used to promote ignorance. Ye said Cardi, “doesn’t write her raps. She just there to sound as ignorant as possible and then make songs like, ‘f—k them and get some money’”
He also mentioned Corey Gamble, the boyfriend of his former mother-in-law Kris Jenner, suggesting that Gamble, a talent manager, is a CIA agent involved in shaping Cardi B’s career.
Ye also claimed that Cardi B was unaware of the orchestration behind her success and considered it a universal blessing, The Daily Mail reported.
Now she doesn’t know what to do … and she has no idea what the f*** is going on,’ He said.
In response to West’s allegations, Cardi B chose not to confront Ye directly, instead, she shared a heart emoji with a clip of West praising her in a 2022 interview with Jason Lee on “Hollywood Unlocked.” West commended Cardi B’s talent in the interview and said he was excited about collaborating with her on the track “Hot Sh*t.”
The Illuminati conspiracy theory, popular in hip-hop culture, suggests the existence of a secretive, powerful group controlling global events to establish a New World Order. While the theory lacks concrete evidence, it continues to linger.
By Cardi B’s own account, the rise to fame was not easy. After becoming famous, she found herself defending a resurfaced video of her saying she drugged and robbed men who wanted to have sex with her while she worked as a stripper before finding fame, BBC reported.
“Whether or not they were poor choices at the time, I did what I had to do to survive,” she posted on social media, “I never claimed to be perfect or come from a perfect world.”
In the video, she said, “Nothing was handed to me. Nothing. She then proceeded to reveal that she would invite men to a hotel before drugging and robbing them.
When questioned as to why she would admit this, she answered: “I’m a part of a hip-hop culture where you can talk about where you come from, talk about the wrong things you had to do to get where you are.”
And on Instagram she further explained, “I never glorified the things I brought up in that live , I never even put those things in my music because I’m not proud of it and feel a responsibility not to glorify it.
“I made the choices that I did at the time because I had very limited options.”
She’s also been an open book about other things in her life, and has never spoken about a connection to the so-called illuminati. She did confess to having at least “95 percent” of her biopolymer butt injections removed.
“I got it out of me. But of course they took it out of me, but they still had to shape my butt because they took a lot of a** shots out. So, I actually removed my a** shots out of my butt. I removed 95 percent of it, and young girls…Not young girls because it’s young and older. Whatever you do, don’t get a** shots. I’m really against them,” she said, Vibe reported.
The Illuminati, which means “enlightened,” is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded in 1776 in Bavaria, today part of Germany. The society’s stated goals were to oppose superstition, obscurantism, religious influence over public life, and abuses of state power, according to Britannica. The Illuminati—along with Freemasonry and other secret societies—were outlawed through edict by Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria, with the encouragement of the Catholic Church, in 1784, 1785, 1787, and 1790. While the Illuminati did not survive their suppression in Bavaria, conspiracy theorists argue that the Illuminati have survived to this day and that world events are being controlled and manipulated by a secret society calling itself the Illuminati.
The rap world has long been fascinated with the Illuminati, with the belief that there’s a byzantine plot and a shifting cast of somewhat famous characters with varying allegiances and interests. The theory is in lyrics, in hand gestures, and artwork used in the hip-hop world. Ye’s own success has often been credited by his critics as having come from Illumni forces.
“Today, the Illuminati theory is as relevant as ever, often used as a way to justify the continued success of artists—Jay Z, Beyoncé, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Kanye West—who are accused of being puppets of this mysterious web of faceless figureheads,” Complex reported.
Kanye West, known as Ye, watches the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Lakers, March 11, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)/Cardi B arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
