Cardi B named her new song “Don’t Chart,” and then spent a whole verse explaining why it’s going to chart anyway. The track arrived last night as the latest piece of music tied to the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI. Songs from the game have been trickling out over the past few weeks.
The title is basically a dare. “Look at me now, Cardi a whole star,” she raps in the first verse. “I can name this song ‘Don’t Chart,’ it’s gon’ chart.”
That kind of swagger is classic Cardi, and the production gives her room for it. The beat leans into a vaguely old school Miami feel, which fits the sunbaked, neon look Grand Theft Auto VI has been selling. It sounds like it was built to blast out of a car window in a game about doing exactly that.
The song opens on the chorus, and Cardi wastes no time. “I’m still pretty, still bad, I’m still thick / I’m still me, therefore still talkin’ my shit,” she raps. Then she turns to an unnamed enemy: “Heard you gon’ do somethin’ to me, I’m still waitin’.”
The first verse stacks up the threats and the flexes. She calls herself cold blooded, “must be all of this Chrome Heart,” and promises to run into her rivals “like go-karts.” She closes the verse with a jewelry boast that borrows from Frozen: “Elsa the whole wrist, make it freeze with ice.”
The second verse is where fans started picking apart the details. Cardi takes another shot at an unnamed foe with “You ain’t a bad bitch, you’re just a bitch that had a bad operation.” Then comes the line “These hands rated E, they good for everybody.”
That one is a nod to the video game rating system, where E stands for Everyone. Genius user @yungdirty pointed out the joke on the lyrics site, adding the obvious punchline. Grand Theft Auto VI will not be rated E.
It’s a sly wink, and it shows Cardi actually thought about where this song would live. A lot of licensed game tracks feel like they were dropped in after the fact.
This one is written with the setting in mind, from the Miami flavor of the beat to a lyric that only lands if you know how games get rated.
“Don’t Chart” follows “AH HA,” the single Cardi released back in August. Putting two new tracks out within a few months keeps her name in rotation.
The Grand Theft Auto tie in also puts her in front of an audience that might never stream a rap single on purpose.
The real test is the one she set for herself in the title. She’s betting the song charts on the strength of her name alone. With more music from the game still rolling out, the numbers will tell everyone soon enough.
