Bia Fires Back at Cardi B’s “Pretty & Petty” Diss, Challenges Her to a “Real-Life” Rap Battle [Video]

Bia is breaking her silence on her feud with Cardi B as she prepares to release her new album, “Bianca.”

In an in-depth interview with Nessa of Hot 97, the rapper opened up about the origins of their tension, how she approached diss tracks, and why she refused to let the conflict derail her career.

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The tension, according to Bia, stemmed from creative overlaps between her album, “Really Her,” and Cardi’s single, “Enough.”

“That was the only thing it was about for me,” she explained. “People try to make it about, ‘Oh, she redid the Missy Elliott song.’ I didn’t care about that because [‘She’s a B***h’], that’s a song that everybody flips, so for me it was the similarities in the creative because I’m not a machine.”

Even when she considered firing back through her music, Bia decided it wasn’t worth it.

“I can always address it after. Like, I can always drop it, not drop it … but I just feel like it’s like a little beneath me because that was a year ago for me. So now this album was coming out on [Oct. 10] either way, whether she dissed me or not.” She added, “Why would I? I don’t care about anybody that much to get up and dedicate my life to like, ‘Oh, let me get at her.’ Like, no way, bro, that’s crazy.”

Bia addressed Cardi’s diss track from “Am I the Drama?,” making it clear she wasn’t personally upset.

“I was like, ‘Well, I’m glad she felt like she’d get that off,’” she said. “I knew it was coming because, like, this is rap. I’m competitive so, like: I diss you, you diss me, but you diss me, I diss you … We know what the reasons were and why it was all happening, so I just, it’s part of the game, right, you know? It doesn’t really make me feel no type of way other than like, it’s not true. Like, there’s things on there that’s like, and what am I supposed to do? Keep rapping with Pardison [Fontaine]? You know I gotta, like, let that go.”

She later added that she would be down for a “real-life” rap battle in real time. Furthermore, she clarified that her diss tracks were rooted in creativity, not personal attacks, and wants Cardi to enjoy her personal gains.

“I can go get on your a** again, but it’s like: girl, enjoy your pregnancy, you know what I’m saying? Go enjoy your pregnancy. I don’t wanna get on your a** again, say something that gonna hurt your feelings, make me look like the ‘bad guy’ because I’m talking about somebody with a baby. That’s out.”

Reflecting on a heated phone call with Cardi, Bia made it clear that a real friendship is unlikely.

“I don’t care to be friends with people that are like that,” she said. “Like, I don’t care to be on good terms with people that record conversations and phone calls and, like, that spin narratives to sell music. I don’t do that … My MO is to be here, put my good into the world, do community philanthropy, make great music, touch the people and move on.”

Even so, Bia sees a silver lining.

“As bad as she wanted to hurt me with this situation, she only helped me because she only have people looking up and seeing like, ‘OK, what is it about this girl,’ or like, ‘What’s her music like? What are her five songs?’ So I don’t have no hate in my heart, like, I’m not mad about the situation. Like I said, this is part of the game like. this is you rap on me, I rap about you and it goes on.”

When asked to acknowledge any positives about Cardi, Bia praised her for her role as a mother.

“I think she’s a great mother. I celebrate women who are great mothers; I had a great mother. Like, my mom was that girl, she was a strong woman. She was a hard-working woman, but she also, you know, she didn’t take no shit … I’ve never been in a rap beef in the last 10-15 years. This is the only rap beef I’ve ever been in. I’m friends with so many girls, so this is so out of the norm for me even. But I’m standing on business when it comes to my art because that’s all that matters to me. This is what I’m here for. If I didn’t do that, what type of artist would that make me when I’m in there writing everything, slaving everything, putting people on, working with producers? I’m creating in there from scratch.”

Ultimately, Bia made it clear that the beef with Cardi did not hold her back from releasing “Bianca” on her terms. While they will likely never be close, she maintained her focus on the music and her career.