Cardi B is making money moves, and not getting sucked into negativity on the internet. 

The 29-year-old artiste, who made history as the first female rapper to have three diamond single certifications in December, recently said she’s setting herself up for a successful future and landing partnerships with the likes of Reebok, Facebook, and Playboy. Her new deal with Starco Brands, the maker of her alcoholic whipped cream product Whipshots, is all part of the mix. 

Cardi wants to shake up the spirits industry, not just by slapping her name on a bottle of booze, but pushing a category of its own that exemplifies her personal brand: unfiltered fun. Whipshots, vodka-infused whipped cream, launched in retail stores nationally online and in stores. Whether she’s producing a record or selling a product with her name attached to it, it has to be a hit, she says.

“I feel like if it was just mediocre, people would just be like, ‘ah, whatever.’ Things are always going to sell when you have hardcore fans, but I wanted this to be big. Like, bigger than life and that is always the goal,” Cardi tells Complex over the phone from her home in Los Angeles. “So I believe in my product. I love my product. It’s delicious and it’s very strong. And I feel like everybody keeps giving me positive feedback.” 

“Every single time I feel like the whole world is against me, they let me know that, no, there’s still a whole group of people that love the f... out of me. And hey, I got 120 million followers, like, hello!” 

Explaining the ideal way to enjoy Whipshots, she says, “This is really meant to be a party starter. This is not only dessert. I wanted a party starter. I wanted something that is like, when I’m in Miami, I start giving [out] these Whipshots on a yacht and all of these girls start having fun. [Or] when I’m in my grandmother’s house and we try to get the party lit because my family likes to have a good time. That’s what I was thinking of.”

She brought the party to Super Bowl LVI, not missing a beat promoting her product on the biggest advertising day of the year, as she made a cameo in rapper Lil Dicky’s “Gopuff Quartertime Show” with her boozy whipped cream. She says she got a kick out of working with him, saying, “He’s so funny. I did not know that man was so funny.”

There’s a lot going on in Cardi’s world right now. She was awarded nearly $3 million in damages and attorneys fees last month in her libel lawsuit on counts of defamation, invasion of privacy, and infliction of emotional distress against gossip YouTuber Tasha K. Since then, she continues to set boundaries online when it comes to her personal life. The mom of two chose to make her 3-year-old daughter Kulture’s Instagram account private after a slew of hateful remarks made in the comments section on her account, she said on Twitter last week. 

And, with all her accomplishments, she doesn’t have time to listen to the noise. In what appeared to be a response to criticism of her work ethic from Joe Budden on his podcast last month and fans questioning when she was putting out another album, Cardi assured on Instagram Live, “Nobody is overworking me.” 

When asked how she manages to balance promoting her work as a businesswoman on social media without getting sucked into criticisms and negative energy, Cardi says it’s still a challenge, but she’s getting better at dealing with it.

“It’s a little bit difficult still,” she replies. “I think I’m getting more numb to it. I feel like I’m not as bad as before, you know what I’m saying? I feel like it hasn’t been getting to me as bad as before.”

She makes a point to say her dedicated fan base is what keeps her going strong.

“I have a family and I have become really cool and close with a lot of my fans, Bardi Gang,” she says. “And every single time I feel like the whole world is against me, they let me know that, no, there’s still a whole group of people that love the f.. out of me. And hey, I got 120 million followers, like, hello!”