Cardi B Leaves Jimmy Fallon Speechless on The Tonight Show

The "Bodak Yellow" rapper hilariously explains the origins of her stage name

By Zach Johnson Dec 21, 2017 2:10 PMTags

From the moment Cardi B joined Jimmy Fallon in Studio 6A Wednesday, the rapper left the Tonight Show host speechless. Jimmy began by congratulating her on the success of "Bodak Yellow," so Cardi B thanked him, made a silly sound effect and shimmied in her seat. Jimmy apparently had no clue how to proceed...so, he asked her about he origins of her stage name.

"My name come from...You know what? My sister name is Hennessy. You know what I'm saying? My sister name is Hennessy, right? So, everybody used to call be Bacardi. So, I always call myself Bacardi, right?" the rapper, whose birth name is Belcalis Almanzar, said. "Then it was my Instagram name—like Bacardi, Bacardi B—but for some reason, my Instagram kept getting deleted; I think it was Bacardi that had something to do with it so I just shortened it to Cardi B."

Throughout the interview, Cardi B made the audience laugh with her repeated use of the word "Okurrrrr!" Jimmy, who mimicked the rapper's catchphrase, couldn't contain his laughter as she explained why she's not buying any adults Christmas presents this year. "Once you start making money, everybody wants you to be their kids' godmother!" she said. Later, she showed him her engagement ring, warning him, "Don't get too close because I didn't put no lotion on my hand!"

Andrew Lipovsky/NBC)

Offset's proposal during a concert in October came as a surprise, she said. "I mean, you know, he always used to tell me, like, 'I'm going to marry you. I'm going to marry you.' And it's just like, 'Mmm. It's the right thing to do,'" she said, charming the TV host. "But, I mean, I knew he was going to give me a very expensive gift because he wasn't there for my birthday, but I thought he was going to give me a watch or something. He just went out of his way, okurrrrr!"

Once again at a loss for words, Jimmy stared at his desk before bursting into laughter and asking about the 2018 Grammys. "I am nervous. You want to know something? You want to know something? I already feel like a winner, you know what I'm saying?" the 25-year-old rapper told Jimmy. "Because it's like, 'I never thought…me?' Like, I already won. What's good?"

Jimmy couldn't contain his laughter when Cardi B said her new single, "Bartier Cardi," is out Friday. "You know, I named it 'Bartier Cardi,' you know what I'm saying, because I don't want Cartier to sue me, oh-bup-bup-bup!" she said. "Featuring 21 Savage, OK? Ow! Y'all go get that!"

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