Cardi B Hung Out With a Crow at Haute Couture Week

The “Up” rapper debuted her new bestie at Paris Haute Couture Week, ahead of the Schiaparelli Haute Couture show. On the steps outside, she rocked a slinky black dress with massive shoulders that dripped with beaded fringe. The crow, which was firmly leashed, clutched her arm. See the video, originally posted by Style Du Monde, below.

At one point, Crowdi B starts balking at paparazzi, prompting the rapper to hush photographers and onlookers. Her seeming command over the bird only heightened the elegance of the Schiaparelli gown. While gimmicks at fashion shows are a dime a dozen these days, it's rare to see one that actually elevates the garments on display beyond their already dazzling significance as haute couture pieces. A pointed moment at the intersection of two art forms Cardi, and other rappers before her, have bridged over the last few decades.

More importantly, Crowdi B serves as a tie-in for Cardi’s long awaited sophomore album Am I The Drama? The cover features the rapper clad in red, flanked by crows, asking the same question Scarlet Envy so famously posed on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Like its progenitor drag queen, Am I The Drama? has kicked up quite a stir already, foremost as the successor to her chart topping Billboard 200 debut Invasion of Privacy, which also garnered her the Grammy for Best Rap Album. It’s even been eight years since the release of lead single “Bodak Yellow,” which helped cross her over from internet fame to global success.

Contrasted with the impossibly long wait for Am I The Drama? is the dust cloud it kicked up amongst drag queens on social media. Drag Race contestant Luxx Noir London posted shortly after the album announcement that “Scarlet Envy should sue.” She followed it up with a second musing, telling fans that “Drag queens and queer people are always on the mood board…yet…where are the queens and queers?????”

Scarlet Envy had a differing reaction. Under Cardi B’s post about the album cover, she responded “You are the drama mamaa.” Reps for the rapper later confirmed it was a reference to Envy’s iconic quote, and had reached out to the queen a few weeks prior about both the quote, and appearing onstage with the rapper at LadyLand in NYC. The Drag Race alum later told Billboard in an interview: “At first I thought, ‘Maybe it will be some small thing about drama or something,’ but when I saw the album cover, it was just word for word, Am I the Drama? That was crazy. Even now, thinking about it, I’m not sure that’s sunk in yet.”

Photo via Getty Images