The Hip Hop Chronicles Cardi B

hen you’re talking about being arrogant, brash and flamboyant a new squad of hip hop goddesses are changing the game. The second half of this century has allowed the millenniums to not only flourish, but surprisingly thrive! These women have kicked in the entertainment door that was once solely dominated by men. Most of today’s “vixens of verse” weren’t even born when Sequence, Madam Melody, Shante Shante, Moni Love and Queen Latifah started talking mess. They created a new platform for women which allowed them to be musically competitive and in some cases dominate. So today we are flooded with young talent in the rap game. These chics are bum rushing the industry straight outta the Burbs, The Hood and Hollywood. Today’s ladies of rage are Saweetie, Rico Nasty, Kamaiyah, Doja Cat, Lizzo, Megan Thee Stallion, and Cardi B (let’s not sleep on veterans Nicki Minaj and Missy Elliott who are still relevant)!

In the mid 2000’s a young and inspired Dominican out of the South Bronx decided to make her move. Her name? Cardi B.

Cardi B decided early in life to turn her Bronx lemons into Hollywood lemonade. By joining that exclusive list of female rap royalty, she was able to leave the “hood rat” image behind her. Cardi B is a four foot eleven inch pint of audacity with lemon. The outfits are risqué. The hair is flawless. Her lashes are fierce! However, what really turns heads are her 3 -4 inch dazzling stilettos! Until Cardi B, most inexperienced entertainers didn’t dare attract that type of attention or draw the ire of the industry’s wealthy benefactors. There is a certain social moray and industry restriction all rookie talents have to adhere to, especially in the rap community. But Cardi B came in the door flexing! She wore what she wanted and cosmetically she blatantly broke all the rules. This includes numerous plastic surgeries and X-treme Nailz! She single handedly changed the nail game on the current reality show formats (and of course the rap game). You don’t believe me? Check out Basketball Wives, Atlanta Housewives, Married to Medicine, L.A. Divas, and both Love and Hip Hop New York and Love and Hip Hop Atlanta. Those women’s nails are sick! Now, while you’re doing your due diligence, check out the claws on Megan Thee Stallion, Lizzo, Saweetie, Doja Cat, etc. All were influenced by Cardi B and her “Claws-4-the-Cause” colors and designs. By collaborating with the top nail designer in Harlem, Cardi B has cemented her continued trend setting in today’s avangard nail game.

Cardi B, is her professional alias however, legally she’s known as Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar. Born and raised in Bronx, New York , she became an internet celebrity by achieving popularity on Vine and Instagram from 2015 to 2017. Cardi B appeared as a reg-

ular cast member on the VH-1 reality television series, Love & Hip Hop: New York, which depicted her pursuit of her music aspirations. She released two mixtapes—Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 1 (2016) and Vol. 2 (2017), before signing with Atlantic Records in February 2017.

Her studio album, Invasion of Privacy (2018), debuted number one on the Billboard 200, was certified triple platinum by the RIAA, and was the best-selling female rap album of 2010, according to Billboard. Critically acclaimed, it made Cardi B the only woman to win the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album as a solo artist, and became the first female rap album after 15 years to be nominated for Album of the Year. This critically acclaimed album and Grammy victory, sparked a strong controversy in the music circuit between audiences and critics, being considered un-deserved. It spawned two number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.

Cardi B became the only female rapper to achieve a diamond certified song by the RIAA with “Bodak Yellow”, which also made her the second female rapper to top the chart with a solo output, following Lauryn Hill in 1998, while “I Like It” marked the first time a female rapper attained multiple number one songs on the Hot 100. It was followed by her feature on “Girls Like You” with band Maroon 5. She has released two singles from her upcoming second album, with the chart topper, “WAP” (featuring Megan Thee Stallion) and “Up”. Cardi B is the female rapper with the most number one singles (5) on the Billboard Hot 100, while also holding other records among women in hip hop, such as achieving number ones in two decades (2010s and 2020s), and the only woman to achieve multiple number ones with solo songs.

Cardi B is known for her aggressive flow and candid lyrics, which have received critical praise. She is the highest certified female rapper of all time on the RIAA’s Top Artists (Digital Singles) ranking, also appearing among the ten highest certified female artists. Cardi B is the female rapper with the most songs with a billion streams on Spotify, where she has the most streamed female rap album, and is the first lead artist to top the inaugural Billboard Global 200.

Cardi B’s accolades include a Grammy Award, (8 )Billboard Music Awards, (5) Guinness World Records, (5 )American Music Awards, (11) BET Hip Hop Awards and (2) ASCAP Songwriter of the Year awards. In 2018, Time Magazine included her on their annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, and in 2020, Billboard honored her as Woman of the Year.