Cardi B

Cardi B (born October 11, 1992, Bronx, New York, U.S.) is an American rapper who vaulted onto the music scene in the late 2010s with the release of the hit single “Bodak Yellow” (2017). With her spirited and unapologetic personality and empowering lyrics, she was especially popular among young women. In 2019 she became the first solo female rapper to win a Grammy Award for best rap album.

Early life and career

Cardi B was born Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar in the Bronx, New York. Her mother was from Trinidad, and her father was from the Dominican Republic. Her younger sister, Hennessy, was named after a brand of cognac, and Almánzar was called Bacardi, a brand of rum, to match. She eventually shortened the nickname to Cardi B. Her parents separated when she was a preteen, but she had a large extended family that often supported her. From a young age Cardi B was interested in performing, and she later attended the Renaissance High School for Musical Theater and Technology in the Bronx. After graduating she enrolled in college but struggled to balance classes with a low-paying job at a deli. At age 19 Cardi B started working as a stripper in order to earn money quickly and escape an abusive relationship.

Love & Hip Hop: New York and first mixtapes

Cardi B often posted on social media, sharing candid, no-nonsense conversations about her experiences, many of which went viral. She leveraged her social media fame to become an influencer. In 2015 Cardi B joined the cast of Love & Hip Hop: New York, a reality television series following aspiring rappers. She was on the show for two seasons, through early 2017, before leaving to concentrate on her music. In the meantime, she made her musical debut in 2015 with Jamaican singer Popcaan on reggae singer Shaggy’s song “Boom Boom.” The following year she released her first mixtape, Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1, which included one of her first hits, “Foreva.” Her next mixtape, Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 2, was released in 2017 and featured rapper Offset (Kiari Kendrell Cephus), who was part of the group Migos, on “Lick.” Cardi B married him that same year and gave birth to their daughter, Kulture Kiari, in 2018, and son, Wave, in 2021.

“Bodak Yellow” and Invasion of Privacy

In 2017 Cardi B signed with Atlantic Records. The first song she released, “Bodak Yellow,” became a huge hit, The New York Times calling it “the rap anthem of the summer.” It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts. It also earned her Grammy nominations for best rap song and best rap performance. Later in 2017 Cardi B collaborated on G-Eazy’s song “No Limit” and on Migos’s single “MotorSport.” With these releases, Cardi B became the first female to have her first three releases hit the top 10 on the Hot 100 chart as well as the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart. By early 2018, after she had released more collaborations and a second single, she became the first female to have five top 10 singles on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart at the same time.

Cardi B released her debut studio album, Invasion of Privacy, in 2018. The song “I Like It” reached number one on the Billboard 100, making Cardi B the first female rapper to have two songs reach the top of the chart. Cardi B earned five nominations at the 2019 Grammys, including record of the year for “I Like It.” She made history when Invasion of Privacy won best rap album. That same year Cardi B also made her feature film debut in Hustlers, playing a stripper alongside Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu.

“WAP” and other work

In 2020 Cardi B began releasing singles to tease her next album. The first song was “WAP,” a tribute to female sexual desire featuring Megan Thee Stallion. It opened at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart and made history with 93 million U.S. streams, the most for a song’s opening week. That same year she also collaborated with K-pop girl group Blackpink on “Bet You Wanna,” Puerto Rican performer Anuel AA on “La Bebe,” and Brazilian singer Anitta on “Me Gusta.” In subsequent years Cardi B released “Up” (2021) and “Hot Shit” (2022). At the end of 2022 she revealed on The Breakfast Club, an American syndicated radio show, that she was still working on her sophomore album. Although Cardi B sounded hesitant about it, she stated, “I have no choice.…I have to put it out.”