Look out guys! There is a new female rapper on the rise and you know her as Cardi B. From the looks of it, Cardi B has been one of the most talked about people coming into the music industry this year. She started out making funny videos on Instagram, moved on to star in VH1’s hit show “Love and Hip Hop: New York,” to having the No. 3 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Cardi has become rap’s highest charted woman since Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” in 2014. Since the beginning of her fame, she was a personality who knew how to create moments that kept fans hooked. She has turned viral “Love & Hip Hop” scenes into famous GIFs, originated common colloquialisms, and more. Doing these things allowed for Cardi B to score her first major hit. After she left VH1 and signed to Atlantic Records, she released her debut single “Bodak Yellow” in June 2017. The track’s name is a reference to the Florida rapper Kodak Black, borrowing the distinctive cadences he used on his minor hit “No Flockin.” Unlike so many other social media celebrities whose musical endeavors came and went, Cardi just has it naturally. Swaggering and bold, she joins a proud lineage of New York rappers alongside Nicki Minaj and Remy Ma. The song even has its own Spanish remix which compliments her Trinidadian and Dominican roots. Cardi is not only making big hits in the studio, but she is becoming an inspirational influence. Cardi is never afraid to say what she feels, and uses her Instagram profile as a platform to speak out for her ‘everywoman’ brand of feminism. This is a vision of women’s empowerment where her stripper beginnings don’t disqualify her from being a great role model. “Got a bag and fixed my teeth,” she raps on “Bodak Yellow”, a reference to her once-signature crooked smile that she later straightened after becoming more successful. This kind of song would normally be for men like Drake or A$AP Rocky who’ve closed regional gaps with their southern influence. The song started out as No. 78 on the charts and has since jumped 70 spots in less than two months, largely credited to a deftly executed media blitz. Just a week after “Bodak Yellow,” Cardi featured on the cover of The Fader and spent all of July keeping up appearances at clubs. In early August, with “Bodak Yellow” clogging New York radio airwaves, Drake affirmed her international reach by bringing her out to perform the song at his annual OVO Fest in Toronto. Everyone knew at that moment she just got his highest stamp of approval. The rap trio Migos also let Cardi take over their stage at a separate Toronto festival around the same time. Cardi B has done so much this year already, and people can’t wait for what’s to come from her next. Stay tuned for more Cardi B news.
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The Rise of Cardi B: Money Moves
September 12, 2017
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