Rebel rapper Cardi B: From pole dancer to new generation rap queen

Few people know that besides her edgy and rebellious appearance, Cardi B's music carries many valuable messages about racism, gender equality, feminism...

Cardi B's real name is Belcalis Almanzar, born in 1992 in New York, USA. She has both Trinidadian and Dominican heritage, so she has had a rebellious personality since childhood.

At the age of 16, Cardi B joined the Bloods street gang. While studying at Renaissance School of Art, Cardi B worked at a small supermarket in Manhattan. When she was fired from her job at the supermarket, she was offered a job as a pole dancer. At that time, Cardi B lived with her boyfriend in an apartment in the Bronx, New York. The new job helps her escape financial hardship and her boyfriend's fights. To serve her career, Cardi B has performed several cosmetic surgeries including breast augmentation and buttock augmentation. Even though she works as a pole dancer, Cardi B always lies to her mother that she works as a babysitter to make money and knows that this is a "low-class" profession. However, at that time, she needed to do this job to have money to escape her evil boyfriend.

In 2013, Cardi B suddenly became famous when she released a video wearing cool clothes and having fun in the cold weather of Canada. She became an Instagram phenomenon with millions of followers. Before entering the singing industry, she spoke out many times about gender equality, racism and lashed out at those who often mocked other people's bodies.

The owner of the hit song "WAP" admitted that he can make a lot of money from advertising on Instagram. However, she still harbors the dream of creating songs that "make every girl dance". She loves music that is rich in energy and has the ability to inspire.

Cardi B began her career in 2015, continuously releasing several mixtapes and performing with many other hip hop artists. But it wasn't until the hit song Bodak Yellow was released that the name Cardi B became popular in the rap music community.

2017 is considered a boom period for Cardi B. The hit Bodak Yellow was ranked second by Billboard magazine in the list of 100 excellent songs of 2017. She even made it to the top list. The 10 most searched artists in the world of the year. Not only that, this hit was also a huge success when it helped Cardi B receive two 2018 Grammy nominations for "Outstanding Rap Song" and "Outstanding Rap Performance".

Cardi B is also the only female rapper in the past 19 years to have a solo rap song top the Billboard chart. The last time someone did this was Lauryn Hill, in 1998.

It is known that Bodak Yellow is just a song with simple lyrics, but it tells the life story of Cardi B herself. In the song, the female rapper admits that she is a prostitute and used to be a dancer. column. Cardi B also "kicked" those who looked down on her, and affirmed that success did not come to her by accident, it was a process of effort. In this hit song, Cardi B also condemns skin color discrimination and attacks those who are "jealous" of other people's success. The lyrics are arrogant, naked, and full of street spirit, making the song attractive and easily capturing the hearts of listeners.

Taking advantage of the victory, Cardi B continued to release the album "Invasion of Privacy", this is considered the final moment that helped Cardi B transform from Cinderella into a real princess. To date, this album is still considered the best debut album by a female rapper since the 1996 masterpiece Hard Core by world female rapper legend Lil' Kim.

In 2019, Cardi B registered herself as the youngest person on the list of 20 most famous names in the US-UK music industry, holding the Grammy golden trumpet, reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and the MV reaching number 1. billion views on YouTube and brought himself 5 nominations at this year's Grammy Awards.

It's no exaggeration to say that Cardi B is like "Cinderella", because in just a very short time, her reputation has skyrocketed, easily comparable to Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift. Cardi's name is mentioned with as much admiration as her youthful idols, such as Madonna or Beyonce.

Becoming a global superstar, Cardi B moved from New York to Atlanta to live. Her love story, marriage, having children and breaking up with the rapper with the stage name Offset have become hot topics every day in the mass media. Cardi's breastfeeding scene also appeared in the video Money Money, which became a message for dairy companies calling on women to "breastfeed their children together". Because of her child, Cardi gave up a tour with Bruno Mars, a lucrative career development opportunity that few music stars dare to sacrifice.

However, at the present time, although Cardi B has become a superstar, she is still self-aware and understands who she is, where she comes from, and knows how to find a reasonable emotional balance to cope with the challenges she faces. the illusions that rapid success often brings. In the past, Cardi B indeed let her emotions control her many times. She was once accused of attacking two female bartenders at a pole dancing club.

However, if we talk about the most shocking noise, we have to mention the "meltdown" with Nicki Minaj in 2018, when they both attended an event organized by Harper's Bazaar magazine. This fight has been a topic of discussion for many months, until now, Cardi B - Nicki Minaj has shown no signs of reconciliation.

It can be seen that Cardi B is an artist with a rather rebellious personality in the European and American entertainment industry, but it cannot be denied that her success has greatly influenced popular music culture. To date, Cardi B's music has gradually become an inspiration for many new generation female rappers.

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