Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar (born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and actress.[1] Born and raised in New York City, she first achieved popularity on Vine and Instagram, becoming an Internet celebrity.[2] From 2015 to 2017, she appeared as a regular cast member on the VH1 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 debut studio album, Invasion of Privacy (2018) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum by RIAA. It spawned two number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100: "Bodak Yellow", a diamond-certified song, and "I Like It", a collaboration with Bad Bunny and J Balvin. It was the best-selling female rap album of the 2010s according to Billboard.[3] Invasion of Privacy won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, with Cardi becoming the first solo female rapper to win the award. Since then, she has earned more number-one singles in the US with her feature on "Girls Like You" with pop rock band Maroon 5, "WAP", featuring Megan Thee Stallion, and "Up". With these, she extended her record with the most Hot 100 number-one songs for a female rapper. "Up" made her the only female rapper with two solo number-one songs.
Cardi B is known for her aggressive flow and candid lyrics, which have received praise. She became the first artist to top the Billboard Global 200. Her accolades include a Grammy Award, eight Billboard Music Awards, five Guinness World Records, five American Music Awards, six BET Awards, eleven BET Hip Hop Awards and four MTV Video Music 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.
- ^ Cobo, Leila (July 3, 2018). "The Times Have Changed: What 'I Like It' Hitting No. 1 Means to Latin Music". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
- ^ Kameir, Rawiwa (June 22, 2017). "Cardi B Did It Her Way". The Fader. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
- ^ "Billboard 200 – Decade-End". Billboard.