Cardi B

Cardi B is the professional name of Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, an American rapper from the Bronx, New York City. Born in 1992, she is known for an outspoken public persona and explicit lyrical style. Her music is associated with hip hop and rap, including alternative pop, east coast hip hop, hardcore hip hop, pop and pop rap.

Career

Cardi B first gains public attention through social media platforms including Vine and Instagram, and through her role as a cast member on the VH1 reality series Love & Hip Hop: New York. She releases two mixtapes between 2016 and 2017, which help establish her position in hip hop.

Albums and singles

Her debut studio album, Invasion of Privacy, is released in 2018 and debuts at number one on the Billboard 200. The album becomes a major commercial success and receives critical recognition, and it wins the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, making Cardi B the first solo female artist to win that category. It includes the singles “Bodak Yellow” and “I Like It”, both of which reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. “Bodak Yellow” makes her the first female rapper to achieve a solo number-one single on the chart in the 21st century, while “I Like It” makes her the first female rapper with multiple number-one songs.

Her 2018 collaboration “Girls Like You” also reaches number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Her second studio album, Am I the Drama?, is released in 2025 and debuts at number one on the Billboard 200, making her the first female rapper to have her first two studio albums debut at the top of the chart. The album includes the top-ten song “Outside” and the number-one singles “WAP” and “Up”. “WAP” debuts at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and draws notable attention for its cultural impact.

Recognition

Across her career, Cardi B achieves multiple number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and is recognised for strong digital sales and streaming figures in the United States. She receives several awards, including Grammy Awards, Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards, BET Hip Hop Awards and MTV Video Music Awards. In 2018, Time includes her on its list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and in 2020 Billboard names her Woman of the Year.