Cardi B

Cardi B channels boundless poise, magnetic presence, and laceratingly precise delivery in her work as a rapper and entertainer. She first reached mainstream audiences in 2017 via her initial commercially issued single, “Bodak Yellow,” which ascended to the summit of the Billboard Hot 100 and marked the first time a female rapper had done so in close to twenty years. Shortly afterward, her 2018 debut full-length studio album, Invasion of Privacy, also reached the top position while generating further milestones through the summer anthem “I Like It.” That project additionally established her as the first solo female rapper to receive a Grammy in the Best Rap Album category. Entering the following decade, she sustained her dominance through additional chart leaders such as the 2020 release “WAP” alongside Megan Thee Stallion and the 2021 track “Up.” She reunited with Megan Thee Stallion for the 2023 single “Bongos,” then paired with Shakira on 2024’s “Puntería” while previewing her second album via “Enough (Miami).”

Delivering unfiltered, hard-edged verses that echo the lineage of Lil' Kim, Nicki Minaj, and Foxy Brown, the onetime stripper and social-media personality born Belcalis Almanzar made her first television appearance in late 2015 as part of VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: New York, sharing the cast with fellow New York rapper Remy Ma. One year later she entered music with dancehall singer Popcaan on Shaggy’s single “Boom Boom.” The standalone track “Cheap Ass Weave” and the mixtape Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 1 followed in the first half of 2016, with two further singles—“Foreva” and “Wash Poppin'”—appearing that summer. Early 2017 brought the second mixtape, Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 2.

During that same year she secured a deal with Atlantic Records and achieved a breakthrough via “Bodak Yellow,” which rose to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 by late September and positioned her as the first solo female rapper to accomplish this feat since 1998. Subsequent releases extended her streak: guest spots on G-Eazy’s “No Limit” and Migos’ “MotorSport” produced two more Top Ten entries, crowning her the first female rapper whose initial three Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs placements all landed inside the Top Ten. Following the single “Bartier Cardi” with 21 Savage, she joined the remix of Bruno Mars’ “Finesse.” The new jack swing homage climbed to number three domestically while leading charts worldwide. These accomplishments made her the first woman ever to hold five simultaneous Top Ten singles on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Her first official studio album, Invasion of Privacy, reached stores in spring 2018. Alongside the two breakthrough singles, the set included contributions from Migos (“Drip”), Chance the Rapper (“Best Life”), Kehlani (“Ring”), SZA (“I Do”), YG (“She Bad”), and Bad Bunny and J. Balvin on “I Like It.” The latter cut was promoted as a single and steadily advanced to the top of the Hot 100 by July 2018, giving Cardi her second number one as a female rapper. That summer she also appeared on successful collaborations with Jennifer Lopez (“Dinero”) and Maroon 5 (“Girls Like You”). She closed the year with multiple Grammy nominations and widespread placement of Invasion of Privacy on year-end critical lists. The album ultimately captured the Grammy for Best Rap Album, confirming her as the first solo female rapper to earn the award. The following year brought another nomination in Best Rap Performance for the Offset collaboration “Clout.”

In August 2020 she returned to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “WAP,” a duet with Megan Thee Stallion. Half a year later she scored another major success with the drill-influenced solo single “Up,” which achieved worldwide impact and led four separate Billboard charts. During the same period she lent her voice to hits by Normani (“Wild Side”) and Lizzo (“Rumors”), then resurfaced in 2022 on the Kanye West and Lil Durk track “Hot Shit.” September 2023 saw the arrival of “Bongos,” her second joint effort with Megan Thee Stallion and the fourth single from her forthcoming sophomore album; it entered the Hot 100 at number 13. That month the pair performed the song at the MTV Music Video Awards. A fifth single, the DJ SwanQo, OG Parker, and Romano-produced “Enough (Miami),” surfaced in March 2024. Later that month she teamed with Shakira on “Puntería,” featured on the “Hips Don't Lie” artist’s twelfth album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran.