Cardi B, although at first an unassuming figure in hip-hop, is now undeniably killing it. The former stripper-turned-Love & Hip-Hop-cast-member-turned-force-to-be-reckoned-with is now taking over the charts from preceding rap Queen Nicki Minaj.
Cardi B definitely saw some success with her previous single, "Lick," which she was able to boost further by getting rumored-bae (and it's very possible that was all just to promote "Lick" even further) Offset on the remix. Since then, though, it's become clear that if there is one song that will truly break her into a household name, it's "Bodak Yellow." The record has been charting on the Billboard Hot 100 for a minute, as well as Apple Music's charts, but it wasn't until this past that it was able to break into the top 20 of the former chart. This girl will be untouchable in three month's time.
Cracking the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 was a feat in and of itself for Cardi, as it was her first record to reach those heights. However there's another feat intertwined with it, which will undoubtedly make the Bronx native even more pleased: she has the highest-charting single from a solo female rapper (meaning no guest appearances) since Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda" charted back in 2014. Do you think Nicki's going to try to take things back, real quick?
The two NY-bred female MCs generally seem to be on good terms with each other (if you check the gossip blogs, as I clearly do, apparently they followed each other on Instagram recently), but maybe this will spark some friendly competition.
Nicki's Young Money labelmate, Drake, has co-signed Cardi as well, bringing her out for OVO Fest this past week.
We caught up with Cardi B back in March during SXSW, before all this started popping off career-wise, where she spoke on her infamous Instagram video creation process-- definitely a key component to helping spread her fanbase and followers. Catch that below.