It’s Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th - October 15th, and today I’m highlighting Cardi B!

Born Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, rapper Cardi B was born in Washington Heights, New York City, grew up in the South Bronx, but did spend a lot of time at her grandmother’s home in Washington Heights, which is a predominantly Dominican neighborhood. Her father is from the Dominican Republic and her mother is Trinidadian.

She got her name “Cardi B” as a play on Bacardi, which used to be her nickname, along with her younger sister, Hennessy.

Cardi B’s Come Up

After being fired from a grocery store, Cardi B began working as an exotic dancer at a nearby strip club. While working there, she gained popularity in 2013 when many of her social media posts went viral. She quit that job on her 23rd birthday in 2015 to focus on her music career. She also became a cast member on VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: New York.

In 2016 she released her first mixtape, followed by her second mixtape in January 2017. By February she was signing her first major record deal with Atlantic Records and was opening up for The Lox’s "Filthy America... It’s Beautiful" tour.

Later that year, in May, she was nominated for “Best New Artist” and “Best Female Hip-Hop Artist” in the BET Awards, but would lose to Chance the Rapper and Remy Ma.

Bodak Yellow

In June of 2017, her first single, “Bodak Yellow" was released. It reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 25th. She was the first female rapper to do so since Lauren Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)”. The song stayed in the number one spot for three consecutive weeks, tying Taylor Swift as the longest running female in the number one spot in 2017. She also became the first person of Dominican descent in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to reach the number one spot. The song would eventually be certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA).

On January 2018 she became the first female rapper to have five top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at the same time.

Her debut studio album, “Invasion of Privacy” came out in April of 2018. The album broke multiple records, including becoming the first female artist to chart 13 entries simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100.

Her accolades and awards are endless, and she continues to be a force in today’s Hip-Hop culture.

What’s to come?

Her second studio album “Am I the Drama?” will be released this Friday on September 19th. She also announced, today, her “Little Miss Drama Tour” via social media.

In her personal life, Cardi B famously dated, married, had kids with, and later divorced rapper Offset from ATL rap group Migos, with whom she shared an on-again, off-again relationship from 2017-2024.

Update 9/17/2025

Cardi B announced today on CBS Mornings that she’s expecting a fourth child! This time with new boyfriend, New England Patriots wide receiver, Stefon Diggs. Shoutout to Cardi for always being her authentic self.