LatinXcellence: Cardi B

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Here at People CHICA we celebrate our Latinidad 365 days a year, but during Latinx Heritage Month, we go extra hard. Established in 1988, Latinx Heritage Month recognizes the generations of Latinx Americans who have positively influenced and enhanced our society. All month long, we'll be celebrating with a series called #LatinXcellence, highlighting women who are making a difference in Latinx culture today through their art, work and activism.

She used to be a regular degular shmegular girl from the Bronx, but now she's a superstar breaking barriers in hip-hop. Since the release of her breakout single “Bodak Yellow” in 2017, she hasn't stopped climbing the charts, winning awards, or pushing boundaries with her fashion choices. Now the Dominican American is using her platform to speak out about politics, frequently discussing issues on Instagram and even interviewing Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

Born Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, Cardi has always wanted a successful career, and making money has always been one of her goals. Stability, stability, stability. I love stability,”she told People en Español last year. "I'm not a gambler - I think about 15 years from now, I don't think about now." She also added, playfully: “I like MO-NEY. Ten years from now, there's always gonna be somebody better, that everybody's gonna be like, 'That's the best lyrical person ever.' Ten years from now, I'm still gonna have money from a hit that I made.”

One of those moneymaking hits is “Bodak Yellow,” which became the first solo female rap song to top the Billboard Hot 100 in almost 20 years. Last year, she made history again when she became the first solo female rapper to have two songs hit number one on the Hot 100 with “I Like It,” then broke her own record when her Maroon 5 collaboration “Girls Like Me” also hit number one. Then, earlier this year, she became the first female rapper to win the Grammy for Best Rap Album, with Invasion of Privacy. That album has been certified three times platinum, and all of its 13 tracks have been certified gold or higher.

Before getting into the music business, Cardi worked as a stripper; those skills helped her land her first movie role in Hustlers with Jennifer Lopez and Keke Palmer. She was also a cast member on the reality show Love & Hip Hop: New York for two seasons. “People around me, they say I'm like a grandma because I don't do a lot of activities,” she told People en Español last year. "I like to work; I like to make my money. If I go out, I go out and show face, but I'm over it.”

The 26-year-old is also very vocal about her political beliefs; her outspoken ways helped earn her the chance to talk to Senator Bernie Sanders about topics ranging from police brutality to immigration. “I'm trying to advocate [to] the youth in my community because I feel like there's a serious problem right now in America,” she said during the interview. “We have this a bully as a president. And the only way to take him out is somebody winning.”

Cardi's second album is still in the works, but she's still keeping busy releasing singles like "Money," "Press," and most recently, "Yes" with Fat Joe and Anuel AA. Don't worry, though, because while you wait, she'll be there to liven up social media with her comedic ways and her commitment to keeping her followers informed.