We’ve all wanted to see Cardi B catch a win for quite some time; at last this Bronx girl is having a moment. After all, she gave us the hardest summer anthem heard everywhere, from day parties to night clubs. The 24-year-old also became the first solo female rapper to top the singles chart for “Bodak Yellow,” almost two decades after Lauryn Hill. This set off a party in the Twittersphere on Monday. However, her money move didn’t just happen overnight, she’s been hustling for a minute now.
The queen of the thirst trap turned her Instagram finessery into a lucrative career. She landed her first gig on the 6th season of Love & Hip Hop, but even before her celebrity she was stripping at the age of 19 in order to make ends meet.
Now she’s responsible for dethroning Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” single. And to put everything in perspective, according to a Nielsen Music report, this is the first time this year that hip-hop/R&B outpaced all other genres in consumption —marking a significant moment in hip-hop history.
Additionally, Cardi has carved out new territory in the genre born in the Bronx, a space where misogyny is the trademark and women for too long haven’t been taken seriously. We documented Cardi’s comeup in the above video.