with Dominican and Trinidadian sazon coursing through her veins.
Her father chose her birth name,
but her nickname was given to her on the streets of Highbridge.
My name come from, you know what, my sister name is Hennesey.
So everyody used to call me Bacardi. So I always call myself Bacardi, right?
So I just shortened it to Cardi B.
Keeping up with her 36 cousins fostered Cardi’s electric personality and taught
her to stand out in a crowd.
She followed a love of politics to Borough of Manhattan Community College
with the intention of becoming a history teacher.
Unfortunately, she spent more time cashiering at a local deli
than in class and dropped out after 2 semesters.
A stickler for education, Cardi’s mother put her out of the house.
At 18, she had nowhere to go and was forced to move in with her
physically abusive boyfriend.
Dancing at Brooklyn’s Club Lust gave her the financial independence
she needed to escape that relationship and get her own place.
Cardi initially lied to her mom about her new job,
but when she found out her 19-year-old daughter was a stripper, sparks flew.
'Oh it's your fault because you kicked me out the house. This why I'm stripping.'
And she was like, 'Oh yeah?' And I'm like, 'Yeah. Yeah.' And she's like, 'Yeah? Yeah?'
And then she just pushed me down the staircase.
The two eventually got back on good terms,
but her mother’s disapproval pushed her to aspire for more.
So she spun her uncensored, quick-fire tongue and natural
comedic energy into viral Instagram fame.
It's cold outside but I'm still looking like a thotty because
a ho never gets cold.
These b*tches be like, 'This b*tch can't spell. This b*tch can't talk
English properly. Ow. Ow. Ow.'
But guess what? You can spell and you can talk English properly and
I'm still doing better than you, little b*tch. [laughs]
At 22, Cardi stopped stripping and made club hosting gigs her main source of income.
It wasn’t long before VH1 execs caught wind of the staticy Bronx bruja making
waves on social media and pulled her in for Season 6 of ‘Love and Hip Hop New York.’
She only stuck around for 2 seasons, but was an immediate break-out star
and easily the most successful talent to have come from the franchise.
Her rise was accelerated by turning hilarious one-liners from the show
into tracks for her mixtapes 'Gangsta Bitch Music,' volumes 1 and 2.
♪ If a b*tch beef with me we gon' beef forever ♪
She even made her acting debut on an episode of BET’s ‘Being Mary Jane.’
Getting the bad b*tch out of you. Look at you!
The editor-in-chief of XXL said Cardi B wasn’t chosen for the 2017 Freshman Class
because they were 'on the fence' about whether
Three months later, the same publication reported that Cardi’s single ‘Bodak Yellow’
was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
♪ I don't dance now, I make money moves ♪
‘Bodak Yellow’ spread like wildfire.
♪ These exponents, these is ratios, these is power rules ♪
It became the first platinum record of Cardi B’s career
and the longest-running Hot 100 chart-topper by an unaccompanied female rapper,
eclipsing previous record holder Lauryn Hill’s ‘Doo Wop (That Thing).’
The track later earned her two Grammy nominations
for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance.
Her debut album ‘Invasion of Privacy’ kept haters on their toes,
debuting at No.1 on the Billboard 200 Chart.
of its release,
but everything Cardi touches turns to platinum, and this album followed suit three months later.
'I Like It' featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin put another record under her belt.
The spicy, Spanish-laden hit, which samples fellow Bronx native Peter Rodriguez’s
'I Like It Like That,' made her the first female rapper to have 2 songs hit No.1.
♪ Drop the top and blow the brains, (woo, I said I like it like that) ♪
♪ Oh, he's so handsome, what's his name? ♪
Reaching back to her impressive political knowledge, Bardi has voiced her opinions on
in the NFL.
She has also spoken out against sexism and slut-shaming in the entertainment industry.
Oh, you want to be in this magazine?
And they pull out they penis. Some girls are very young and naive.
Why is it that you gotta harass me to do something that I don't want to do,
for something that, they feel like it's a opportunity.
Over a 2-year period,
♪ Cardi B, straight stuntin', can't tell me nothin' ♪
♪ Bossed up and I changed the game (you see me?) ♪
married Offset of Migos, and welcomed their daughter Kulture Kiari Cephus into the world.
Cardi B might not have become a history teacher in the traditional sense,
but her historic run is definitely teaching up-and-coming entertainers how it’s done.
Binderella has made life a ball,
and it turns out red bottoms are more comfortable than glass slippers.