Rapper Cardi B is on a high after bagging her American Music Award for being Favorite Artist – Rap/Hip Hop. A rapper, songwriter, actress, and television personality, all rolled into one, Cardi B is living her life as grand as it can be.
Raised in Bronx, Cardi B became an internet sensation after her Instagram and Vine posts went viral.
The good life of Cardi B
Cardi B created a record of sorts on the Billboard Hot 100 by becoming the second female rapper to top the chart with her single Bodak Yellow, only female rapper to achieve multiple number-one songs on the Billboard with I Like It and being the sixth female artist to achieve three number-one singles on the chart with Girls Like You, in which she collaborated with Maroon 5.
In 2018, her first studio album, Invasion of Privacy, was released which went on to be a record-breaker. The album became number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, thereby, making Cardi B the only woman to win the award as a solo artist.
What is the real name of Cardi B?
Born as Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar in Manhattan, the rapper's journey to become Cardi B is as dramatic as it gets. Unlike other rappers who chose their nicknames on their own, for Cardi B it came due to her younger sister Hennessy Carolina Almanzar.
The siblings shared a close bond as they grew up. The rapper's younger sister was named after an alcoholic beverage, so keeping the trend going for the elder sibling, friends and family members started addressing Belcalis as Bacardi.
But, the transformation of Bacardi to Cardi B was undertaken by the I Like It artist herself. During The Wendy Williams Show in 2017, Cardi B said: "My sister's name is Hennessy, so everybody used to be like 'Bacardi' to me. Then I shortened it to Cardi B. The 'B' stands for whatever, depending on the day...beautiful or bully."
Cardi B maintains that no one calls her Belcalis except for her family, mother, and daddy.
The dark past of the singer
Recognized as the most influential female rappers of all time by Forbes, Cardi B's life wasn't a bed of roses. A dark chapter from the past was unveiled when a video clip of Cardi B, who previously worked as a stripper, surfaced.
In a three-year old Instagram live video which went viral, Cardi B confessed to having robbed and drugged the men who wanted to have sex with her, after inviting them to her room.
In her defence, the Grammy Award winner said in her Instagram post: "Whether or not they were poor choices at the time, I did what I had to do to survive. It was about things in my past, right or wrong, that I felt I needed to do to make a living. I'm a part of a hip-hop culture where you can talk about where you come from, talk about the wrong things you had to do to get where you are. I had very limited options."
Last year, a bartender named Jade had filed a case against Cardi B after the singer hit her with bottles while Jade was bartending at Angels strip club in Queens, New York.
The incident took place on 28 August last year soon after rumours of cardi B's husband Offset cheating with Jade started. Jade and another worker had received several injuries that required medical attention. This year in July, a jury charged Cardi B on 14 charges, including two counts of felony assault with intent to cause serious physical injury, resulting from the incident.
At an after-party during the New York Fashion Week 2018, Cardi B threw one of her shoes at, fellow rapper Nicki Minaj while trying to get into a physical fight with her. The fight stemmed from Minaj liking negative comments made about Cardi B's skills as a mother, by social media users.
Cardi B's controversial relationship with husband Offset
It was in the beginning of 2017 that Cardi B publicly started dating American rapper Offset. The couple, who got married in a secret ceremony in September 2017, have a daughter, Kulture Kiari Cephus.
After Offset was caught in a cheating scandal, Cardi B made an official announcement about their separation in December 2018. However, Offset begged for forgiveness time and again. In February 2019, the couple got back together and made a public appearance at Grammys where they accepted the award for Best Rap Album for Cardi B.
Recently, Cardi B gave Offset $500 million dollars in cash as his birthday present besides organising a lavish birthday party filled with strippers for him.
