Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (born October 11, 1992) was born in New York City, United States. She is an American rapper. She is professionally known as Cardi B. She gained popularity through social media platforms like Vine and Instagram. Cardi B first rose to fame through her appearances on the VH1 reality show Love & Hip Hop: New York, which showcased her pursuit of a music career.
Cardi B's music career took off with the release of her two mixtapes, Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 1 in 2016 and Vol. 2 in 2017. Her debut studio album, Invasion of Privacy, was released in 2018 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The album was hailed by critics and became the top female rap album of the 2010s by Billboard. It also earned Cardi B the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album as a solo artist, making her the only woman to receive the award. Invasion of Privacy also marked the first female rap album in 15 years to be nominated for Album of the Year.
Invasion of Privacy produced two number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Bodak Yellow," which made Cardi B the first female rapper to top the chart with a solo song in the 21st century. "Bodak Yellow" also became the first diamond-certified song by the RIAA for a female rapper. "I Like It," another number-one hit from Invasion of Privacy, marked the first time a female rapper attained multiple number-one songs on the Hot 100. Cardi B's collaboration with Maroon 5, "Girls Like You," also reached the top spot, making her the only female rapper with multiple diamond-certified songs by the RIAA.
Since the release of Invasion of Privacy, Cardi B has continued to dominate the music scene with her chart-topping singles. Her songs "WAP" (2020) and "Up" (2021) both topped the Hot 100 and other charts worldwide. In the hip hop industry, Cardi B has achieved several records, including the most number-one singles (five) on the Billboard Hot 100 by a female rapper. She is also the only female rapper to earn number ones in two decades (2010s and 2020s) on the chart and the only one to achieve multiple solo number ones.
Additionally, Cardi B holds the record for the most diamond-certified songs (three) by the RIAA for a female rapper and is the highest-certified female rapper of all time on their Top Artists (Digital Singles) ranking. She has sold over 100 million certified units (albums and songs) in the US alone. On Spotify, Cardi B is the female rapper with the most songs with a billion streams and the most-streamed female rap album. She was the first lead artist to top the Billboard Global 200.
Cardi B's accolades extend beyond the music industry as well. She has won a Grammy Award, eight Billboard Music Awards, six Guinness World Records, six American Music Awards, 14 BET Hip Hop Awards, and two ASCAP Songwriter of the Year awards. In 2018, Time magazine included her on its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and in 2020, Billboard honored her as Woman of the Year. Cardi B has also expanded her portfolio as she became the creative director of entertainment magazine Playboy in 2022. Overall, Cardi B's contributions to music and pop culture have solidified her as one of the most influential female rappers of all time.
