The year Cardi B, for a second time: "Invasion of Privacy"
"Is she a stripper, a rapper or a singer? Cardi B's balance on her most recent excerpt, "Drip". Her Answer: a little bit of all that, and so much more. The young musician today launches "Invasion of Privacy", the most anticipated hip-hop album of the season, which is already a Hit on a "male-dominant" scene. After the worldwide success of the title "Bodak Yellow", the Bronx native proves that her career is not just a flash of fire: her enormous talent as a rapper, her unvarnished speech and her endearing authenticity allow her to be at once a model of perseverance and an atypical megaphone of the #MeToo movement.
What is the influence of an artist? When Cardi B unveiled on Instagram - which attracts more than twenty million subscribers - the cover of her first official album, CNN made a headline. Earlier this week, the Esquire magazine headlined "It will be the year of Cardi B (again)", referring to the title of an article in Rolling Stone as well as to the international success of Bodak Yellow, the most popular song of 2017. This was the first MC song to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks, and the first song at number 1 for a solo rapper from Doo-wop of Lauryn Hill in 1998. Recently, the New York Times Magazine unveiled a list of "twenty-five songs that define the future of music"; the huge and challenging Bodak Yellow came in first.
The Ascension
Very Impressive for an artist who was unknown to the general public just a year ago. Born Belcalis Almanzar of parents with Dominican and Trinidadian origins, roots that mark her unique accent and her mannerisms of language, Cardi B made her musical debut in 2015 collaborating with the Jamaican DJ Shaggy on the remix of his successful Boom Boom.
"I've been a stripper, I know what a man can do to flush his eyes. I think I've heard so much junk that I can not be shocked anymore." - Cardi B
On the new Be Careful, it is the sounds of the Spanish language that stands out, while on the bomb trap song Bartier Cardi, the rapper hatches the phonemes with great precision. As with Nicki Minaj a few years ago, we can talk about her voluptuous shapes or the color of her manicures, but above all there is an acrobat of words, able to give "payback" to any other rapper in vogue.
Following the release of her first mixtape, Gangsta Bitch Music Vol.1 in 2016, Atlantic was quick to offer her a contract. The record company then distributed the second volume of her series of mixtapes and it's them that unveils today the 13 songs - made by the producers of the hour with some collaborations including Migos and 21 Savage - Invasion of Privacy.
From Instagram to Fallon
A great Prowess for the 25 years old young artist who overcame the pitfalls to finally enthroned at the top of the rap. Coming from a modest background, she left home at age 18 and dropped out of school and worked to support herself. First in a grocery store, then in a bar of nude dancers - more money, she estimates. The money saved will allow her to go back to school.
The experience will strengthen her speech even in the lyrics of her songs, as she explains in an interview with "Le Monde" published in February: "I was a stripper, I know what a man is able to do to please his eyes. I think I've heard so much junk that I can not be shocked anymore. For me, feminism means being able to do the same thing as a man, and better yet. I feel feminist because I feel I have the same rights. Money that a man wins, I win. I take care of my home, I take care of my needs. Sex is money, but I do not think I have to sleep to get what I want". It's those kind of frank talks, coupled with her colorful personality, that made her one of the most captivating media characters in the United States. Her interview, last December at Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon went viral (over 16 million views) and made her image glow beyond the circle of rap lovers; She will also be the very first "co-host", always alongside Fallon, in the history of the NBC network broadcast on Monday.
Saturday night, she could shatter new audience records for "Saturday Night Live", which made her the musical guest of its new edition, hosted by the actor Chadwick Boseman, the face of Black Panther. A world tour is being planned for the fall. Billboard has confirmed that she is also working on her first film role, a project that is still secret. The year 2018 could actually be announced as Cardi B's.
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