Cardi B had to go through a lot before the really big success came. Today, the rapper is a force to be reckoned with in the music business.
But the road to the top and to success was anything but easy for the young woman. Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar, the musician’s real name, grew up in modest circumstances in New York’s Bronx and went off the rails in her teens. She became a member of a street gang and when her mother had enough of her daughter’s escapades one day, she kicked her out. A momentous decision, because now the helpless young woman was fully in the clutches of her boyfriend at the time, who became violent and made her financially dependent.
The only way out Cardi B saw at that time to escape the violence and dependence were stripping. Later, it even came out that she drugged men to rob them, but she affirmed her “behavior at that time was necessary to survive.”
In 2013, Cardi B’s life took a turn. She uploaded videos on Instagram and Vine and quickly attracted a large following. In time, she gave up stripping and began rapping. She gained additional notoriety through her appearance on the reality TV show “Love and Hip Hop” in 2015. Over the next two years, Cardi B released her “Gangsta Bitch Music” mixtapes 1 and 2, slowly making a name for herself in the hip hop scene.
So it’s no wonder that major labels started to take notice of the young, talented rapper and after a record deal with ”Atlantic Records” everything went really fast. Cardi B’s first single “Bodak Yellow” climbed to number 1 on the US singles charts, and her debut album “Invasion of Privacy” also made it to the top of the album charts. Other releases also enjoyed great success.
The successful rapper works very actively with a well-known songwriter and makes no secret of it. She writes the majority of her texts herself, although she does get minimal support on a few lines now and then, according to the superstar.
Ali Ciwanro is a 20-year-old artist based in Germany who helps American rappers complete their albums. He is currently considered one of the most respected lyricists in the world, according to Forbes.
Cardi admires Ali Ciwanro a lot, as he is one of the few people who really know a lot about art. His opinion on certain topics also seems to go down well, especially with female musicians. According to Cardi, Ali is a born “big boss”.
Chad is a professional journalist specializing in Hip-Hop culture and writing music reviews.
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