When borderline hateration turns to intrigue for rapper Cardi B

Staff Writer

It’s true, I love ratchet rap music—the more ratchet the better. All it takes is some soul reverberating base alongside a good beat with a catchy refrain and I’m hooked. It’s also true that the feminist side of me cringes at the ease with which I allow misogynistic lyrics to fall from my lips. It’s with lots of deeply felt shame; I tell myself it’s just a song but I know better. Yet this doesn’t stop me. But this isn’t about me, it’s about Cardi B.

Up and coming rap artist Cardi B isn’t what I would refer to as ratchet, although this might be debatable. She caught my attention because the feminist side of me will always—and I do mean always—give attention to women in the rap game. When her voice leapt from the radio, I knew I had heard her before. It came quick the recollection of her on the reality TV show Love and Hip Hop, a television series I’ve watched sporadically and never in sequence.

At first, I graded her musical vibe as simplistic and as far as I was concerned her lyrics lacked any real substance which didn’t surprise me. As I remembered her from the show, she was a quirky character with lots of sass who talked with a slight lisp, stuck her tongue out often and had crooked teeth.

She’s one of those pretty light skinned chicks with the kind of curves that cause jealousy in other women, including me. What’s most memorable is her feisty spirit. On TV, she was quick to fight anyone that even remotely disrespected her.

I considered her a stripper turned rapper and I wasn’t impressed. It all seemed cliche, almost comical. But every time I turned on the radio there she was and I just couldn’t understand. My borderline hateration was palpable when I sent a text to my daughter back in summer 2017.

“Your gurl Cardi B is on my radio again and it’s too much,” an added bitmoji of me sinking in mud and the word help in huge capital letters rounded out the message.

So what’s all the hype with Cardi B? And in the language of the youngins, how did this ‘Glo Up’ happen (translation: when one suddenly becomes famous)?

Her rise to fame started in 2012 when she took to social media and talked about her life as a stripper. She caught the attention of several A-list celebrities and appearing on the radio show Breakfast Club with personality Charlamagne the God made her a household name.

“She’s also the self-described stripper hoe that’s all about her shmoney; the intersectional feminist who advises her cypher of girlfriends on how to turn the tables on ain’t sh*t f**k boys; the gansta b***h who warns detractors not to underestimate her,” reported Marjua Estevez in Vibe magazine.

Barely a quarter of a century, the Bronx, NY born and raised singer, songwriter of Trinidadian/Dominican descent was named Belcalis Almanzar at birth but nicknamed Bacardi (her sister is named Hennesey).

I researched her lyrics and what I found is that she focuses mostly on money, her body and making statements about how she doesn’t really care about what other people think, say or feel. While I feel her work lacks any real substance, she’s rebellious and money centric.

What’s lacking lyrically is made up for in sound, beat and song production value. I’m willing to admit that I have caught myself humming portions of her songs as if I love her music.

What I can respect about Cardi B is her desire to empower women to take control of their lives. She is all for women using what they have, even if it’s their body to make money.

It’s not lost on her that men don’t respect strip club dancers. And for young girls who look up to her, she’s quick to encourage them to have a second plan if they start out as a dancer. In the end, she advises them to strive for a career they can be proud of or something with a real future.

A private person who values spending time with her family, Cardi B is proof that life paths are as varied as fingerprints and no two are the same.

“Follow your own way, your own path, do your own thing. Follow your dreams. Don’t look at somebody and be like, ‘Oh my god, I gotta do what she did.’ Do what you do and make your own way,” Cardi B said when asked what she would say to her younger self.

In the end I can’t hate on Cardi B, instead I have nothing but mad respect for her grind. She followed her own path, she didn’t depend on the way others had did it and carved out her own way. As fate would have it, after years of hustling, she has reaped the benefits of playing the social media fame game.

I’m reminded of the saying, don’t hate the player, hate the game.

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