Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar (born October 11, 1988), known by her stage name Cardi B, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter and actress.  She is known for her breakout single, "Bodak Yellow", which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in 2017.  She became only the second female rapper to reach number one without a featured artist since Lauryn Hill with "Doo Wop (That Thing)" in 1998.  Almanzar also has appeared on the VH1 reality series Love & Hip Hop: New York. Cardi has earned five number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100: "Bodak Yellow", "I Like It", "Girls like You" (with Maroon 5), "WAP" (with Megan Thee Stallion), and "Up".

On January 2, 2018, Billboard announced that Cardi became only the third artist in history to have their first three singles in the top ten at the same time, with the songs "Bodak Yellow", "MotorSport", and "No Limit".  The first two artists to do so were the Beatles and Ashanti.

For the week ending July 14, 2018, Cardi's single "I Like It" reached the number-one position of the Billboard Hot 100, making her the only female rapper with two chart-toppers on the Hot 100. A remix of "Girls like You" by the band Maroon 5, featuring Cardi, also reached number one on the Hot 100.

Her first album, Invasion of Privacy, was released on April 6, 2018. Cardi B says that her music is a representation of what she would like to listen to.  The album won Cardi her first Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

She released the single "Press" on May 31, 2019.  On August 7, 2020, she released "WAP" featuring rapper Megan Thee Stallion. It entered at number one on the  Billboard Hot 100, becoming Cardi's fourth chart-topper in the US. On March 22, 2021, after entering at number two, her song "Up" became Cardi's fifth number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, extending her record for most chart-toppers by a female rapper.

She is known for her outspoken, outlandish personality. She started going viral on Instagram and social media in 2014 when she was stripping.

Early life and career 
Almanzar was born on October 11, 1992, in Washington Heights, Manhattan.  Her mother was a cashier, and her father was a taxi driver in New York City.  She has a sister named Hennessy. In a video with GQ, she says that the name Hennessy comes from when her mother gave birth and her father walked into the hospital room and told them that he had just been drinking Hennessy and he really likes the name. They all agreed that that was good name, hence the name Hennessy. Her family contains Dominican and Trinidadian ancestry.  Almanzar worked as an exotic dancer since the age of 19. She has released two mixtapes, Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1 and Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 2. Following the release of these records, Almanzar signed with Atlantic Records. She was a stripper and confessed that she would drug and rob men for survival. She’s of Dominican descent.

Personal life 
Cardi B's stage name comes from the rum Bacardi.  In October 2017, it was announced that Kevin Brophy, featured on the cover of Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1, intended to sue Almanzar and her management team for $5 million, claiming that the rapper used his likeness without his permission.

On October 27, 2017, she became engaged at a concert in Philadelphia to rapper Offset, a member of the hip hop group Migos. Almanzar later revealed that she and Offset had secretly married in Atlanta on September 20, 2017. Their daughter, Kulture Kiari Cephus, was born July 10, 2018. In 2018, He cheated on her with model Summer Bunni. In 2020, She legally filed for divorce from him.

On September 15, 2020, it was announced that Almanzar had filed for divorce from Offset.

At the 2021 BET Awards, Cardi revealed that she is expecting her second child with Offset.

Cardi B has admitted to getting plastic surgery including breast augmentation. She has also had teeth veneers.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Promotional singles

Other charted songs

Guest appearances

Music videos

As lead artist

As featured artist

Filmography

Notes

References 

1992 births
Rap musicians from New York
American hip hop musicians
American rappers
American songwriters
Musicians from the Bronx
Atlantic Records artists
Television personalities
American Internet celebrities
Living people