Cardi B facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cardi B
Cardi B in 2021
Born	Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar (1992-10-11) October 11, 1992 (age 33) New York City, U.S.
Other names	Belcalis Almánzar-Cephus
Education	Borough of Manhattan Community College
Occupation	Rapper
Years active	2015–present
Spouse(s)	Offset ​ ​ (m. 2017; div. 2024)​
Partner(s)	Stefon Diggs (2025- present)
Children	2
Relatives	Hennessy Carolina (sister) GloRilla (cousin)
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Origin	New York City, U.S.
Genres	East Coast hip-hop trap
Instruments	Vocals
Labels	Atlantic
Signature

Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar (born October 11, 1992), known to the world as Cardi B, is a famous American rapper from New York City. She is known for her energetic music and personality. Cardi B is one of the most successful female artists in music history. She first became popular on social media and on the TV show Love & Hip Hop: New York.

Her first album, Invasion of Privacy (2018), was a huge success. It went to number one on the Billboard 200 chart and won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. This made Cardi B the first solo female artist to win this award. The album had two number-one hit songs, "Bodak Yellow" and "I Like It".

Cardi B holds many records in the music world. She is the female rapper with the most number-one songs (five) on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She is also the only female rapper to have number-one songs in two different decades (the 2010s and 2020s). Her songs have sold over 100 million copies in the United States.

Besides music, Cardi B has appeared in movies. She was also a judge on the music competition show Rhythm + Flow (2019). In 2020, Billboard magazine named her Woman of the Year.

Early life

Cardi B grew up in the South Bronx neighborhood of New York City.

Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar was born on October 11, 1992, in Manhattan, New York City. Her father is from the Dominican Republic and her mother is from Trinidad and Tobago. Because of her background, Cardi B identifies as an Afro-Latina.

She grew up in the South Bronx and also spent a lot of time in Washington Heights with her grandmother. She says this is where she got her "thick accent." Her stage name, Cardi B, came from a nickname she had that was based on the rum brand Bacardi. She has a younger sister named Hennessy Carolina.

Cardi B attended Renaissance High School for Musical Theater & Technology. As a teenager, she worked at a grocery store. After leaving that job, she took on other work to escape poverty and pay for her education. She attended the Borough of Manhattan Community College but eventually left to focus on her career. In 2013, she started to become famous after her videos on Vine and Instagram went viral.

Career

2015–2016: Career beginnings

Cardi B during an interview in January 2016

In 2015, Cardi B joined the cast of the reality TV show Love & Hip Hop: New York. She quickly became the show's star because of her funny and honest personality. After two seasons, she left the show in 2016 to focus on her music career.

She released her first mixtape, Gangsta ... Music, Vol. 1, in 2016. She also began to get noticed by magazines and appeared on other TV shows. Her goal was to make music that was fun and relatable.

2017–2018: Breakthrough with Invasion of Privacy

Cardi B at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards

In 2017, Cardi B signed a major record deal with Atlantic Records. Her big break came with the release of her single, "Bodak Yellow". The song became a massive hit and went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This made her the first female rapper to top the chart with a solo song since 1998.

"Bodak Yellow" was named one of the best songs of 2017 by many critics. Following this success, she released more hit songs, including collaborations like "MotorSport" and "Finesse" with Bruno Mars.

On April 6, 2018, she released her first studio album, Invasion of Privacy. Critics loved the album, calling it one of the best debut albums of the time. It went to number one in the United States. The album included the hit song "I Like It", which also reached number one on the Hot 100. This made her the first female rapper to have multiple number-one songs.

Later that year, her collaboration with Maroon 5, "Girls Like You", also hit number one. This song was extremely popular and its music video has been viewed billions of times on YouTube.

2019–2021: More Hits and Acting

Cardi B performing at a festival in July 2019

In 2019, Cardi B won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album for Invasion of Privacy, becoming the first solo female rapper to do so. She also won six Billboard Music Awards.

She made her movie debut in 2019. She was also a judge on the Netflix music competition show Rhythm + Flow.

In August 2020, she released the song "WAP" with Megan Thee Stallion. The song was a huge success, debuting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It broke the record for the most streams in its first week for a song. In 2021, she released another number-one single, "Up". This made her the only female rapper to have two solo number-one hits. She also appeared in the action movie F9.

2022–2024: Collaborations and Other Projects

Cardi B continued to release music, often collaborating with other artists. She worked with GloRilla on the hit song "Tomorrow 2" and with Latto on the remix of "Put It on da Floor".

In 2023, she and her then-husband Offset partnered with McDonald's for a special celebrity meal. She also reprised her voice role as Sharki B in the movie Baby Shark's Big Movie!.

In 2024, she released new solo music, including the songs "Like What (Freestyle)" and "Enough (Miami)". She also collaborated with the singer Shakira on the song "Puntería".

2025: Am I the Drama?

Cardi B's second studio album, Am I the Drama?, was released on September 19, 2025. The album was highly anticipated and included previous hits like "WAP" and "Up". It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making her the only female rapper to have her first two albums reach the top spot. The album was certified triple platinum by the RIAA, becoming the highest-certified female rap album of the 2020s.

In early 2026, Cardi B won three awards at the 57th NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Album for Am I The Drama?. She also began her "Little Miss Drama Tour" across the US and Canada.

Artistry

Cardi B has said that her musical influences include rappers like Missy Elliott and Lil' Kim, as well as pop stars like Lady Gaga and Madonna. Her music is a mix of hip hop, trap, and Latin music.

Critics have described her rapping style, or flow, as fast and energetic. Her lyrics are often about her life, relationships, and empowerment. She is known for her strong New York accent, which comes from her Dominican heritage and growing up in the Bronx.

Other Ventures

Cardi B has worked with many famous brands. She has released clothing and sneaker collections with Reebok and Fashion Nova. In 2018, the makeup brand Tom Ford released a lipstick named after her, which sold out in one day.

She has also appeared in commercials for Pepsi and McDonald's. In 2021, she launched a brand of flavored whipped cream called Whipshots.

Grow Good Beauty

In 2026, Cardi B launched her hair care brand, Grow Good Beauty. This venture followed years of her sharing homemade hair mask recipes and hair care tips on social media. The brand aims to offer "accessible luxury" hair products, focusing on hydration, growth, and scalp health for various hair textures.

Achievements and Records

Cardi B has received many awards, including a Grammy Award, eight Billboard Music Awards, eight Guinness World Records, six American Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, and many more. Her album Invasion of Privacy was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, a rare achievement for a female rap album.

Time magazine included her in their list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018. She won the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year award in 2019 and 2020, making her the first female rapper to win it twice. In 2020, she was named Woman of the Year by Billboard Women in Music.

Cardi B holds the record for the most number-one singles by a female rapper on the Billboard Hot 100 (5) and the most total weeks at the top (16). "I Like It" was the first song by a female rapper to reach over a billion streams on Spotify. She is the only female rapper to top the global Spotify chart multiple times with "Taki Taki" and "WAP". Invasion of Privacy was the top female rap album of the 2010s.

Cardi B is the first female rapper with at least three Diamond-certified songs: "Bodak Yellow", "Girls Like You", and "I Like It". She has been ranked highly on Pitchfork's annual list of best songs of the year twice. She is the highest-certified female rapper of all time in US digital single sales, with 69 million certified units. By October 2022, she had sold 100 million RIAA-certified units across her music.

In the US, Cardi B had the best-performing song of the year by a female artist three times (2017, 2018, and 2020). "Bodak Yellow" and "I Like It" are among her music videos with over 1 billion views on YouTube. "Girls Like You" has over 3 billion views, and "Taki Taki" has over 2 billion views. Cardi B is the only female rapper on Billboard's Greatest Hot 100 Hits of All Time list.

Her second album, Am I the Drama? (2025), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. This made her the only female rapper to have her first two albums debut at the top. The album also set a record for the most charting songs by a female rapper on the Billboard Hot 100, with 18 tracks. It was certified platinum on its release day and double platinum by February 2026, becoming the highest-certified female rap album of the 2020s.

Personal Life and Family

Cardi B identifies as a practicing Catholic.

Cardi B is Afro-Latina and Afro-Caribbean. She has spoken about her heritage, explaining that Caribbean people have African roots. Rapper GloRilla is Cardi's biological first cousin.

In early 2017, Cardi B began dating fellow rapper Offset. They secretly married in September 2017. Their daughter was born on July 10, 2018. They welcomed their son on September 4, 2021. In December 2023, Cardi B shared that she and Offset had separated. In July 2024, Cardi officially filed for divorce from Offset. She gave birth to her third child, a daughter, on September 7, 2024.

In October 2024, rumors began about Cardi B and NFL player Stefon Diggs. She publicly confirmed their relationship in June 2025. In September 2025, Cardi confirmed she was expecting her fourth child, her first with Diggs. She gave birth to a son in November 2025. Cardi and Diggs separated in 2026.

Discography

Studio albums

• Invasion of Privacy (2018)
• Am I the Drama? (2025)

Tours and Residencies

Headlining tours

• 2019 Tour
• Little Miss Drama Tour (2026)

Residencies

• Cardi B at KAOS (2019)

Filmography

Images for kids

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  Cardi B backstage at the 2018 Jingle Ball

See also

In Spanish: Cardi B para niños

• Black Hispanic and Latino Americans
• List of artists who reached number one in the United States
• Dominican Americans
• Hispanics and Latinos in New York
• List of most-followed Instagram accounts