The rise of stripper cum rapper Cardi B (aka Belcalis Almanzar) plays like fodder for state-of-the-music business analysis on various levels. On the one hand, at a time when revenue from record sales is fast approaching dismal irrelevance, betting on the appeal of a transgressive female gangsta rapper (East Coast branch) who has no compunction about delivering graphically explicit rhymes, both sexual and violent, was probably not the riskiest of bets for Atlantic Records. Meanwhile, the mainstream response to someone who could be seen as an unholy mix of Nicki Minaj and early Katy Perry has alternated between amused bewilderment and the condescending and, frankly, offensive ‘noble savage’ takes on her overnight stardom from those who seemingly find themselves at a loss to explain her but don’t want to be considered devoid of cool or what passes for it in 2018.
Perhaps this is a stretch, but at a time in which a reality TV star has become president of the United States and could possibly have his presidency derailed by a porn star, that someone like Cardi B is all the rage and conquering the top of the charts—who, to her credit, is self aware enough to reference her own 15 minutes of fame on her recent album—is not one bit surprising: she is exactly the kind of pop star we both want and deserve at this point in time.
And so it goes…
