Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, born October 11, 1992, records as Cardi B. Born in Washington Heights to a Dominican father and a Trinidadian mother and raised in the Highbridge section of the South Bronx, she worked as a stripper before building an audience through Vine and Instagram and joining the cast of Love & Hip Hop: New York. Her mixtapes Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 led to a deal with Atlantic, and "Bodak Yellow" made her the first solo female rapper in more than 20 years to top the Billboard Hot 100. Invasion of Privacy debuted at number one in 2018 and made her the first solo woman to win the Grammy for Best Rap Album. "WAP" with Megan Thee Stallion also topped the Hot 100, and her long-delayed second album Am I the Drama? arrived in 2025.