The Cardi B effect: Why nothing can stop the girl from the Bronx
Cardi B has the opportunity to have a number one single in the country after “Bodak Yellow” became the most streamed song in the US with 40.8 Million streams on September 18th.
Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow" is expected to reach #1 on next week's Hot 100.
— chart data (@chartdata) September 18, 2017
This accomplishment gave her the highest-charting song by a solo female rapper since Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” duplicated similar numbers 2014.
If she claims the number one spot, she’d be the first female rapper to do so without a feature in 20 years.
Right now the only thing in her way is Taylor Swift. Swift has held the number one spot for three weeks now with her new song “Look What You Made Me Do” but is facing major resistance to keep the position.
As Cardi B inches closer and closer to overtaking Taylor, her fans began taking notice, and in turn, began campaigning for her to surpass the multiple Grammy winner.
https://twitter.com/ziwe/status/909460304404328448
Cardi B has the opportunity to go #1 and be the first female rapper to do so without a feature in 20 years. Last person was Lauryn Hill. pic.twitter.com/KXtfDR3Ll6
— Waiting To Oxtail (@ThatDudeMCFLY) September 18, 2017
And the campaigning appeared to pay off. “Bodak” is slated to overthrow Taylor Swift for No. 1 spot on Billboard Hot 100 as the single has continued to show strong digital sales with 30,272 units sold.
It’s almost like Cardi B has a magic touch. Everything about her makes her easy to root for. Even on Love & Hip-Hop where it’s easy to get placed in a bad light, she managed to stand up for herself and made it known where she stood at all times.
These were the things she was doing before television and the music — she would unapologetically speak her mind in a way that commands your attention.
So it was almost as if rooting for “Bodak” was like seeing your homie win, and the support began to spread.
Apple Music head of artist curation Carl Chery described it perfectly in an interview with Billboard.com,
“It’s something I noticed in the last couple years: Every now and then someone has a hit where the energy just feels different every time it comes on. It doesn’t feel like a hit, it feels like a moment.”
The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and could reach platinum not too long after.
Anyone who has taken a second to look past the less than perfect subject-verb agreement, the accent, and the rate of speech would agree that Cardi B has nothing but positivity to share.
Taylor Swift, who last effort sold 9.5 million worldwide and won her Album of the Year at the Grammys in 2014, is not even safe from the goodwill of Cardi B and her inevitable success.
Cardi B is proof that if you apply yourself, using the basic everyday resources around you to be an outlet to whatever talent you have, success is obtainable.
Let’s hope the Bronx queen gets that number one spot.