From the hood to having it all: Cardi B goes from rags to riches and we love it

Struggles are the very fiber of success. It’s enlightening to watch the journey of others who are on a path to success. The struggles faced are relatable which makes it all the greater when we see our favorite celebrities “make it.”

Cardi B born Belcalis Almanzar is a 25-year-old Bronx, New York native. Cardi B who started as a popular social media star boldly discussed her stripper profession.

The B stands for Bacardi, as in the company that produces rum.

In 2015, she joined the cast of the sixth season of VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: New York staying for two seasons before leaving to pursue her acting and music career.

During her appearance on the reality show, we would learn about her then fiancé who was incarcerated and her overall personality, in one episode she dramatically explains, “a girl have beef with me, she gonna have beef with me…forevaa.” [sic]

She’s now blossomed into a full-fledged rapper with a successful debut album called “Invasion of Privacy” with a booming family; she became engaged in October 2017 and recently revealed on a Saturday Night Live appearance that she is expecting a child with her fiancé, fellow rapper Offset of rap trio, Migos.

Cardi B has gotten flack for being “ghetto and ratchet”, however, the budding star proclaims she’s just being herself.

The Dominican and Trinidadian beauty surely has an eclectic personality.  She can drop knowledge about history in one breath while discussing her body modification in the next. She recently relayed to GQ, “I love government. I’m obsessed with presidents. I’m obsessed to know how the system works,” “First of all he helped us get over the Depression, all while he was in a wheelchair. Like, this man was suffering from polio at the time of his presidency, and yet all he was worried about was trying to make America great—make America great again for real. He’s the real ‘Make America Great Again,’ because if it wasn’t for him, old people wouldn’t even get Social Security” referring to former President Franklin Roosevelt.

She then proceeds to discuss her inspiration for getting illegal injections in her backside, “When I was 21, I did not have enough meat on my body—if I was to get lipo, I wouldn’t have fat for my ass.” “They don’t numb your ass with anything, it was the craziest pain ever. I felt like I was gonna pass out. I felt a little dizzy. And it leaks for, like, five days.”

Criticized for the way she speaks, she understands the dismay and admits she doesn’t have the greatest command of the English language and grammar. “That’s my biggest problem, that takes me a long time in the booth, I be trying to pronounce words properly and without an accent. Each and every song from my album, I most likely did it over five times, because I’m really insecure about my accent when it comes to music. In person, I don’t care.”

Despite her struggles with English, while attending the Renaissance High School For Musical Theater & Technology in the Bronx, she enjoyed “To Kill a Mockingbird, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and The Coldest Winter Ever, by Sister Souljah.”

As Cardi B discusses her story, fears and thoughts we are drawn to her because she reminds us that we’re all striving to grasp something bigger than us and that we aren’t as unlike as we may seem to be.