Cardi B Wiki – Biography
Cardi B, is an American rapper, songwriter, and actress. Born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx, New York City, she became an Internet celebrity after several of her posts and videos became popular on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to 2017, she appeared as a regular cast member on the VH1 reality television series Love & Hip Hop: New York, which depicted her pursuit of her music aspirations. She released two mixtapes—Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, before signing with label Atlantic Records in early 2017.
Early Life
Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar was born on October 11, 1992, in Washington Heights, Manhattan. The daughter of a Dominican father and Trinidadian mother, she was raised in the Highbridge neighborhood of the South Bronx, and spent much time at her paternal grandmother’s home in Washington Heights, which she credits with giving her “such a thick accent. Almánzar developed the stage name “Cardi B” as a derivation of Bacardi, a rum brand that was formerly her nickname. She has said she was a gang member with the Bloods in her youth, since the age of 16. However, she has stated ever since that she would not encourage joining a gang. She went on to attend Renaissance High School for Musical Theater & Technology, a vocational high school on the Herbert H. Lehman High School campus.
During her teens, Cardi B was employed at a deli in Tribeca. She was fired, and her manager suggested she apply to be a stripper at the strip club across the street. Cardi B has said that becoming a stripper was positive for her life in many ways: “It really saved me from a lot of things. When I started stripping I went back to school.” She has stated that she became a stripper in order to escape poverty and domestic violence, having been in an abusive relationship at the time after being kicked out of her mother’s house, and that stripping was her only way to earn enough money to escape the situation and get an education. She attended Borough of Manhattan Community College before eventually dropping out. While stripping, Cardi B lied to her mother by telling her she was making money babysitting.
In 2013, she began to gain publicity due to several of her videos spreading on social media, on Vine and her Instagram page
Cardi B Age
Cardi B is 28-years-old.
Accused
The 28-year-old rapper sparked backlash after appearing on the November cover of Footwear News to promote her upcoming collaboration with Reebok holding a sneaker and seemingly imitating the Hindu goddess Durga (who is traditionally depicted with 8 to 10 arms).
Several people on social media called the cover disrespectful and accused Cardi of “mocking” their culture. “Cardi B did not pay ‘homage’ to the Hindu goddess Durga by holding a shoe in her hand, this is plain disrespect and in no way cultural appreciation,” one Twitter user wrote, according to Indian Express. “She can’t get away with this without addressing and apologizing for mocking our culture.”
Another added, “Apparently this is Cardi B paying ‘homage’ to the Hindu goddess Durga…This is straight-up racist.”
Footwear News said in a statement to PEOPLE on Wednesday: “Yesterday we posted content from our exclusive Cardi B cover shoot. One of the images was intended to pay homage to Hindu goddess Durga, and our intent was to show a powerful woman. However, we realize we were not considerate of certain cultural and religious perspectives and how this could be perceived as deeply offensive.”
“We take full accountability for this oversight and we apologize,” the outlet continued. “It is important we learn from this example and are sensitive to this sort of religious imagery when creative discussions are taking place in the future. Today, we’re releasing another cover from the shoot that was a subscriber exclusive.”
Cardi apologized For Any Offens
Cardi B is apologizing following accusations of cultural appropriation.
On Wednesday morning, Cardi apologized for any offense she may have caused on her Instagram Story, admitting that she should have researched the concept before the cover shoot.
“When I did the Reebok shoot, the creatives told me I was going to represent a Goddess; that she represents strength, femininity and liberation, and that’s something I love and I’m all about,” she explained.
“And though it was dope, if people think I’m offending their culture or their religion I want to say I’m sorry. That was not my intent. I do not like disrespecting nobody’s religion. I wouldn’t like people to offend my religion.
“I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful; maybe I should have done my research. I’m sorry, I can’t change the past, but I will do more research for the future,” Cardi concluded.
