Cardi B's Influence On This Generation's Women In Rap

It’s no secret that the media tends to pit women against each other. It’s also become common knowledge that Cardi B possesses somewhat of a musical Midas touch. The general consensus is that a feature from the Bronx native is guaranteed to solidify your song as a hit. Regardless, over the years, Cardi B has remained humble, generously releasing herself to the newer crop of female rappers.

Cardi B’s connection to rising stars hasn’t gone unnoticed. In fact, Charlamagne Tha God likened her to Jay-Z and Drake. On an episode of the It’s Up There podcast, he praised Cardi for her willingness to share the spotlight with other women in rap. “Salute to Cardi. Cardi shifted that in the culture,” he said. “Cardi did for female rap what Jay-Z and Drake did, you know what I mean?”

It’s important to note that women in rap have existed since Hip Hop’s Golden Age. However, there has been a great shift in recent times, and this is largely in part to Cardi B. The media gained a reputation after the '90s for keeping the spotlight on one raptress at a time. For example, as Nicki Minaj became a household name in the 2010s, the thought of another femcee became almost foreign to fathom.

Cardi’s breakthrough has primarily been attributed to her unapologetic personality, street credibility, and hunger for success. When she burst onto the scene, there became more than one highly successful woman at the top of the rap scene. In a truly remarkable feat, she shattered the glass ceiling of expectations from women in Hip Hop. Cardi B earned the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album with her record-breaking debut album, Invasion of Privacy. In addition to this, she’s attained numerous chart-topping tracks and achieved three Diamond-certified records.

With many record-breaking feats to her name, Cardi B has always been willing to share the spotlight with her contemporaries and newcomers. She has lent her support to many acts, including the City Girls, GloRilla, Sukihana, Latto, and Rubi Rose. Most importantly, much of this support has been in the early stages of their respective careers.

Cardi B has also received great praise for her public affection towards other female rappers. She is also heavily invested in her collaborations, using her social media platform to promote her featured tracks loudly. While much of her rapping is centered around women's empowerment, sexuality, and money, Cardi B has also shared that she wants to see other women who rap about a wide variety of topics in the limelight.

In 2019, Cardi B called out Jermaine Dupri for tagging the new generation of women in rap as “strippers rapping.” She took to Instagram to share that sexual lyrics is mostly thanks to the consumers of the product. “There’s a lot of female rappers that be rapping they a** off. Y'all don't be supporting them, and they be mad dope,” she said.

With just one studio album out, it’s quite impossible to understand the heights of Cardi B’s popularity. Cardi B is restoring sisterhood in rap by sticking her neck out for several female rappers. Her connection to many rising stars in the game is quite remarkable. Furthermore, the women she has collaborated with have had nothing but wonderful things to say about her.

It’s as clear as day that Cardi B is a defining factor in the rise of femcees today. She has extended past the Hip Hop genre to become an outspoken, lovable media personality. In addition to this, by jumping on many artists’ tracks, she is awarding them hits of their own. Indeed, Cardi B is Hip Hop’s big sister, as far as many of today’s women in rap are concerned.

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