Cardi B Is The First Woman Rapper In Hip-Hop History To Have Two #1 Singles
Even as she awaits her first child, Cardi B is steadily making moves that haven’t been made before in Rap. Her latest single, “I Like It” featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin has climbed to the #1 slot on the Billboard
“Hot 100” chart. This second hit comes after, “Bodak Yellow,” which stayed in the top spot for three weeks back in October of 2017.
These two chart-toppers, both off her #1, gold-certified debut album, Invasion Of Privacy, mark a significant achievement for women in Hip-Hop because Cardi B is the first female rapper ever to reach the top, twice.
Cardi B Finesses The Charts & Breaks 2 New Guinness Records
Beyond setting a new record for the ladies in the game, Cardi is part of an intimate group of female rappers to have done it all. In 1998, Lauryn Hill reached the coveted spot with “Doo Wop (That Thing)” from (the also #1) The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill album that the single belongs to. Although Foxy Brown climbed to the top of the list in 1997 with The Firm’s The Album, she had Nas, AZ and Nature’s help—just as L-Boogie did so with The Fugees and The Score a year prior. Two years after The Firm, Fox achieved top-ranks on her own with Chyna Doll. That same year, Eve made her indelible mark with Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryders’ First Lady. Lil’ Kim had a little taste of chart-topping fame thanks to a feature role on Pop hit, “Lady Marmalade” with Christina Aguilera, Mya and P!nk in 2001. Then there was a long lag with no women in Hip-Hop topping charts until Nicki Minaj swept the scene in 2010 with Pink Friday, and again in 2012 with Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.
Lil’ Kim had several tracks in the Top 10, but never hit the top mark except in her heavily featured Pop hit. MC Lyte narrowly broke into the Top 10 with “Keep On, Keepin’ On.” Missy Elliott grabbed #2 with “Work It” and #3 with “Lose Control,” but never elevated to top spot. Short of a Mariah Carey remix appearance, Da Brat’s music never squeezed into the Top 5, while Queen Latifah has never enjoyed a Top 10 single.
TDE’s President Makes A Compelling Argument For Why Cardi B Is Like Tupac
In 2018, Cardi B—who revealed that she secretly married Migos member Offset last month—is writing some new history.
#BonusBeat: This 2017 TBD episode examines the rise of Cardi B and the ongoing female takeover in Hip-Hop: