Cardi B Riding High with Breakthrough Fame

If anyone is having a good year, it’s recording sensation Cardi B. The rapper’s debut album was so sought after that the anticipation alone propelled Cardi B to stardom. She seems packaged perfectly for the modern pop scene. Cardi understands what fans are looking for on an album, on social media, and in the press.

Cardi’s happy, presence draw people in, and her debut album, Invasion of Privacy could not have come at a better time. For nearly a year now, the single Bodak Yellow has been red hot, topping the Billboard Hot 100 last fall and even earning a Grammy nomination.

At a recent album release party, Cardi was self-effacing and serious in turns, telling fans “Bodak” changed her life and made her rich…right before skipping the track because, she said, “you heard it a thousand times…”

Of course, Cardi’s rise has not been without at least some controversy, fitting, in most cases for an up and coming rapper. One of the tracks on the new album, Be Careful, was clouded with questions after someone pointed out online how similar the song was to a track by rapper Pardison. Cardi was quick to try to squash the noise, saying the other rapper had a songwriting credit on her album, and that she appreciated being able to use the song and make it her own. About the controversy, the Associated Press reported Cardi saying:

“I don’t know where Pardison is at, but Pardison is a big part of the song. You know, I heard the record and I was like, ’…I want that record for me. So, you know, I flipped it and I made it into a girl version… ” Then, when the crowd at the release party wasn’t quite mollified, Cardi added, “What you need to do is ask your favorite rappers about their ghostwriters.”

Despite her rocketing fame, some have said Cardi B is nothing more than another internet-spawned “fad”. That she’s “pre-fab” and not going to be around much longer. That’s hard to see at the moment, and there are always critics looking to pan the “latest greatest” in music.

Meanwhile, Cardi has managed to transform a social media following into a music career, and she seems to understand both what her audience is looking for and how to deal with the critics that arise in this business.

So, will Cardi B last, or is she just last year’s pop one-hit wonder? At the moment, Cardi doesn’t seem to care. She’s just enjoying her time and hoping her fans are enjoying the ride too…no matter how long it lasts.

Ronn Torossian is the CEO of 5W Public Relations