She ain’t gotta dance, she makes money moves.
Cardi B might just make history with her debut single ‘Bodak Yellow’ as it reaches new heights on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.
The infectious track was a late entry to the race for song of the summer when it dropped mid-June but it has been the season’s surprise runaway hit and has hit a new peak of number two on the most recent chart.
‘Bodak Yellow’ is the first Top 10 solo hit by a female rapper since Nicki Minaj’s ‘Anaconda’ three years ago and it has now reached its peak, meaning if it goes number one then Cardi B would have the highest-charting female rap song in years.
To put things into perspective, ‘Anaconda’ is Nicki’s highest-charting song and Cardi just matched it with her debut. It’s MAJOR.
The success of ‘Bodak Yellow’ is truly unprecedented and a huge moment for not only Cardi herself but female rappers everywhere, so we couldn’t be happier for her.
At this very moment, Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” holds the number one slot on the Billboard Hot 100, while Cardi’s “Bodak Yellow” is sitting at number two. Since most of the year was dominated by “Despacito,” Ed Sheeran, and Bruno Mars, this is a big deal; according to a piece on Glamour.com, the last time two women were atop the Billboard Hot 100 was in December 2014. Yet the narrative here is not one of female triumph. It’s one of white privilege versus underrepresented voices. So on top of Cardi being an extremely hardworking artist as well as a sweet person in general, there is also another narrative here. Specifically for the culture.
Though unintentional, it feels as though these two women represent warring American factions: White privilege desperate to retain power and crappy Confederate statues, taking up torches (“look what you made me do”) and people of color on a mission to improve their status and push forward, despite the obstacles and opposition, ignoring the haters (“I don’t gotta dance I make money move/If I see you and I don’t speak/That means I don’t fuck with you”).
In addition, Cardi B’s backstory—a rags to riches arc, daughter of immigrants, domestic violence survivor, who found fame via popularity on Instagram and reality TV—has fans feeling personally invested in her success. As one fan puts it, she’s gone “from the hood to Hollywood.”
The result is a battle for number one that feels more like a battle for America’s soul, with fans hopeful that Cardi B can reach number one, thereby taking with her and uplifting everyone who’s ever felt oppressed, outnumbered, underrepresented, disadvantaged, or underprivileged. As journalist George M Johnson put it on Twitter, “If Cardi B unseats Taylor Swift, we might have a shot of surviving Trump.” The new Billboard charts are released on Tuesday. Stay tuned.
Now, come on America, make Cardi B the first female rapper to have her debut single hit number one! Stream it, buy it, do it all! You can stream ‘Bodak Yellow”s video below along with Cardi’s Breakfast Club interview where she spoke on her chart success:
