One year ago today, Cardi B released her GRAMMY nominated hit single “Up”! The song went on to become Cardi’s 5th No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 (and her second SOLO NO.1), lasting 20 weeks in total on the chart.
One year of Up, I’m so proud. Had the nation dancing from dope celebs, at weddings, in restaurants, at pep rallies. No gimmicks, just the country having fun during hard times. Thanks for making it #1, see y’all soon ❤️ https://t.co/l9M1JKiUjV
Cardi B’s tweet on Twitter celebrating the one year anniversary of her hit SOLO No. 1 single, “UP!”
She also made history with the song by becoming the female rapper with the HIGHEST debuting SOLO song since Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)”, the FIRST female rapper to earn multiple No. 1 hits in multiple decades AND to have multiple No. 1 hits on multiple albums! The song currently has over 400 MILLION streams on Spotify and over 200 MILLION views on YouTube across the song’s official audio and music video!
Needless to say, this was a HISTORY making record! 👠🆙
Keep on supporting “UP” and watching the music video on YouTube, and continue to listen and supporting the song on Apple Music, Spotify, and on other streaming platforms! 👠👠👠
A year ago today, Cardi B released the music video for her anticipated single, “Press!” Cardi confirmed that the video for “Press” would be released in June 2019 on her Twitter.
PRESS MUSIC VIDEO DROPS TOMORROW AR 10am well 10:05 lols PRESS PRESS PRESS PRESS PRESS
The video was then officially released on June 26, 2019 on her YouTube account. It was directed by Jora Frantzis and co-directed by Cardi. The video generated controversy; in it, Cardi and other dancers are either partially or fully nude.
The parental advisory-marked music video has since received over 73 MILLION VIEWS.
The video opens with Cardi B’s character shooting a male and a female after having a threesome. Accused of murder, she then is arrested and taken to an interrogation, where she challenges the officers. She is seen leading a choreographed routine with crew of nude dancers.
Later in the music video, shows she assassinated the jury on a courtroom, as well as the dancers bleeding and laying on the floor. The clips closes with her angrily drowning her cell mate in the toilet.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is one of my favorite music videos within Cardi’s videography. The only other music video that can surpass “Press” in terms of direction, creativity, and concepts with story telling. Since this music video has dropped, no other female rapper has tried to top and make a music video that had concept and story telling that actually worked well with the song.
When Cardi dropped this music video, it made me so excited for the next era and what her next slew of music videos are going to end up being like!
A year ago today, Cardi B and Bruno Mars had came together to collab again, and released the song, “Please Me.” The song was produced by Mars and the Stereotypes, as a “mid-tempo” retro groove type song.
This would be the second time the two would collab, since their 2018 collab, “Finesse” that released on January 2018. “Please Me,” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #5, and then later reached and peaked at #3. The song would eventually have a music video that was released on March 1, 2019.
BACKGROUND
Cardi had reactivated her Instagram account to announce a new collaboration on February 14th, having to deactivate her profile for a couple of days after receiving criticism online in response to her winning Best Rap Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
“Please Me,” cover art
Both Cardi and Mars shared the cover art on their respective accounts. “Please Me” was written by Cardi B, Bruno Mars, James Fauntleroy, Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus, Jeremy Reeves, and Ray McCullough II. The production and programming was handled by Mars and the latter four, known as The Stereotypes.
MUSIC VIDEO
The music video premiered on March 1, 2019 on YouTube. It was directed by Florent Dechard and Mars, and was choreographed by Tanisha Scott, Phil Tayag and also Mars.
In the video, Cardi is wearing a Selena-inspired look, composed by a purple leather jacket with fringe and a bustier. The music video was filmed in Los Angeles, California.
THOUGHTS ON “PLEASE ME”
Well, let’s just cut straight to the chase, Cardi and Bruno hasmade a truly formidable, totally kicka** team. Case in point, the remix of Mars’ “Finesse,” which arrived in 2018. This time, Cardi B seems to be the headliner, even though “Please Me”is attributed to both artists, which also both happen to be signed to Atlantic.
The results are nothing short of stellar! Cardi B raps on both verses, exhibiting a compelling flow, while Mars was able to deliver a smooth, high-flying vocals on the ‘irresistibly good’ chorus. Really, can you go wrong with Cardi B and Bruno Mars team up? NO! As mentioned, this a formidable, kicka** pairing who continue to show how superb they are on “Please Me.” Both musicians excel in their respective roles with this great love and sexy song. I’m sure a lot of BardiGang would love to see Cardi and Bruno team up once again!
On this day, the 2019 Grammy Awards, also known as the “62nds Annual Grammy Awards happend today. Making it almost a year since, Invasion of Privacy ended up winning, “Best Rap Album,” making this Cardi’s very first Grammy win ever! For the 62 Annual Grammy Awards, Cardi was up for 5 nominations for the award show, and was the most nominated artist of the show that is Music’s BIGGEST NIGHT!
The most nominations from the night was Kendrick Lamar (8 nominations) and Drake (7 nominations). The other artists who would also have five along with Cardi would be: Lady Gaga, Childish Gambino, H.E.R, Mike Bozzi, Marrin Morris, and Sounwave.
Along with being nominated for “Best Rap Album,” for ‘Invasion of Privacy’, she was also nominated in another Rap category for “Best Rap Performance,” with the song ‘Be Careful.’
She also had some in general nominations with being nominated for “Record of the Year” with ‘I Like It,’ with collaborators Bad Bunny and J. Balvin, and in general, “Album of the Year,” with ‘Invasion of Privacy,’ giving her the total of five nominations.
Invasion of Privacy has broke many grounds for female Hip-Hop. With it’s Grammy win, Cardi was the first female solo artist to win the award for “Best Rap Album.” Prior to Cardi B’s win, the only other woman to get this win for the Grammy’s got her award in 1997, when the hip-hop group Fugees, which included Lauryn Hill, won Best Rap Album for The Score.
The Score, being the only other rap album that won “Best Rap Album,” that came from a female rapper but, was a group that also featured two males and one female. The one female of the Fugees, was none other than the legendary female rapper, Lauryn Hill.
Since her Grammy win Cardi joins seven other women who had Grammy’s to their name in the past with: Queen Latifah, Missy Elliot, Lauryn Hill, Salt n Pepa, Lil’ Kim, Left Eye, and Eve to have a Grammy to her name. Since Cardi has one, Lizzo is a new female rapper who has won three Grammy’s with Pop Solo Performance, Urban Contemporary Album, and Traditional R&B Performance. While these nominations aren’t within the Hip-Hop categories, they still count towards Lizzo as she does seem to define herself as a rapper.
Queen Latifah
Missy Elliot
Salt N Pepa
Lil’ Kim
Left Eye
Eve
Invasion of Privacy hasn’t missed a step since it has won a Grammy. It’s still currently on the Billboard 200 since it’s been released in 2018. According to Chartdata on Twitter, ‘Invasion of Privacy’ has since spent at least as of recently been on the Billboard 200 for 92 weeks. This means it has also surpassed another legendary Hip-Hop album, being ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ being on Billboard as recently as of January of this year.
.@iamcardib's 'Invasion of Privacy' is now the longest charting debut album by a female rapper in Billboard 200 history outright, surpassing 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' (92 weeks).
The album itself is still getting played, and still very much critically acclaimed by both fans and music critics. Cardi really made an album that almost anyone could relate to. Not just for (even though its the target audience) the females, but also the males, young children/and young teen adults crowd.
If you know about Cardi B., you most likely have heard of this album, or at least know a song from the album. We can’t wait to see what Cardi will be able to bring and to hit all of the corners again for her Sophomore album!
Today, marks the One Year Anniversary for “Money”! The single was released on October 23rd of last year, and was the first solo song that Cardi released since the release of her debut album, “Invasion of Privacy.” The song was written by Cardi B, and produced by J. White Did It. Cardi has also since performed the song at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, alongside the “Money Bag” instrumental. Its music video won Best Hip-Hop at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards.
On October 22, 2018 Cardi B announced that the single would be released the following Thursday. However, the song was released two days earlier due to a leak.
The single’s artwork features Cardi posing in gloves composed of gold watches and a gilded, chain-fringed hat.
Even Rihanna had a little something to say about Cardi’s golden watch glove!
SUCCESS AND RECEPTION
On Billboard, the song peaked at #13 in the US & reached the top 40 in Belgium, Canada, Greece, Ireland, New Zealand & the UK. It sold 6M WW, was the best selling solo female rap song of 2018, won a VMA and BET Award and is eligible for 5X Platinum in the US.
From Rolling Stone, Jon Blistein commented “Money” “boasts a stomping yet simple beat built around spitfire trap drums and stark piano strikes. Cardi rides the beat with characteristic aplomb, switching flows with ease as she unravels an array of punchlines and another instantly memorable hook.” Carl Lamarre of Billboard opined the song “finds Cardi dashing back to her mixtape roots, flexing a steely flow over a thunderous beat.”Tom Breihan of Stereogum wrote, “this is exactly the sort of song that Cardi B should be making right now. It’s tough and immediate, and it projects the same larger-than-life sneer that made Cardi sound like such a revelation on “Bodak Yellow” more than a year ago.”Stephen Kearse of Pitchfork deemed the track “familiar yet fun,” and added, “Cardi remains a direct and parsimonious writer, paring ideas down to their essence.”Complex listed the song among the week’s best releases, with editor Carolyn Bernucca praising the lyrics.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The production work on “Money” is hard-nosed, set in a minor key, definitely fueling her fire. Speaking of fire, Cardi B continues to be tough in her own right, eschewing being the least bit ladylike, and with a great intro line!
“Look, my bitches all bad, my n***as all real / I ride on this dick in some big tall heels.”
As always, Cardi is profane to the 9nth degree, not to mention chocked-full of confidence. Her flow is compelling, while her rhymes are familiar, but nothing ‘brand-new.’ She focuses on money, material, and sex, all rap clichés, but still in her own style and Cardi B way that we’ve grown to love her for!
Invasion of Bardi 