Cardi B creates hip hop history this week when she becomes the first female rapper since Lauryn Hill to score a solo Billboard number one single.
Cardi’s breakout hit “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” is currently No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 and she is dancing all the way to the bank because the track is the number one seller on digital media over the past week. Lauryn Hill scored a Billboard Hot 100 number one single as a solo act with “Doo Wop (That Thing)” on November 14, 1998. The song leads the chart for two weeks and helped cemented Hill as one of the greatest emcees of all time.
Other female rappers have achieved number one singles since Hill, but not as a solo artist. In 2001, Lil Kim earned a number one hit as part of the single “Lady Marmalade” with Mya, Pink, and Christina Aguilera. Female rapper Shawnna gets a number one in 2003 by being a guest on Ludacris hit single “Stand Up.” Iggy Azalea gets her first number one single when “Fancy” topped the chart in 2014, but she had help from Charli XCX. That track topped the chart for seven consecutive weeks. Nicki Minaj has yet to score her first Billboard Hot 100 number one single. She has several top ten songs and is the female artists with the most entries to the chart in history.
Cardi B also creates history by becoming the first female rapper to top the chart with their debut single. While Cardi B has released mixtapes before “Bodak Yellow” becomes a mega-hit, that was the first time she ever scored a Billboard hit.
Atlantic Records threw a grand party for Cardi B to celebrate the occasion and presented her with her plaque. “Thank you everybody I am very happy and I am very honored,” she said. “Especially since my family is here you know like at first I kept asking and I keep coming to the label like why is my sh*t not playing on the radio I do not understand whats going on and then they just be like you gotta keep working hard to get the record that big record. I said am going to do it am going to give you that record.”
Nicki Minaj congratulate Cardi on her success on Twitter saying, “Congratulations to a fellow NEW YAWKA on a RECORD BREAKING achievement. Bardi, this is the only thing that matters!!! Enjoy it??? @iamcardib”
