Sophia Michaels
Everyone knows the name Cardi B now that the rapper has taken over the music industry. But a few years ago, no one had heard of the unique moniker. Cardi B wasn’t born with this name, so where did she get it? Here’s the story of how a girl from the Bronx became the rapper known as Cardi B.
Where did Cardi B’s name come from?
Before she was known as Cardi B, the rapper was a young woman growing up in the Bronx named Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar. But that’s a mouthful, so you can’t blame her for switching to a nickname early on.
She explained the origin of her new name during an interview with The Wendy Williams Show. The rapper said: “My sister’s name is Hennessy, so everybody used to be like ‘Bacardi’ to me,” the rapper said. “Then I shortened it to Cardi B. The ‘B’ stands for whatever, depending on the day…beautiful or bully. No one calls me Belcalis except for my family, my mother, and my daddy.”
But Cardi B — who identifies as a “regula degula schmegula girl from the Bronx” — doesn’t always stick with the same moniker. While in Nigeria recently for a show, she decided to adopt a Nigerian name during a radio interview.
The host of the show, Davido, is engaged to a woman named Chioma. So, Cardi B decided she’d become Chioma B while in the country.
The radio host reacted to the joke on Instagram, writing “We have a problem,” and then tagging his fiance and adding several laughing emojis.
Cardi B gave her daughter an unusual name
Just like many other celebrities, when it came time to name her daughter, Cardi B was never going to pick something generic. Instead, she chose the name Kulture Kiari Cephus.
In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres on The Ellen Show, Cardi B explained that her daughter’s father, the rapper known as Offset, came up with the unique name.
“My dude named the baby,” she said. Although she didn’t share the name at the time because the interview was done before Kulture’s birth, she did give a tiny hint.
“I really like the name,” Cardi B said. “It’s like almost tricky, but when it comes out it’s like ‘Ah!’”
However, it’s easy to see where they came up with the baby’s middle name. She shares it with her father. Offset’s legal name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus. We suppose with parents who are known as Cardi B and Offset, their daughter had to have an original name to match.
What made Cardi B so famous?
Cardi B is known for her “no filter attitude,” and it first drew her attention on Instagram. She earned a large following by discussing her stripping career in an open way — something that there wasn’t a lot of women doing at the time.
It may be because Cardi B has a different attitude toward stripping than most would expect. When asked by DeGeneres if she liked stripping, Cardi B answered: “Hell yeah!”
She went on to explain how her feelings about the job differ from others.
“I mean, a lot of people want me to be like, ‘Oh I hated it. I don’t recommend it to nobody,’” she said. “…It’s not for everybody, but it made me money. It paid my bills.”
But the thing that pushed Cardi B into the spotlight, more than anything, was definitely her “no filter attitude.” She even agreed during her discussion with DeGeneres.
“What helped me was my personality,” she said. “My personality took me places.”
Cardi B’s unique name matches her unique personality. A boring name never would have fit the larger than life attitude of Cardi B. Imagine a bada** rapper known as “Sarah.” It doesn’t have the same ring. Whoever first started calling her Cardi B really knew what they were doing. But we’re sure they had no idea how famous the moniker would become.
Written by: CheatSheet
