Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

Cardi B teaches us how she makes money move

Kimberly Adams Apr 6, 2018
HTML EMBED:
COPY
Cardi B performs onstage during the Warner Music Group pre-Grammy Party in association with V Magazine on Jan. 25, 2018 in New York City. Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Warner Music Group

Cardi B teaches us how she makes money move

Kimberly Adams Apr 6, 2018
Cardi B performs onstage during the Warner Music Group pre-Grammy Party in association with V Magazine on Jan. 25, 2018 in New York City. Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Warner Music Group
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Cardi B released her debut album, “Invasion of Privacy” today and it’s already certified gold.

“She’s the first female artist to have five songs on the top ten at the same time on the Billboard chart,” said Charlie Coffeen, a musician who teaches hip hop history at Columbia College Chicago. “She’s a household name in a matter of five months.

Cardi’s summer hit “Bodak Yellow” may have helped make her a household name, but she’s been building her fan base on social media for years. The Bronx-born rapper is no stranger to the internet. Years before she dropped this album, she was the subject of many viral videos and memes from her time spent on the reality show “Love & Hip Hop New York.”

Fans that have followed her since then are familiar with her candid personality online. She frequently shares the struggles of her career on her social media platforms, including in a recent (and quite profane) Instagram post questioning where her tax money was going. 

“I want to know what are you doing with my f*cking tax money,” she said in the Instagram rant. “I’m from New York and the streets is always dirty, it was voted one of the dirtiest cities in America, there’s still rats on the damn train.”

“I thought it was a really honest depiction of what probably a lot of us feel around this time of year when we’re doing our federal taxes,” said Peggy Bailey at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, which tracks how federal tax dollars are spent.

“When you’re driving to work on the highway, those are federal dollars,” she said. “If you go to a hospital, the federal government has provided money for that. If you’re a family on Medicaid the federal dollars are a part of that and providing rental assistance and affordable housing.”

 With Cardi B’s growing popularity, and wealth, she’ll probably see more of her money moving to the IRS in the future.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.