After seven long years, the wait is over, and Lady Belcalis of House Almanzar is back with her second album. It’s actually hard to believe that Invasion of Privacy came out all the way back in 2018, because Cardi B has released a string of hit singles, both solo and featured with other artists, and every few months or so there is another banger from the Bodega Baddie herself. In honor of this auspicious occasion, take a little journey through Cardi’s discography from her first single through her latest. From grinding out mixtapes trying to capitalize on her viral fame to A-List collaborations, these are my favorite Cardi B songs in chronological order
(And yes, there are some notable omissions like Maroon 5, Lizzo, Jennifer Lopez, etc. because some of those songs are so bad that even a Cardi feature won’t save them.)
“Cheap Ass Weave”
Cardi B. had built a following on Vine when she was scouted by producers for VH1’s Love & Hip-Hop New York season six. Two days after the premiere, Cardi dropped her first music video.
“Know the Difference” N.O. Corleone feat. Cardi B
You can’t find this song on streaming, but it was one of my early favorites. Built on a sample from jazz musician Lonnie Liston Smith (a sample most of us know from Mary J. Blige’s “Take Me As I Am”) it was Cardi’s first feature that showed how she could drop bars with male emcees.
“Washpoppin”
Cardi’s first mixtape Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1 landed her in court a few years ago over the cover art, because if Cardi isn’t pregnant, she’s in court somewhere. Cardi was the breakout cast member of LHHNY season 6 and 7, and some of her catchphrases on the show became singles. Whether she wrote the music first and tried to make them into memes on the show or wrote a song based on what producers edited into the show, you can see the makings of Cardi’s cross-promotional skill.
“Foreva”
Another single from her mixtape and another meme from LHHNY.
“She a Bad One” Red Cafe feat. Cardi B
Another collab you can’t find on streaming. This one came out just before her second mixtape.
“Pull Up”
When Cardi was in negotiations with major record labels, she left Love & Hip-Hop because she said nobody from the show who took their music seriously ever popped off. She famously was never shown on television recording any of her songs and never promoted her music on the show, so she may have been on to something. She dropped a pair of hard-hitting singles while shopping for a label.
“Red Barz”
Still my favorite Cardi song, this was her last release before signing with Atlantic and the flow is vicious.
“Bodak Yellow”
And there it is. Cardi’s major breakthrough. Released in June 2017, so many of her longtime fans were watching this song climb the charts all summer wondering if it would reach #1. It stalled at #2 behind Taylor Swift for awhile, but when she finally moved into the top spot, Taylor sent her a bouquet of flowers to congratulate her on a #1 single, the first female rapper to do it solo since Lauryn Hill back in 1998.
“No Limit” G-Eazy feat. A$AP Rocky and Cardi B
I don’t know who G-Eazy is, but Cardi is the best part of this song.
“La Modelo” Ozuna feat. Cardi B
This collaboration with Puerto Rican singer Ozuna was the beginning of the Is Cardi B. Black debate and it still hasn’t been settled to the satisfaction of her detractors. This is the first of many collaborations where Cardi performs in English and Spanish.
“Bartier Cardi”
“Bodak Yellow” came out in June 2016, but Cardi’s album was far from ready. She released “Bartier Cardi” in December of that year to gear up for the album push.
“Finesse” Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B
I wanted Bruno and Cardi to be the new Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell. They sounded so good on this track, and it was the first hit for the New Jack Swing genre since Janet Jackson’s “Because of Love” back in 1994.
“Thotiana” Blueface feat. Cardi B
I don’t talk about Blueface because he and Chrisean are two of the biggest disasters in music. It’s a bop though.
“Be Careful”
One last single before the album, Cardi released this song the week before Invasion of Privacy dropped. She’d also perform it on SNL the following weekend where she revealed her pregnancy.
For those of us who were following R&B and Hip-Hop in the 90s, it was unheard of for a woman to be pregnant during her album promotion, let alone a rapper, and a rapper with her debut album at that! Traci Braxton was famously pushed out of The Braxtons before their debut album because she was pregnant. Tamika Scott from Xscape had to hide her pregnancy under baggy clothes in the videos and no one knew she was with child. Cardi being pregnant during her first album cycle set the tone for a pregnant Cardi throughout most of her career.
“I Like It”
A smash hit, record breaking collaboration, this is an official song of the summer. Following “Bodak Yellow,” Cardi became (and remains) the only female rapper with more than one diamond single and more than one video on Youtube with a billion views.
“Ring”
A softer side of Cardi.
“Backin It Up” Pardison Fontaine feat. Cardi B
There are some saltier folks in the industry who said Cardi B. doesn’t write her own lyrics and Pardison Fontaine is the ghostwriter behind all of her hits. So, she released a song with him! And I love that level of attitude!
“Taki Taki” DJ Snake feat. Selena Gomez, Cardi B, and Ozuna
Another global smash, this video has two billion views on Youtube.
“Money”
“Money” was the video where I started to take Cardi seriously as a fashion icon. The styling is impeccable and you can tell she’s game for anything. Plus, dropping references to her brand new baby complete with a visual stand-in for the video, is iconic for female rap.
“Mi Mami” El Alfa feat. Cardi B
Cardi is able to reach a global audience whenever she hops on a track with a Latin artist, but it also works in reverse. I did not know who El Alfa was until he pulled cardi for a feature.
“Twerk” City Girls feat. Cardi B
JT was in jail, but Careesha found another baddie to flewed out.
“Please Me” Bruno Mars & Cardi B.
Marvin and Tammi! Do you see the vision?? I wanted a Bruno/Cardi collaboration every year, but this was the last one. I’m going to blame it on the fact that Cardi is wearing a cornrowed wig covering the top of her ears.
“Press”
Two years into her career, Cardi had been in the press almost as much as she’d been on the charts. She released this song in advance of her second album, stepping into the role of music video director for the first time, and this would be the beginning of the fans waiting on a second album that was never coming.
“YES” Fat Joe feat. Cardi B, Anuel AA, and Dre
A rare collab that didn’t chart (it barely made it into the Top 20 of Bubbling Under), I still think this is a banger
“Writing on the Wall” French Montana feat. Post Malone, Cardi B, and Rvssian
This collab charted much higher than “Yes” (probably because Post was in the middle of a hot streak) and while it’s the weaker of the two songs, it’s still a bop. This was Cardi’s last project before the pandemic.
“WAP”
A monster. This song came out of nowhere during Corona Summer and this song is the reason why Am I the Drama? is already 1.5x Platinum before its release.
“Me Gusta” Anitta feat. Cardi B & Myke Towers
Anitta had “Me Gusta” set as the lead single for her next album, and at the last minute Cardi was able to add a verse. The video is another great fashion moment for La Cardi.
“Up”
Another monster single — we just knew the album was coming after this one. But it didn’t. It did extend Cardi’s record as the female rapper with the most #1 singles though. And Cardi dropping hard 8-counts throughout the video forced the rap girls to start dancing.
“Wild Side” Normani feat. Cardi B
Cardi is a bit of an afterthought here, but the song is so good I decided to include it anyway. In true Cardi fashion, she is heavily pregnant. This kicked off a string of high-profile collabs from the end of 2021 through the end of 2023 with some of the hardest women in music. You could collect these singles (minus the one with Lizzo) into an excellent EP.
“No Love” Summer Walker feat. SZA & Cardi B
I love when the girls get Cardi to sing on a track. She’ll never have the vocal chops of Missy or Lauryn Hill, but Cardi is a music lover at her core and she’s always singing on her IG Lives.
“Tomorrow 2” GloRilla feat. Cardi B
Rap’s two most infectious personalities on one track — it had no choice but to bang.
“Put It On Da Floor Again” Latto feat. Cardi B
Cardi was in the middle of this run of singles showing up everywhere to drop fire and have fun.
“Point Me 2” FendiDa Rappa feat. Cardi B
This is probably my favorite Cardi feature. She heard this song on social media and her people reached out to FendiDa Rappa to ask if she could get on a remix. Of course the Chicago rapper said yes, and Cardi dropped some of her hottest bars in the middle of this lesbian ode to the strip club.
“Bongos”
“Bongos” didn’t make the same splash that “WAP” did but the song is still excellent and a great way to cap an unprecedented run of high-profile collabs with women in the industry.
“Like What”
A close second to “Red Barz” for me, this song was made even more delicious by the fact that she was playing chess with JT over those Rick Owens boots and completely cleared her on the track.
“Enough (Miami)”
Simple but effective, we just knew the album was coming out after this pair of singles, but we still had to wait another year. She did grab another Grammy nomination for this song though.
“Punteria” Shakira feat. Cardi B
And the girls got Cardi to sing again! Here she is with her new bestie Shakira singing on the lead single from her last album.
“Toot It Up” Pardison Fontaine feat. Cardi B
Whether Pardison ghostwrites for Cardi or not, the two of them are so much fun on a track and I’m glad she dropped another one with him.
“Imaginary Playerz”
Taking this Jay-Z classic was a risk, and I’m not sure it paid off given the tepid response to the single. The views on YouTube are low for a Cardi project, especially when she’s wearing some of the best fashions of her career. I think real hip-hop heads get it because she talked her shit to the max and still kept the flavor of the original. I’m glad she’s coming out with a single with Kehlani though — she needs that commercial impact.
And that’s it! Those are my pics for Cardi’s best music videos. If you have Youtube you can watch the playlist here.
If you have Spotify, most of these songs are on the playlist (except the ones that aren’t available) plus some album cuts that she didn’t shoot videos for.
Support a mother of four and cop Am I The Drama? tomorrow!
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