Two millennial rappers Belcalis Almanzar, also known as Cardi B, and Chancelor Bennett, also known as Chance The Rapper, plan to stay on top of the hip-hop music scene by defying standards and creating their own methods for producing music in 2017 and beyond.
Cardi B made her debut on the hit TV series, “Love and Hip Hop” and has made it known that she is never afraid to speak her mind to anyone. This is her trademark.
Her song, “Bodak Yellow“ reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 and she was the first female artist of color to reach this milestone. In this song, Cardi B addresses her many beefs on the show, proving her credibility:
say I don’t gotta dance, I make money move, If I see you and I don’t speak I don’t mess with you.
“Love and Hip Hip” showed that Cardi B had haters and she put her emotions about these haters in her music.
According to Dwayne McClain:
Cardi B worked her way to the top in an honest fashion, she put in hard work and dedication and found that she had more gifts than the work she was doing in the strip club.
As Cardi B puts it, “I’m a boss, you’re a worker.” This emphasizes that she is independent, she works for herself and does not have any features on her albums, while others may be signed under the topic of music or in other professions working under someone.
On Sept 26 2017, Chance The Rapper is another big name artist who also debuted his new, unnamed song on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” the same day Cardi B made it to the Billboard Top 100. Although Chance The Rapper already has a huge following, he too got to where he is today without signing with a label.
Cardi B’s song, “Bodak Yellow” was a part of her mix-tape, “GBMV2.” When Chance The Rapper first came onto the music scene, he started playing around with the idea of streaming his mix-tape to the public and eventually moving on to full-length albums. Yet, this is something that has stuck with him throughout his career. His vow is to keep the music that he produces. The one thing he stands behind is not charging fans for his mix-tapes or albums.
Consumers may wonder how Cardi B and Chance The Rapper are receiving so much clout while making money from free music. Streaming channels like Apple Music and Tidal charge a monthly fee to consumers and allow the artist to make a profit from the music they make.
According to Montana Scott, “I find that Cardi B and Chance The Rapper both have a unique style of music and their music is relate-able to consumers.”
Cardi B was extremely excited when she found out that she reached such a huge milestone in her life, this was definitely a change for the Billboard Top 100.
Written by Alexandria Martin
Edited by Jeanette Smith
Sources:
The Famous People: Belcalis Almanzar
XXL Mag: Stream Cardi B’s ‘Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 2’ Mixtape
People Chica: Cardi B Bodak Yellow Top 100 reaction
Variety: Chance the Rapper Premieres New Song on ‘The Late Show’
Interview: Montana Scott on 9/27/2017
Interview: Dwayne McClain on 9/27/2017
Featured Image by Julio Enriquez Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons – Creative Commons License