Born Belcalis Almanzar (October 11, 1992), Cardi B is a hip hop recording artist, social media and television personality. Prior to breaking into the music industry, Cardi B spent approximately four years as a Vine and Instagram celebrity. She rose to prominence in 2017 with the hit single "Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)," in the process dethroning Taylor Swift in the Billboard Hot 100 and making history by becoming the second female rapper to score a solo song (Lauryn Hill accomplished the feat in 1998). Born in the Bronx to a Trinidadian mother and Dominican father, Cari B's stage name derives from the Bacardi brand, one of the largest privately held, family-owned spirits companies in the world. Her sister is named Hennessy and people within her circle referred to Cardi as Bacardi, thus using the name on her social media accounts. Cardi B notes the accounts were often closed—most likely at the request of the Bacardi brand—and eventually settled on the stage name Cardi B, a play on Bacardi. The following are excerpts taken from interviews:

Cardi B in her own Words

Where she prefers to spend her time when not on the road

“I live in a beautiful condo, it’s very big, it’s very beautiful, but it’s so empty and boring. My grandma’s house is very, very tiny but it’s just a certain happiness there…It’s crazy ‘cause it seem like a lot of people in my grandma’s house, they have financial problems but they still happy as fuck.”— The Fader

On where her artistic name came from

“My sister’s name is Hennessy…So everybody used to call me Bacardi. So I used to call myself Bacardi, right? And then it was my Instagram name: Bacardi, Bacardi B. But for some reason my Instagram kept getting deleted, and I think it was Bacardi that had something to do with it. So I just shortened it to Cardi B.”—The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon