Belcalis Almanzar, known as Cardi B to her growing number of fans, stepped into the W hotel in Midtown Manhattan wearing leggings, an Atlanta Braves “Los Bravos” logo jersey and white Yeezy sneakers. She breezed past a bellhop, who was rapping her hit song, “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves).”

This “regular degular schmegular girl from the Bronx,” formerly a stripper, built her career on her ability to rattle off one-liners like “I’mma get that schmoney” on the VH1 reality series “Love & Hip Hop.” During her time on the show, some viewers saw her as a hero of female empowerment, as she made pronouncements like “Ever since I started using guys, I feel so much better about myself. I feel so damn powerful.”

Saturday was a big day for the 24-year-old hip-hop star. She had come to the hotel from a sound check at MoMA PS1, in Queens, where she would take the stage that evening.