Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” continues to do what it do. And it be winning.
The catchy rap diddy, released by the Bronx, N.Y.-bred rapper born Belcalis Almanzar, first made waves after surging to Billboard’s No. 1 spot in September, a feat not seen by a female rapper since Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” in 1998.
The “bloody shoes” track remains atop the chart for a third week in a row. Chartdata confirms that “Bodak Yellow” is now tied with Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” as the longest-running song by a female artist to be at the No. 1 spot on the charts in 2017.
And if Cardi can maintain her position for one more week, she will beat Swift’s record, a rivalry made all the more lovely since both of them present as polar opposites.
As Dodai Stewart, editor-in-chief of Splinter, wrote in “The Pop Chart Battle of Cardi B Versus Taylor Swift Is a Metaphor for Race Relations in Trump’s America” :
Though unintentional, it feels as though these two women represent warring American factions: White privilege desperate to retain power and crappy Confederate statues, taking up torches (“look what you made me do”) and people of color on a mission to improve their status and push forward, despite the obstacles and opposition, ignoring the haters (“I don’t gotta dance I make money move/If I see you and I don’t speak/That means I don’t fuck with you”).
Love her or hate her, this has been a great year for Cardi. She’s up for nine BET Hip-Hop Awards, including Single of the Year for “Bodak Yellow.”