Birthday girl Cardi B is having a year full of fabulous firsts

Belcalis Almanzar, aka Cardi B, is making her presence known! In the words of the 26-year-old Afro-Latina rapper: "I like dollars, I like diamonds, I like stunting, I like shining"— and shine she did this year. The new mom to daughter Kulture Kiari (born in July), won three 2018 MTV Video Music Awards. One of her triumphant wins included the trophy for Best New Artist. That’s right, Bardi Gang, your No. 1 girl is doing big things! While her on-again, off-again feud with Nicki Minaj has dominated headlines lately, the numbers don’t lie when it comes to her incredible success. Last year, she topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart with her megahit “Bodak Yellow,” making her the first female rapper to do so since Lauryn Hill’s “Doo-Wop (That Thing)” in 1998. The rapper also bumped Beyoncé to become the first woman to have five top 10 hits on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts in a single week. And remember when she dethroned Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” last year? And Taylor sent her flowers to congratulate her? Crazy, right?! She followed up that success by releasing her highly anticipated album Invasion of Privacy in April. It made history its first week by getting more than 100 million streams on Apple Music. It also debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and spent an impressive 24 weeks on the chart. Her single “I Like it” featuring J Balvin and Bad Bunny skyrocketed to the top of the charts. The sexy Spanglish song gave Cardi her second Billboard Hot 100 No. 1. She’s the first female rapper to reach this milestone. She first reigned with her debut hit, "Bodak Yellow.” With more than 34 million Instagram followers, Cardi B knows it’s all thanks to her fans: “I can’t thank ya enough.” Keep on celebrating Cardi!