Cardi B stamped her name as a force in the music industry with multiple history-making accomplishments. Pardison Fontaine also believes his longtime collaborator made an unforgettable mark on culture in other ways. In a recent interview with 360 With Speedy, the host asked the New York-bred rapper/songwriter about Cardi B.
“I’ve heard you say that she’s a marketing genius,” Morman recalled. Fontaine responded, “Cardi’s a genius, period, on so many levels. I say this all the time, she would’ve been a star no matter what she chose to do.
“She really pioneered a lot of the energy that you see on the internet right now. She’s the first person to grab her phone and really start talking s### into it, unapologetically herself.”
Before becoming a Grammy-winning recording artist, Cardi B gained a following on Vine and Instagram. She eventually parlayed that social media popularity into a stint on VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: New York reality series.
Cardi then found initial success as a rapper with 2017’s “Bodak Yellow.” The Bronx-raised entertainer’s breakout single became the first solo song by a female rapper to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart since 1998.
Following the three-week reign of “Bodak Yellow” atop the Hot 100, Cardi also reached No. 1 with “Girls Like You,” “I Like It,” “WAP” and “Up.” The 31-year-old hitmaker holds the Billboard records for most No. 1 songs and most total weeks at No. 1 by a female rap act.
Fontaine co-wrote “Bodak Yellow,” “I Like It,” “WAP” and “Up.” He also teamed with Cardi B for his own “Backin’ It Up” single in 2018. That platinum-certified collaboration is Fontaine’s highest-charting entry on the Hot 100.