Cardi B’s life story is one of incredible transformation, akin to a modern-day Cinderella. From humble beginnings as a struggling “Cinderella,” she overcame life’s hurdles to become wealthy and successful, an esteemed member of the glamorous realm of modern entertainment.

While Cinderella is a classic Western fairy tale, Cardi B’s journey bears a closer resemblance to the tales of “One Thousand and One Nights.” Cardi B is, in fact, a stage name; her real name is Belcalis Almanzar, reflecting Arabic words linked to the Queen of Sheba. Her nickname, Cardi, is an abbreviation of Bacardi, a brand of rum, chosen because her sister was named after another brandy, Hennessy.

In New York City’s Bronx district, Cardi B’s nail salon displays two portraits on its wall. One is of the legendary actress Marilyn Monroe, and the other is a 2019 reinterpretation of Marilyn: Cardi B herself. Jenny Bùi, a Vietnamese-American, not only owns the salon but is also Cardi B’s close friend and has been for nearly a decade. This friendship traces back to the time when Cardi, struggling to make ends meet, first visited Jenny’s nail salon. It was Jenny who foresaw that her customer, known for her vibrant and sharp multicolored nails, would transform into a superstar rapper. Cardi’s Instagram, now boasting over 16 million interactive followers, is a natural platform for advertising Jenny Bùi’s nail salon, J. Bùi.

At the age of 26, Cardi B often recalls her life story, particularly with the women she bonds with at Jenny Bùi’s salon. To her, her present life is like a fairy tale in which she plays the role of a princess. She journeyed from being a “ragged Cinderella,” surmounting life’s obstacles to achieve wealth, success, and a membership in the opulent modern entertainment kingdom. However, Cardi still shares her ongoing struggles as she strives to preserve the peaceful and quiet life she often desires, despite her fairy tale existence. Her recent decision clearly illustrates her focus: she has chosen to prioritize her career, her legacy, and her newborn child over concerns about relationships and rumors, unlike in the past.

Describing Cardi B’s life as a “Cinderella story” is not far from the truth. In an incredibly short span, her fame skyrocketed, placing her on par with artists like Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift. Her name is now synonymous with admiration, much like her own early idols, Madonna and Beyoncé. However, her youth in the Trinidad and Tobago-Dominican Republic neighborhood of the Bronx was far from a fairy tale. She engaged in gang life, lived a tumultuous existence, and even took up a job at a grocery store, earning $250 per week. A pivotal phase of Cardi B’s life was her time as an exotic dancer, which she pursued with subtlety. She would lie to her mother, saying she babysat for money and used the “lower-class” profession to sever ties with an abusive boyfriend, refusing to endure his sexual misconduct.

Cardi B’s journey to fame began with her passion for music and dance. Her participation in the reality show “Love & Hip Hop: New York” marked the start of her rise. It was during this time that she began experimenting with her first mixtapes. In a remarkably short period, her artistic endeavors turned her life into a treasure trove, much like Cinderella’s fabled existence. The release of the single “Bodak Yellow” thrust her into the limelight, and it became a historic moment. Bodak Yellow transformed Cardi into the first solo female rapper with a number-one hit since Lauryn Hill’s “Doo-Wop (That Thing)” in 1998. It also made her the fifth female rapper in history to have an album top the charts. Her album, “Invasion of Privacy,” represented the completion of her spectacular transformation, and it is still regarded as one of the best debut albums by a female rapper since Lil’ Kim’s “Hard Core” in 1996. By 2019, Cardi was the youngest in the list of 20 global superstar artists, with Grammy awards, chart-topping singles, music videos exceeding one billion views on YouTube, and five Grammy nominations.