Cardi B just got nominated for 10 f*cking VMAs, while T-Swift is up for 3
Now this is a world I want to live in.
Singer, rapper, and intermediately amateur comedian (among other things), Cardi B, has had one hell of a year.
But I don’t need to tell you that: I mean, I don’t even have a car, but I do know that if I had one dollar for each time “Be Careful” has played on the radio within the past week, I’d probably, well, have a car. That point seemed oddly specific and tastefully irrelevant, because it was.
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Anyway, Cardi has had an insane run, what with the release of “Invasion of Privacy ,”featuring your go-to Snapchat video set list – i.e. “I Like It”, “Bartier Cardi” and of course, “Bodak Yellow” (the song that seemingly started it all).
I think we can all agree (Cardi’s New York Mag feature, in particular, highlights this) that Cardi B is somebody we love to root for because she was never “supposed” to be famous. The rapper echoes this sentiment in her interviews and songs alike (‘I been broke my whole life/I have no clue what to do with these racks!’ ). But of course: she was meant to be famous.
When MTV revealed their list of VMA nominations via IGTV on Monday (which, quite frankly, is a whole other talking point for a whole other article) I have to admit that I was both surprised and also shocked (I’m aware those words mean the same thing) by the extent of the rapper’s recognition on the list. Cardi has been nominated for a whopping 10 Video Music Awards, including, but not limited to, Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Collaboration and Best New Artist — because yes, she is still a new artist, remember?
But wait. Take a trip with me. The year is 2013. Taylor Swift’s “Red,” is still permeating all air waves a year following its release, and T-Swizzle is the unsung Queen of Music™. That run was a little extra, but what I’m saying is I do in fact remember a time where Taylor Swift’s name seemed to be listed under every award in every category at least three times.
I completely respect Tay and her three hard-earned VMA noms (I mean, 3 VMA nominations is hardly a snub, lol) but it’s interesting to take note of how the tables have turned in the industry in just a few short years.
At one point, only true, die hard Love and Hip Hop ATL fans knew who Cardi was, and Taylor completely dominated the popular music sphere. We respect both women in their career endeavors and of course, acknowledge that everyone is at a different stage in their career at a given time. Still though, the fact that Cardi is leading the pack so staunchly this year is really making a statement and setting the tone for where the music industry is headed.
One could make the argument (I am, right now) that comparing Cardi and Tay is like comparing apples and oranges: plus, we’re here to celebrate both artist’s hard-earned successes, if that wasn’t clear. Buuut what’s also clear is that the industry is finally ready to fully embrace an artist like Cardi.
What do you think?
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