Cardi B is talented and beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that fans don’t mind learning the position in which she got knocked up.
But though she’s known for her carefully manicured looks, she’s showing fans another side of her that few have seen.
Take at look below at her make-up free, natural haired selfie. She’s gorgeous.
Though she had appeared in the past on Love & Hip-Hop: New York, Cardi B was catapulted to becoming a household name with her hit single, "Bodak Yellow."
After being entranced by her music — the lyrics, the hook, everything — a lot of people were drawn in by her looks.
Cardi B is hot. She just is. You can tell from the photos.
When someone’s looks are tied to their brand, as is so often the case, they seldom let people see them with their guard down.
Like a growing number of celebrities, Cardi B plays by a different set of rules.
Take a look at her makeup-free look and her big, natural hair.
She looks great!
She looks different, but certainly not unrecognizable, which means that she’s doing right by herself when she does her makeup.
Cardi B captioned this photo:
"Knock me down 9 times but i get up 10 bitch!"
From the flow, that actually sounds like it would be a perfect lyric for "Bodak Yellow."
But the line is actually from another song of hers, "Get Up 10."
(Logistically, one assumes that Cardi B got up once before any of the nine knockdowns occurred, which would explain in the discrepency between how many times she is knocked down and how many times she arises)
Showing herself with her natural hair — well, straightened to some degree, but mostly natural — is actually a big deal, in a way that sharing a makeup-free snap is not.
Because women of color living in the Western world have had their appearances critiqued and controlled for centuries, forced by white supremacy to conform to European beauty standards.
Cardi B may play that game with her public appearance, but this photo is a powerful and important reminder that she has a lot of hair, and that she has to put in a great deal of work to make it appear as it does in public.
(When she isn’t wearing a wig, that is)
Recently, Cardi B announced her pregnancy.
She is pregnant by her fiance, Offset.
Initially, many of her fans grew concerned when she became engaged so quickly after skyrocketing to fame.
They wondered if Offset was hitching himself to her before it really hit home for her what an incredible future her career has in store.
(Doubts were magnified when a woman came forward claiming to be Offset’s baby mama … and Offset’s refusal to take a paternity test)
Many of those concerns have vanished as fans are enthusiastic for Cardi B to become a mom.
Cardi B’s selfie is inspirational and we’re so glad that she elected to share it.
That does not mean that we don’t like any of her other looks.
Like all women, and also all other folks, she is entitled to be the author of her own appearance. That means that she can wear as much or as little makeup as she likes.
So long as she keeps churning out excellent music, we’ll keep listening.
Speaking of which, if you’ll excuse us, we need to listen to "Bodak Yellow" one or ten times.
