Cardi B's Dramatic Transformation From 23 To 28 Years Old

Cardi B is one of the hottest rappers in the game today, but before she was raising eyebrows to the roof with her explicit lyrics and racy outfits, the "WAP" singer wore a few other rather colorful hats. Born Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar on Oct. 11, 1992, Cardi B grew up in the Bronx. She seemed destined for fame when she was given the nickname that would become her stage name. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she explained the origin of her moniker. "My sister's name is Hennessy, right? So everybody used to call me Bacardi," she said. She originally went by the name "Bacardi B" on Instagram, but shortened it to "Cardi B" when her account kept getting deleted.

Cardi B worked at a deli when she was 19, and she discovered that she was a born entertainer not long after she got fired for giving a coworker an unapproved discount. She told The Fader that the shop's manager pointed her in a much different direction by suggesting that she apply for work at a nearby business. "He was like, 'You're so pretty, you got a nice body.' He told me to go across the street to New York Dolls, the strip club. That's when I started stripping."

Over the course of a few years, Cardi B's life would take a number of twists and turns before she became a chart-topping musical icon. Let's take a look at her dramatic transformation from age 23 to 28.

Focusing on her music turned out to be the right move. Cardi B (pictured above at age 24) released her second mixtape, Gangsta B**** Music, Vol. 2, in early 2017, and she signed with Atlantic Records soon afterwards. The mixtape featured "Lick," her collaboration with future husband Offset. However, her first bona fide hit was the single "Bodak Yellow" from her debut solo album, Invasion of Privacy. It shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in September 2017.

In the banger, Cardi B dropped a few lines about her appearance, including her expensive taste in shoes. "These expensive, these is red bottoms, these is bloody shoes," she rapped. Her creative description referred to the iconic scarlet soles of Christian Louboutin's coveted designs. Her stylist, Kollin Carter, told Billboard that she was purchasing "a pair or two" of the stylish status symbols "every couple of weeks" at the height of the track's success.

Cardi B, who has always been candid about the work that she's had done, also referenced the money that she spent on her teeth. "Know you prolly heard of me, got a bag and fixed my teeth," she sang. While talking to TMZ, Dr. Catrise Austin, the dentist who gave Cardi her gleaming porcelain veneers, said that her business tripled after the rapper mentioned her dental work in "Bodak Yellow."

In February 2019, Cardi B (pictured above at age 26) took home her first Grammy and made history in one fell swoop when she became the first solo female artist to win best rap album (via The Hollywood Reporter). During her acceptance speech, she thanked her baby girl for the role that she played in the completion of Invasion of Privacy. "It's because you know, when I found out I was pregnant my album was not complete. I had like three songs that I was for sure having," the singer said, per Marie Claire. According to Cardi B, being pregnant pushed her to complete the record so that she could start shooting music videos before she began "showing."

2019 was a big year for Cardi B. Her life came full circle when she appeared in the hit movie Hustlers, which featured Jennifer Lopez in the starring role. The film was centered on a group of strippers, but Cardi B was unable to show off her pole-dancing skills due to having recently undergone liposuction and breast augmentation surgery. She told ET, "So I was like, 'This is my moment to shine, and I can't shine because I can't climb!'"