Entertainment
Belcalis Almanzar (aka Cardi B) is the queen of unfiltered social media content. She tells it like it is, she doesn't over-edit (if she even edits at all), and she doesn't give a damn about carefully curating her image. Early on Wednesday, Cardi B reposted a meme of herself that was based on an old childhood photo. It'd been making the rounds on the internet for a few days already, but the rapper's response to becoming a meme is yet another reason she's one of the best — if not, the best — people to follow on social media.
According to NYLON, Twitter user @FendiVersace originally dug up the too-funny photo of baby Bartier Cardi, though it's unclear where and how he found it. Not that it matters, though, because fans are just straight-up thrilled to know it exists.
The photo depicts a pint-sized Bardi, dressed in a matching shirt and pant set, hand placed squarely on her hip, and an expression on her face that is all attitude. "My momma said y’all have to play with me," the now-viral meme declared.
Cardi later caught wind that the photo had become famous, and responded to it twice. On Twitter, her response started with 10 laughing-so-hard-you're-crying emojis, followed by her calling it, "funny as f*ck." On Instagram, her emoji response tone was a bit more mixed — a combination of laugh-crying, angry, and distressed faces — and she wrote, "Yaaaa annoying for this. Leave five year old Belcalis alone." LOL. Aw, girl.
There's nothing wrong with with having a hyper-curated Instagram feed, of course. That's just not Cardi's style, though. Cardi B's social media posts are honest, open, humble, and inadvertently hilarious. She is who she is, no filter, and her realness makes her relatable.
In addition to her appreciation for all kinds of memes, here's a few more reasons why you should definitely be following Cardi B. Okurrr?
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Her Pregnancy Real-Talk
If you want to know what being pregnant feels like — what it really feels like — then look no further than the last several months of Cardi B's social media. They are gold. Cardi shares the good, the bad and what some people might call the TMI-ish parts of pregnancy, but that's one reason why fans love her. She lays it all out there.
Like the time she crowd-sourced a baby-related question, asking Twitter, "Why is it that every time babyfather leaves that’s when i start getting heart burn ,cramps ,back pains ,baby start kicking harder and faster ... Like wtf?? I Been so uncomfortable for the past 2 days," she wrote on June 3. "Do babies get attach to people even if they in the belly ?"
Or that time she shared a downside to pregnancy — strange mom-to-be dreams: "Ok soooo one thing i don’t like about pregnancy is these weird,crazy ,spooky dreams i be having," she wrote on May 5. "I hate them .I be waking up in the middle of the night out my naps .Is the weirdest thing ."
Seriously, just scroll through her accounts for like, five minutes, and you'll learn everything you ever needed to know — or never wanted to know — about the miracle of childbirth.
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Her No-Makeup Updates
Cardi B is not concerned with looking picture-perfect, flash-bulb ready every second of every day. Good on her. In fact, she seems to prefer giving her fans updates on what's going on in her life in real-time, with or without makeup.
Dog just gave birth? She's giving her fans a glimpse while the puppies are still wet, no makeup. Pregnancy pains? She's telling us all about it, no makeup. Waking up to good news? She's letting fans know, and and doesn't care what her hair looks like, no makeup.
You know how she said "only the real can relate" in "Bodak Yellow?" Cardi is forever living her lyrics.
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Her Countless Fan Shoutouts
Cardi B loves the Bardi Gang, and she thanks her fans constantly for contributing to her chart-topping successes. Sometimes her appreciation posts come in the form of a video, and other times she prefers to tweet out her gratitude when her tracks hit important milestones.
She regularly retweets fans' positive comments, too, and interacts with people about a breadth of topics on Twitter. Not only that, but she reposts her favorite fan interpretations of her songs, original choreography, and little baby Bardi outfit recreations — which, if you haven't seen, you should definitely get into. They are bute as hell.
She knows where she comes from, where she's been, and how important it is for her to make her fans feel valued. All without a filter, and all without the help of a publicist doing her tweeting for her. Bless.
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Look, even though Cardi B's out there making money moves, she still keeps it real with her fans on social media. So, if you're not following her already, do yourself a favor and go get with it.
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