Belcalis is having one hell of a 2017.  Just a year ago, Cardi B was featured on Rolling Stone's "10 New Artists You Need To Know" list and right they were. So right that she's not only featured in the magazine again, but ON THE COVER. For numerous reasons, It is completely safe to say that Cardi has won 2017.

When many of us were first introduced to her, she was just a "regular degular schmegular girl" from the Bronx on IG where she captured thousands of hood girl hearts. Most citable, the video that captured the most attention was the infamous "a hoe never gets cold" (which is when a lot of women realized they didn't qualify). Her personality is unapologetic and certainly undeniable with an attraction that makes you not want to miss a second of what she's doing.In capturing thousands of views from purely IG traffic, she worked her way into bringing those viewers to VH1 when she joined the cast of Love & Hip-Hop NY in 2015. In being completely honest, Cardi's role on the show was the main reason several viewers tuned in. Prior to being on the show, she was not shy to the fact that she was a former stripper and was very open about it. In fact, she did an interview last year with DJ Vlad on her dancing past and how she got there.

While on the show, Cardi made it apparent that she was leaving her dancing days behind her with aspirations of being a rapper. Unfortunately for them, many of the people she attempted to work with on the show didn't take her seriously. I'm certain they're regretful now. Some of her first singles "Foreva" and "Wash Poppin'' were our first glance at Bardi with the bars. There's also "Cheap Ass Weave", a cover of Lady L's Brush Your Teeth, and of course "Stripper Hoe".   In March of 2016, she dropped her first tape "Gangsta Bitch Vol. 1" on SoundCloud, her first project that lit the streets up. Cardi has been setting up for a big payoff in her rap career since the end of 2016 and this year brought her the fruits of her labor.

In 2017, we got blessed with "Gangsta Bitch Vol. 2" which brought the banger that is "Lick" ft Offset and 11 other tracks that showed Cardi did not come to play.  In June of this year, she took the world by storm with  the hit "Bodak Yellow" and she has had win after win ever since. A week after the single's release, she got signed to Atlantic Records and has a publishing deal with Sony. She won FOUR awards at the BET Hip-Hop Awards. Got the number one song spot on Billboard's charts, a position a female rapper hasn't held in 19 years AND it went platinum. Then, in just this past week, she got ENGAGED at Powerhouse and is now covering Rolling Stone.

After going through the timeline that is Cardi B and music, here's why I feel like her wins are important to note and celebrate. The main thing is, Cardi DESERVES to win. She has been through trial after downfall in life and her recent uprising after quitting stripping is a Cinderella story that should be seen. Not enough people that started where she did are as transparent as she is about where she came from, what she's been through, and most importantly, she does so with NO shame. Her infectious personality makes her feel like you're her best friend and it keeps the people rooting for her.

If Cardi symbolizes anything as an artist, it's that your story is yours to own and being yourself IS MORE THAN ENOUGH.

There is a win, a love, an achievement, a triumph, a path for EVERY type of woman and Cardi is showing the world exactly that. We still have two months left in the year and I cannot wait to see what more blessings it brings forth for her.

Cardi is making all the  money moves and she'll always be the regular degular girl from BX.