Cardi B Leads the 2018 MTV VMA Nominations, Edging Out The Carters, Drake

This year just keeps getting better for Cardi B who, by the way, just a week ago gave birth to her first child. It was announced this morning that the breakout star has received 10 MTV Video Music Award Nominations — more than the Carters, Drake, Childish Gambino and others.

Not only does Cardi lead this year’s nominations, but it should be noted that while last year Cardi did attend the VMAs as a performer and presenter, this is the first year she’s been nominated at all. To come out the gate crushing her more seasoned competition in the bid for nominations is definitely is a significant moment.

While Cardi has faced haters since the beginning of her fame, her supporters all over the world seem to be quieting down the critics who, perhaps, are getting used to her particular brand of brashness. And let’s be honest, it’s kind of impossible not to enjoy her music at least on some level. I mean, a couple weeks ago two of my tias who are both in their fifties, were on Facebook discussing how much they love her “Girls Like You” collaboration with Maroon 5. If that doesn’t say something about her appeal, I don’t know what does.

A lot of what Cardi does — the references she makes, the beats she samples — are things that resonate strongly with the Latinx audience that has long been ignored in mainstream media, and most of us are here for it. Much like Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” last year, I feel like some of the tracks off of Cardi’s “Invasion of Privacy,” such as “I Like It,” help people understand our culture a little bit more. Her success is proof of how powerful the Latinx market is.

No matter how you feel about her, let’s just take a minute to recognize that a Latina rapper from the hood beat out longstanding favorites like Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Drake in nominations for what is typically one of the most popular music award shows in the world. Whether she actually wins or not doesn’t even really matter, our girl is proving she can hang in the big leagues and that she isn’t going anywhere any time soon.