Words by Ime Ekpo
It’s safe to say, due to the obvious, that Cardi B is the current sensation for the majority when it comes to the Hip-Hop sound. Her rise to recognition as a Hip-Hop act is one that can not be denied. The Bronx act pioneered her popularity on Instagram which earned her a spot on one of highest rated reality shows, Love & Hip Hop where she seized the opportunity to jumpstart her rap career, and the rest is history.
Today, Cardi B has a platinum selling hit, “Bodak Yellow” which now shares a Billboard achievement with Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” as the first solo female rap single to reach number one on the Hot 100 since 1998. “Bodak Yellow” also knocked Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” off the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. But, do these accomplishments justify the use of another rapper’s flow?
Just going by the title of the track, “Bodak Yellow” is an instant reminder of the identity of Florida rapper, Kodak Black. This past weekend, Cardi B decided to respond to the claims about her stealing Kodak Black’s “No Flockin’” flow on her hit single, “Bodak Yellow.” Her response hinted absolutely no denial to the theft claim, as she bragged about how she will steal your favorite rappers flow and “body it” in signature Cardi B fashion.
And for anybody that telling me, ’Oh bitch, you copied Kodak flow, you copied this and that flow.’ So what bitch? So what? I’ma sound like all your favorite rappers. I’ma take all they flows and I’ma body it bitch. One day I’ma sound like Kodak, the next day I’ma sound like Meek Mill, the next day I’ma sound like Migos. I don’t give a fuck.
Ever since the infancy of the Hip-Hop MC, it has actually been looked down upon to steal another emcee’s rhymes and flow. A well documented case of flow theft in the early days of Hip-Hop is Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” where the rhymes of Grandmaster Caz were used, without his permission. Every emcee was determined to be in their own lane and earn their spot as the best for the sake of being one of a kind. This mentality may have changed subconsciously over the decades, but it was not a tactic that an emcee would actually admit to using. Remember Ghostface Killah vs. Action Bronson?
Is it possible that Cardi B’s confidence will trigger a change on how emcees configure their flow?
