Meaning of “Bodak Yellow” by Cardi B

“Bodak Yellow” is a song by American rapper Cardi B. According to Cardi B, she named the song “Bodak Yellow” because its flow “will remind” listeners of the song “No Flockin” by the American rapper named Kodak Black. She went on to say the song’s title was based on her real name and the complexion of her skin. According to her the alphabet “B” that replaced the alphabet “K” in “Kodak” to form the word “Bodak” is because her name begins with the alphabet “B”. For your information, Cardi’s real name is Belcalis Almanzar. She further stated that the “Yellow” is simply because she’s a “yellow b***h”.

Key lines from the Lyrics of “Bodak Yellow”

In other to better understand the lyrics of “Bodak Yellow”, let’s take a look at some of the outstanding lines from the song.

“I don’t dance now, I make money moves”

Prior to becoming a professional rapper, Cardi B made a livelihood workings as an exotic dancer in New York City. She is therefore using that line to tell the world that she no longer has to work as a stripper in order make money.

“I’m a boss, you a worker, b***h”

Cardi uses this line to taunt all her haters referring to herself as a boss and her haters nothing but ordinary workers.

“You in the club just to party, I’m there, I get paid a fee”

She’s basically telling her enemies that unlike them (who go to clubs to have fun) she goes to the clubs to make money.

“Got a bag and fixed my teeth”

The line “got a bag” refers to her massive wealth whereas the line “fixed my teeth” means exactly what it means. For your information, after Cardi B rose to stardom and made a lot of money, she invested some of her money in fixing her teeth (which was in a very bad shape). Below is a picture of Cardi B before and after she fixed her teeth:

Cardi B before and after fixing her teeth.

Conclusion

There are several other remarkable lines from Cardi’s “Bodak Yellow”, but the above are what we found to be particularly interesting. All in all, the lyrics of this song see Cardi B doing two major things: dissing her competitors/enemies/detractors and telling her incredible story of rising from poverty to riches. With regard to the former, she told Billboard magazine that while recording the song, “every b***h” she hated came into her mind.

Facts about “Bodak Yellow”

• “Bodak Yellow” was written by Cardi B and four other songwriters, including rapper Kodak Black.
• The song”s production was handled by music producers J. White and Klenard Raphael. The latter was also one of the song’s writers.
• The song was officially released on 16th June, 2017 as the lead single from Cardi’s 2018 debut studio album titled Invasion of Privacy.
• “Bodak Yellow” heavily samples Kodak Black’s 2014 hit song “No Flockin”. According to Black, he became a fan of Cardi B the moment he heard “Bodak Yellow”.
• The song was a massive hit in the United States, peaking at number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for as many as three continuous weeks. In the UK Singles Chart, the song peaked at number 24.
• Upon topping the Billboard Hot 100, “Bodak Yellow” made Cardi B the second female rapper to ever top that chart with a solo track. Hill achieved that feat with her 1998 hit single “Doo Wop (That Thing)“.
• The song’s alternative title is “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)”.
• After the song’s massive success, Cardi B made a remix of the song, this time rapping in Spanish. The Spanish version of “Bodak Yellow” came out on 18th August, 2017.

Did “Bodak Yellow” win a Grammy Award?

No. The song was nominated for two Grammies at the 60th Grammy Awards in the categories of Best Rap Song as well as Best Rap Performance. But it didn’t win in any of the categories.

What prominent awards has “Bodak Yellow” won?

At the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2017, the song won the award for “Single of the Year”.