Virtually famous: Cardi B

The US looks to have fallen hard for Cardi B. We’ve got until late November to catch up, when the stripper turned internet celebrity turned reality TV star turned hitmaking rapper (it’s not often those things happen in that order) jets in for two London appearances.

The 24-year-old born Belcalis Almanzar will be the only American at Spotify’s first foray into live music, when she performs at the streaming service’s Who We Be event at Alexandra Palace alongside Dizzee Rascal, J Hus and Bugzy Malone. She’s also just announced a headline show at the Forum for the night before.

By that time her first single on a major label, Bodak Yellow (Money Moves), should have risen significantly from its current UK chart position of 52. In her homeland the song, a starkly minimal trap track over which she struts and brags in her thick Bronx accent, looks like it’s about to knock Taylor Swift off the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, with 40.8 million streams this week alone.

It will put her in a tiny club of chart-topping female rappers – even Nicki Minaj hasn’t had a US number one single.

Loudly dressed, outspoken and unashamed of her background, it’s easy to see why her 10 million Instagram followers are into her. Now the real world is following suit.

Nov 29, O2 Forum Kentish Town, NW5 (0844 847 2405, o2forumkentishtown.co.uk); Spotify presents: Who We Be Live, Nov 30, Alexandra Palace, N22 (0870 444 5556, alexandrapalace.com)

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