Cardi B is the success story of female rap in 2017, her smash hit “Bodak Yellow” is poised to become the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and has peaked at #2 on the PlayData charts in Nigeria. If “Bodak Yellow” were to top the chart, it would be the first time a solo female rapper has done so since Lauryn Hill debuted at #in 1998 with “Doo Wop (That Thing).”
Cardi has achieved this achievement without a label for the most part, “Bodak Yellow” dropped before Cardi B signed to Atlantic. In that way, Cardi shares something in common with a Nigerian femcee who just covered her hit record, her name is Bella Alubo.
Bella recently put pen to paper on a record deal with Tinny Entertainment after generating quite the buzz for herself by dropping two tapes – Bella (the EP) and Bella 2.0: Lucid Dreaming. She did so much groundwork on her own with those projects that the record deal only provided grease and more fuel for a train that was already in motion, Bella raps about it to:
Two tapes out, I no just dey make mouth
I no just be fine girl, I really hustled for it
Bella has covered a number of other popular tunes in the past, like Mr. Eazi’s “Hol’ Up” and Falz’ “Karishika”, and has also earned her stripes that way. The rapper gave a good account of herself on those covers, that’s probably why on her own version “Cold Black Bello” she raps:
Moving up, so they say I pulled a fast one
100 problems, killing a beat is not one
On the record, Bella flawlessly switches from pidgin to English, and then to Hausa, to further back up her claims of being the Sauraniyya (Queen) of Jos.
“Cold Black Bello” has an accompanying video directed by Bash ‘Em and features Dapo Tuburna, AT, Cleo-Thelma, Attitude, Boybreed, Egarboi and LA. It’s Bella’s second video with the Tinny Entertainment after “Radio”.
Check out the video below: