Cardi B Is The First Female Rapper To Be Given This Honor

Cardi B may be up for seven nominations at Sunday night’s BET Awards, but she’s already proven herself to be a winner.

Thursday night, the Bronx-bred chart topper was crowned the Songwriter of the Year at the 34th annual Rhythm & Soul Music Awards, held by the performers’ rights organization ASCAP. She’s the first female rapper ever to receive the title.

As Billboard reports, during her acceptance speech, the new mom and Grammy-earning artist reflected on her career thus far.

“I just want to say I’m very grateful,” Cardi began, after accepting the award from ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews. “Sometimes I feel like I’m not doing too much because when it comes to female rappers, it’s like you’re never doing too much or they’re always pitting you against another female rapper.”

Cardi B accepts the @ASCAP Songwriter of the Year award last night.

She became the first female rapper to win the award 🏆 pic.twitter.com/QbItK8npCB

— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) June 21, 2019

She continued, “[With] everybody saying I’m not this or that, sometimes I gotta see it and feel it for myself because it’s hard. Everybody always wants to say I made it because of this or made it because of that. I made it because I worked my a** off… Thank you very much, ASCAP. This is an honor for me.”

Sunday night, the “Bodak Yellow” lyricist is set to hit the stage at the 2019 BET Music Awards. Her multiple nominations include Viewer’s Choice, Best Female Hip-Hop Artist and Video of the Year.