For those of you who didn't wake up to the good news, Cardi B's 2017 glow up now includes being a two-time Grammy nominee. Earlier today, the 2018 Grammy noms hit the internets, and Cardi's smash hit "Bodak Yellow" was nominated in the Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song categories. As people started pouring over what the nominations meant, a tweet from Fader set off a chain of confusion with many wondering if Cardi B is even credited as a songwriter on the record.
In a now-deleted tweet, Fader wrote Cardi "is not credited as a writer on 'Bodak Yellow,' meaning that if she wins she wouldn't be personally eligible for an award." The publication also noted that Kodak Black is credited as a writer (among others) because the song interpolates his 2014 song "No Flockin." They later sent an update, saying that "a representative for The Grammys" confirmed that Cardi's credited on "Bodak Yellow" under her "songwriting name" Washpoppin, which is also the name of a 2016 single from her Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1 mixtape.
The confusion, as Billboard wrote, lies in the Best Rap Song category honoring songwriters, and it would appear that Cardi B's real name (Belcalis Almanzar) isn't listed on the Grammy website as a songwriter, but Washpoppin is. For what it's worth, if you do a little digging on the music publishing (which ensures that those who wrote and produced a song get their proper payment) on "Bodak Yellow" Cardi B's government name is listed on the Warner/Chappell Music website. To make matters more interesting, if you search for her name on the ASCAP site, Cardi's listed as a writer on "Bodak Yellow" once again, with "Washpoppin Inc" listed as one of the publishers.
We all want to see Cardi continue to succeed in 2018, and hopefully that includes a Grammy or two.
