With Cardi B’s album Invasion of Privacy set to drop on April 6th, the pride of the Bronx has taken her always-enthusiastic social media use to another level. The latest Instagram post features her singing the infamous (sort of) track “Cinderella” by The Cheetah Girls. “I just want to give a little preview of what you guys gonna get on April 6th,” she announces, before launching into the famed chorus of “I don’t want to be like Cinderella, sitting in a dark old dusty cellar.” But wait, I hear you ask. Why is she singing someone else’s song? Is this a joke or is she really sampling The Cheetah Girls? And most importantly, who are these Cheetah Girls I speak of? For those who neglected their 00s history lessons, here’s a primer on one of the most important bands since 3LW.
Who?
The Cheetah Girls were a quartet of well, girls, dreamt up in a back room on the Disney lot in 2003. Comprised of Adrienne Bailon, Kiely Williams, Sabrina Bryan, and famous teen TV psychic Raven-Symoné, the girls were launched into the public consciousness with the made for television movie The Cheetah Girls. With its enthralling plot, which as one might guess, follows the girls as they become famous, it sold 800,000 copies, launching the leopard-clad young women into the tween consciousness. Songs like “Cinderella” and “Girl Power” were ubiquitous in the malls of the world.
What?
Obviously, the demand was there for The Cheetah Girls 2, which follows them on a whirlwind tour of Spain, presumably so they can record a bunch of songs around the concept of being “Amigas”. The cheetahs had a look and stuck to it — diamanté and denim, leather and lace were paired with leopard accents again and again. Sadly however, their success was also their undoing — Raven-Symoné becoming so famous that she in fact had to leave The Cheetah Girls to concentrate on That’s So Raven. Amigas no more, evidently, and they disbanded in 2009, citing tensions in the group and the relative failure of their third album, the hopefully named The Cheetah Girls: One World.
Why?
The Cheetah Girls are exactly what the ten-year-old Cardi would have been listening to, as evidenced by her rendition of “Cinderella”. Despite her searingly modern delivery, Cardi’s no stranger to nostalgia, as reflected by her calling herself “The trap Selena” in “MotorSport” with Migos and Nicki Minaj. Truly, it’s high time for a reexamination of 00s tween music. Hilary Duff, you’re next girl.