Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Cardi B has gone viral in Saudi Arabia, where she performed in the early hours of Sunday morning and unleashed a torrent of praise for the kingdom on social media.
“Everything is brand new, honey. This country looks like it was just opened up yesterday,” Cardi gushed in an Instagram video.
The rapper was one of the headline performers at Riyadh’s MDLBEAST Soundstorm festival, where she welcomed the thousands in attendance with the traditional Muslim greeting “Salam alaikum” before later stating that “everything is mashallah” in the wealthy Gulf monarchy.
The Arabic word, meaning “God has willed it”, is a common term of praise in Muslim countries.
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Cardi notably adopted a more restrained tone during her set, avoiding her most explicit lyrics and wearing a flowing outfit that covered her from neck to toe – a departure from her usual style.
In the run-up to the performance, the artist posted videos at Riyadh’s luxury malls and donned a hijab, while praising the shopping, ranting against paying American taxes and raving over the levels of opulence in the Saudi capital.
“I do recommend to come over here for vacation. There’s no alcohol, but some of y’all don’t need to be drinking and having S-E-X,” she said.
Saudi Arabia has been splashing out in recent years, spending vast sums on celebrity appearances as it seeks to scrub a reputation stained by a systemic human rights violation and repression.
