On Sunday, June 27, female rapper-phenom revealed she is pregnant with her second child, proudly boasting her baby bump during a live performance of “Straightenin” and “Type Sh*t” with Migos at the BET Awards in Los Angeles.
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Cardi B took the stage for a carefully choreographed debut, wearing a skin-tight outfit with a cut-out portion that perfectly framed her protruding pregnant belly.
The artist and her husband, Offset—member of the rap trio, Migos—married in 2017, and separated in 2018. They have maintained an off-and-on relationship since, and are already the parents of their two-year-old daughter, Kulture.
After the performance, Cardi shared another photo announcement on social media with the caption, “#2!” with a heart, tagging Offset.
Cardi B was nominated for five awards at this year’s BET Awards: Best Female Hip Hop Artist, Best Collaboration (“WAP” ft. Megan Thee Stallion), Video of the Year (“WAP” and “Up”) and Viewer’s Choice Award (“WAP”). She and Megan Thee Stallion took home the award for Video of the Year and Best Collaboration.
Her collaborator, Megan Thee Stallion, who was named BET’s Best Female Hip Hop Artist, also swept the 2021 Grammy’s with three awards—New Artist of the Year, Rap Song of the Year, and Rap Performance of the Year. The BET Viewers’ Choice Award also went to Megan Thee Stallion for her collaboration with Beyoncé on “Savage (Remix).”
When accepting the award for “Savage,” the artist said “I really forgot to say ‘thank you Cardi’ for even putting me on ‘WAP’ because it makes me feel so good to be acknowledged by one of my peers, who I think so highly of.”
The artist performed her song, “Thot Sh*t” on stage at the BET awards show.
Migos was nominated for Best Group, but the award went to Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak’s new duo, Silk Sonic. The duo was also nominated for Video of the Year and Viewers’ Choice awards. “Leave the Door Open” is the debut single for Silk Sonic, and has topped the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached the summit on the Adult R&B Airplay chart, becoming the fastest song to reach the No. 1 spot by male artists in the chart’s history.
Lil Nas X, who took the red carpet by storm in a billowing Andrea Grossi gown, ended his ancient-Egyptian-themed performance of “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” with a long soul kiss with one of his male dancers. His performance of the song, which candidly touches on the lesser-discussed subjects of same-sex relationships and lust, pays tribute to Michael Jackson’s “Remember the TIme.”
A highlight of the evening was Michelle Obama’s speech honoring Beyoncé’s philanthropic efforts with BET’s Humanitarian Award. Through the BeyGOOD initiative, which has included helping her hometown of Houston following the devastation of Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and currently during the coronavirus pandemic.
Beyoncé has helped provide free COVID-19 testing and mental health services in Houston during the pandemic, as well as a dedicated wing in a Houston hospital and assistance for families in need. The initiative also has created scholarships and support for historically Black colleges and universities in addition to funding humanitarian causes everywhere from the African nation of Burundi to Flint, Michigan.
“You can see it in everything she does, from her music that gives voice to Black joy and Black pain to her activism that demands justice for Black lives,” the former first lady said. “She’s always turning up, looking out and making us all a little bit better, a little more fierce, and she’s doing it all while staying devoted to her children and the loved ones she holds dear. So to my girl, I just want to say, you inspire me. You inspire all of us.”
