Cardi B replaces canceled act at Hopkins with last-minute concert

Rapper Cardi B stepped in as a last-minute headliner for the Johns Hopkins University fall festival on Sunday evening, replacing a canceled act. The performance took place at the Ralph S. O’Connor Center for Recreation & Well-Being, shifting the event from its original Saturday date to Sunday.

The Hoptoberfest festival is an annual event organized by the Hopkins Student Organization for Programming with support from the Hopkins Parents Fund. It features carnival games, a pumpkin patch, a haunted house, and a main concert. Singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar was originally booked to headline the music portion. A social media post from the student organization on Saturday announced his cancellation due to unforeseen circumstances.

Cardi B holds the record for the most No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 among women rappers. She was the first solo woman artist to win the best rap album Grammy for her 2019 debut, Invasion of Privacy. Her album Am I the Drama? debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last year and has been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

The concert was restricted to Hopkins students, who presented school IDs for entry. The set was smaller than her typical arena shows. She wore a green wig, black leggings, and a pink striped T-shirt. During the performance, she addressed the students directly about their academic responsibilities.

“Y’all better pass y’al motherf, in’ semester,” she told the crowd. “And don’t ask ChatGPT for the answer.”

The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding her performance fee. Hopkins is currently investing millions in a new institute focused on artificial intelligence and data science.

Cardi B posted behind-the-scenes images from the event on Instagram, including photos from her green room. She departed Baltimore on a private plane immediately after the show. In a video timestamped at 4:08 a.m., she displayed a large bag of Old Bay-seasoned crabs. “We gonna have a long night,” she said. “Or not we, just me.”

This is not her first appearance in the mid-Atlantic region. Her partner and the father of her youngest child, Stefon Diggs, plays wide receiver for the Washington Commanders.