Born and raised in the Bronx, Cardi B knows her way around New York. Now, she wants to catch the rest of the city up to speed, too. The rapper teamed up with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to record a series of public service announcements that will broadcast across train and subway station platforms.
“We’re walking here,” Cardi says sternly in one PSA. The MTA shared a video going behind the scenes of the recording process, which captured her injecting true Bronx attitude into her messages. “Steps are for stepping, not sitting,” she says in another. “Move it, bucko!”
Cardi would make for a great motivational speaker. “These trains don’t move without you,” she says. “So make sure you pay that fare and keep it real.” Her efforts are valiant, but she knows her city. It’s doubtful that anyone who has lived as a young adult in New York hasn’t jumped a turnstile or two, or 12, in their time.
Her PSAs also tackle the issue of subway surfing, a popularized practice of riding on top of the train cars. Six people died while doing so in 2023, according to The New York Times. “Stop subway surfing,” Cardi warns in another recording. “Ride safe, keep it cute, and keep it moving.”
The MTA collaboration follows the release of Cardi’s long-awaited second studio album, Am I the Drama?
“On Am I the Drama?, Cardi makes up for lost time with a massive comeback triumph, standing tall in her bloodier-than-ever shoes,” Rolling Stone wrote in a review of the record. “She’s got a long list of scores to settle, enemies to crush, crowns to claim. As always, she brings so much larger-than-life personality to the party that she could coast on charisma if she wanted. But Cardi’s been in the news lately for everything except her music, so it’s a trip to hear her finally get to cut loose and have fun. She’s out to remind everyone she’s looser, wilder, less predictable, just plain funnier than anyone else in the game.”
