Cardi B paid a special visit to her former middle school in the Bronx, where she not only spoke about the importance of education to the students but also donated money to support the school’s efforts to ensure that students get a quality education.
The singer was at the Morris Heights school on Tuesday as part of a new partnership by a local organization, Community Capacity Development, that is working on speaking to children and young people across the five boroughs to reduce and get rid of systemic challenges that people in marginalized communities face.
In recent days, the organization shared that Cardi had visited 696 Build Queensbridge and non-profit organization CAMBA Inc. where she spoke to dozens of young women about the power of education as an empowerment tool in achieving their dreams.
On Tuesday, Cardi B visit to her former middle school saw more than a hundred screaming teenagers being excited at her presence at the school.
“It’s been over 15 years and this school means a lot to me more than anything of the other school I went to,” Cardi said.
In speaking to the students, Cardi B recalled her experience at the school and some of her troubles as a teenager, where she said she was jumped several times and was once arrested. She, however, told the students not to take that path as there are terrible consequences.
The Bronx rapper shared her experience as she told students that had she been more focused, she might have gotten to attend the schools she wanted to, which may have helped her become a better musician.
“The point of this speech really is that sometimes when you’re really making bad decisions, where you wana impress somebody, where you want to impress a girl, where you wanna make her think you’re tough or when you’re trying to impress a boy you might like, think about your future,” she said.
“You guys your age, 12, 13, 11, you know it’s never too late for you guys, but the decision that you guys make now is very pivotal because after this next step in life it goes [on to] high school… and it’s really important which high school you pick…because when you want to go to college, they look at the high school you went to,” she said sharing that some high schools like those in the Bronx also do not present the opportunities and quality of education others have.
Cardi B added that kids from the Bronx are already at a disadvantage as she shared that the children do not get the top picks for high schools and colleges in other parts of the country.
“Before you make that one bad decision, cause that one bad decision can change your life for the rest of your life, make sure you remember where you want to be a couple of years from now when you’re 14, when you’re 15, when you’re 18 and when you’re 21, make sure you think long term,” the rapper told students.
She also encouraged the students to listen to their parents as they know best for them at this stage of their life.
Cardi also shared that the school left a major impact on her as she disclosed that she was making a personal donation to the school, which left some of the teachers ecstatic.
