Cardi B’s dramatic 24 hours in Ghana

In fact, Livespot X Festival’s choice of the American rapper was met with instant scepticism and a barrage of questions: had she accrued sufficient notoriety in the Shatta Wale-governed music state to merit a show in a 40 000-capacity arena? Did the Grammy winner have the songs within her catalogue – the Gangsta Bitch Music mixtape series and her 2018 debut Invasion of Privacy – to pull off a headline gig in an Afropop-loving town such as Accra? Was the Ghana leg of the festival to be a mere addendum to her successful Lagos appearance, which had taken place days earlier?

By the time the Livespot X Festival closed abruptly on Monday morning, December 9, the pessimists were vindicated. By all accounts, the Cardi B Ghana showcase, which was propagated by the organisers as the official grand starter to December revelries and the climax of the Year of Return activities, had floundered in key areas. The musician, born Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, has since said on social media that her visit to Ghana did not go according to plan, but she “still had fun”.

The trouble started when she was accused by some local celebrities for snubbing a scheduled private, one-on-one meet-and-greet session, to instead sunbathe and sample kebab. This promptly resulted in social media coverage and even a song by singer Prince Bright. Cardi B addressed the claims, condemning her accusers and warning that they had picked the wrong person to mess with. She explained in a viral clip, and at the eventual meet-and-greet hours before the concert, that there was no such clause in her contract, and that she had honoured it out of goodwill, after having atteneded to her diarrhoea.

The event itself was hugely under-booked, entangled in prolonged technical hiccups and witnessed a late start. It is often customary for events in Accra to be characterised by a bit of delay, which sometimes extend longer than 'just a bit'. On the night, about 1am, the pelting of empty and half-empty water bottles towards the stage was a clear sign of the public’s unanimous dissatisfaction. By that time, patrons had been standing for hours on end, frustrated by a combination of aching joints and generally uninspiring opening performances from Kweku Smoke, Ms Forson, DJ Spinall, Vyrusky and Seyi Shay, and decided that it was time to let the organisers know – with forceful language – that they had had it.

Left with no choice, the organisers complied. The ‘Bodak Yellow’ star emerged, wearing a seductive leather ensemble themed around the colours of Ghana’s national flag, and put her fabled tattooed contours on full display. She was met with excited squeals by the VIPs huddled in front of the stage. Before diving into her set, Cardi B apologised for the technical challenges and assured that she would “shut this bitch down” nonetheless.

Assisted by an MC and a gang of scantily clad back-up dancers, the singer delivered brief renditions of her best-known songs, her set running for about 30 minutes. ‘Be Careful’, her aching address to an unfaithful lover, was introduced by the statement that whatever their geographical station, “men ain’t sh*t”. At this stage she was venting passionately while draped in a Ghana flag and managed to draw approving cheers from the same men.

Her magnetism stems from her pop-forwardness and courage to embrace risk. She is a proponent of a specific brand of feminism, one that celebrates a woman’s sexuality. Cardi B’s music is dedicated mainly to pleasures of the flesh – and that’s an indubitable winning formula in this era. No doubt, she is a bona fide hitmaker; ‘Bodak Yellow’ remains among the biggest songs of the past decade. It was released in 2017 in support of her top-charting 2018 debut album, which was named Best Rap Album at the Grammys back in February, making her the only solo female act to win the prize. On YouTube alone, the song has been viewed over 800 million times.

She is also the author of global fixtures ‘Press’, ‘Clout’ and ‘Bartier Cardi’, all of which featured in her Ghana medley, and the winner of a deluge of trophies that include multiple BET Awards, Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, iHeartRadio Music Awards, and two Guinness World Records.

The crowd dispersed wearily following Cardi B’s exit, and did not reconvene fully for performances by Kofi Mole, or 'Omo Ada' star Medikal. Unfortunately, locals Sarkodie and Shatta Wale (who flamboyantly flew in for his soundcheck in a helicopter), and Nigeria’s Tiwa Savage and Patoranking – all high-profile acts on the roster – did not perform as planned.

Cardi B’s Ghana stop, which completes her maiden African tour, did not fully deliver on its promise, but she transcended the Ghana situation in one piece like only she can. An accomplished songwriter, actress and TV personality, Cardi B is likely among the most influential names in pop. Her sophomore album is due for a 2020 release and should take over the charts, as expected.