US rapper Cardi B became a viral sensation in Saudi Arabia following her highly anticipated performance at Riyadh’s MDLBEAST Soundstorm festival in the early hours of Sunday morning, where she offered effusive public praise for the kingdom.
Known for her often explicit persona, Cardi B adopted a modest, flowing outfit and a restrained, profanity-light set, greeting the massive crowd with “Salam alaikum” and calling everything in the monarchy “mashallah.”
#US rapper #Cardi B went viral in Saudi Arabia after performing at #Riyadh’s MDLBEAST Soundstorm festival, where she praised the kingdom in a series of widely shared social media posts.
Calling the country “brand new” and expressing admiration for its shopping, luxury and… pic.twitter.com/y7qno0K8Yx
— Arabian Daily (@arabiandailys) December 15, 2025
In widely shared social media videos, the Grammy-winner called the country “brand new” and raved over the luxury shopping, even donning a hijab and recommending it as a vacation spot.
Her high-profile debut is a win for Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic reform drive, which uses vast spending on celebrity appearances, including recent acts by Jennifer Lopez and Eminem, to rebrand its image and attract non-oil investment.
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However, her appearance, along with other Western artists and figures like Tucker Carlson, has drawn significant criticism from human rights groups, who accuse celebrities of accepting “eye-watering sums” to whitewash the kingdom’s human rights record and overlook severe restrictions on free speech, adding to the ongoing debate over the ethics of cultural engagement in the Gulf.
