Cardi B Praises Minneapolis Protesters During Concert: ‘Thank You For Your Resilience’

During her recent tour stop in Minneapolis, Cardi B made a point to applaud those in the crowd who participated in the anti-ICE protests earlier this year. For several weeks, the organization violently occupied the city, leading to multiple raids, as well as the deaths of several individuals, including Renee Good and Alex Pretti. “You are such a strong city, ” Cardi said to the crowd. “I been seeing what’s going on in the news, and we wanna say thank you for your resilience [and] your resistance.”

As the crowd roared, Cardi continued, “I don’t know why muthaf*ckas came to this city. Y’all n*ggas is not p*ssy. I don’t know why they came over here, they must not know how y’all give it up.” According to FOX9 in Minneapolis, at the height of “Operation Metro Surge,” at least 4,000 federal officers were deployed to the city. Following backlash from residents and multiple protests across the country, thousands of agents were withdrawn; now only a “small force” of around 400 agents remains.

Minnesota Rapper Detained For Participating In Anti-ICE Protest

“I assumed I was going to die,” Matthew Allen, a.k.a. Nur-D, told Rolling Stone back in February. The Twin Cities rapper told the outlet he woke up ready to enjoy a “regular day.” However, after witnessing a flurry of social media posts about the anti-ICE protests happening at the time, Allen realized he needed to join his fellow Minnesotans. Allen, with his wife by his side, attended the protest; however, it didn’t take long for things to take a turn for the worse. Not long after arriving, Allen was chased, violently slammed to the ground, and maced by ICE agents.

“My name is Matthew James Obadiah Allen,” he screamed, pinned to the ground, “I have done nothing at all….I’m a United States citizen.” Allen, who was eventually released from detention, noted that while he feared for his life, he wasn’t going to “help” agents make the situation into something it wasn’t. He added, “This is grabbing someone in the street who has done nothing wrong and killing them, and if that’s what we’re doing — I’ve already seen you do it today — that’s why any of us are even here right now. Most of us would rather be doing what we love to do on a Saturday morning.”