MORRIS HEIGHTS—The Bronx’s own Grammy-winning Hip Hop artist, Cardi B, came back to the borough yesterday in a surprise visit to her old alma mater, Middle School IS 232 stunning students and even the principal with a $100,000 donation to the school.
“We are thrilled to welcome Cardi B back home to IS 232 in the Bronx, and we are so grateful for her generous contribution to her alma mater,” schools Chancellor David Banks said in a statement. “Cardi B’s commitment of $100K for the arts will help the school’s kids soar to their highest heights.”
The $100,000 donation by 29-year-old Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, is to go towards the school’s art program.
“A lot of the teachers were really tough on me because they saw something in me…I was like a bad kid, but I was very special to a lot of these teachers and I still got them in my heart.”
The award-winning artist, who was born across the river in Washington Heights to a Dominican father and a Trinidadian mother, grew up in The Bronx and would eventually go on to graduate from Renaissance High School for Musical Theater & Technology at the Herbert H. Lehman High School campus in 2010.
By 2017, with the release of Bodak Yellow, the, “…regula, degula, schmegula girl from The Bronx,” became a hit sensation, who, to date has garnered numerous Grammy nominations, including a win for the coveted award for Best Rap Album, 7 American Music Awards wins, 6 BET Award wins, a whopping 14 BET Hip Hop Award wins, and dozens of other awards.
Cardi B has also set a few Guinness World Records including Most simultaneous Billboard US Hot 100 entries by a female, Most simultaneous Billboard US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Top 10 entries by a female, Most US No.1 singles by a female rapper, and First solo female artist to win Best Rap Album at the Grammy Awards just to name a few.
HAPPENING NOW: Cardi B announces she’s donating $100K to I.S. 232 in the Bronx, where she used to be a student. @NBCNewYork #nbc4ny pic.twitter.com/2w597RKWhz
— Kay Angrum (@kayangrum) September 13, 2022
The artist has often been stereotyped as uneducated because of her heavy Bronx accent and simply her raw, no-holds-back tongue saying pretty much whatever is on her mind but she often surprises many by dropping knowledge on various topics including US History and Government, a subject that has always been near and dear to her heart as evidenced by the fact that she took an AP Government class in high school.
With her visit to her Bronx middle school, she is an inspiration to all that you can make it big no matter where you come from or sound like.
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