Cardi B returned to Toronto Monday night with nearly two hours of swaggering hits, elaborate staging and her signature raucous energy at Scotiabank Arena. Her brash, unapologetic vibe wasn’t a surprise for fans familiar with her sophomore studio effort, “Am I the Drama?” which leans into the same mix of flash and confident swagger that defines her persona.
She strutted down the stage’s lengthy studded thrust and ruffled her rainbow-hued hair, all while pumping out a stream of raunchy rhymes. It’s an entertaining jaunt, albeit a bit overwhelming.
There’s a strong, commanding quality to Cardi, an attitude that demands recognition even if it can sometimes come across as sanctimonious. Though sometimes overexposed and a bit superficial, that energy has hardly faded.
It’s been nearly a decade since she played a standalone show in Toronto and the cool but clamorous energy in the room was palpable, which was far from a guarantee after Cardi called out her “Banadian” fans in Hamilton, the next stop, for apparently being the only date on her 35-date North American tour that hadn’t completely sold out. (The Toronto stop was nearly packed, save for scattered clumps of empty seats dotting the room.)
The six-act set, divided by short video-driven interludes that signalled an impending costume and set change, is as much about the spectacle as it is the music. Featuring a dozen dancers and arranged around a two-tiered screen-dominated stage, the performance, well-paced though it was, clearly exists to fill out massive arenas. There were crackling pyrotechnics, somersaulting lights and the occasional burst of sparkly confetti.
Nevertheless, she played the hits: the Grammy-nominated smash hit “Bodak Yellow” finished the night off, the hooky, salsa-inspired “I Like It” framed a dusty, expansive episode, the controversial “WAP” made an appearance and a slew of solo-by-necessity versions of her collaborations with the likes of Bruno Mars, Maroon 5 and G-Eazy were sprinkled throughout the set.
“I wanna see if the Canadians do it like the Americans,” Cardi cracked during one of her characteristically profane monologues. “Or maybe even better!”
No matter the setting, Cardi remained fully committed to the bit. She cloaked herself in a monstrous fur coat against a backdrop of puffing flames (“Dead”), paraded with a musket alongside her eyepatch-clad troupe (“Salute”) and sat atop a silver-winged canopy to kick off the night’s final sequence (“Girls Like You” and “Finesse”).
There was a flowing lavender veil, a star-shaped crystal perfume bottle and a waving collection of Caribbean and Latin American flags. It was all gigantically theatrical, sometimes over-the-top, but Cardi seemed to be having fun with it. She played to the whole room, pouting and glaring at the on-stage cameras throughout, making sure no one was left out.
In some ways, the on-stage presentation matched her recent artistic arc: assertive and unapologetic. As a second kick at the proverbial can, “Am I the Drama?” hardly marks a departure for the 33-year-old New Yorker, aside from its 70-minute length and loose concept. It’s magnetic in all the right places, teems with top-shelf collaborators (Selena Gomez, Lizzo, Summer Walker and so on) and comes laced with her signature bars.
If you clicked on her latest album expecting more of Cardi, you got more of Cardi. The same can be said for her live show. On stage, the vibe translates fairly well even if the setlist often prioritizes short, often jarring snippets over full, fleshed out recreations of the tracks.
If you ever find yourself at a Cardi B show, you’ll likely be entertained even if mildly bemused. Just don’t expect her to be particularly gentle about it.
