Okurrr, Cardi B is coming to performing in Mount Maunganui. Photo / Getty Images
Okurrr, Cardi B is coming to performing in Mount Maunganui. Photo / Getty Images
Cardi B is attention-grabbing and record-breaking - and the hip-hop superstar is coming to Tauranga.
The 25-year-old female rapper, who is arguably one of the biggest names in music today, will perform at Mount Maunganui's ASB Baypark Stadium on January 2 as a headline act at Bay Dreams. It will be her first New Zealand performance, also headlining Nelson's Bay Dreams festival on January 4.
The former Love and Hip Hop: New York reality television star really broke through the music scene last year with her track Bodak Yellow (Money Moves). It was with that single she became the first solo female rapper to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
It has been since then that Tauranga-based promoters Mitch Lowe and Pato Alvarez have been working to secure the international superstar.
Alvarez said Cardi B's inclusion at both Bay Dreams festivals made for one of the most exciting line-ups in recent times.
"We are so excited to be bringing the hottest act in the world right now," Alvarez said.
"She is one of the most in demand artists in the world. Good things take time," he said.
Lowe said their goal had always been to put Bay Dreams on the world map "and being proudly Tauranga-based we believe this will open up the doors for names just as big in the future".
"We have always pushed for this city, and having a name as credible as hers definitely helps put our festival at the forefront for future negotiations with artists at this level.
"We want this city to be recognised overseas by other major players in the industry," Lowe said.
This is Cardi B's second concert announcement since giving birth to her daughter Kulture Kiari Cephus, with husband Offset from US hip-hop trio Migos, who are also performing as part of the Bay Dreams line-up at Mount Maunganui.
One of the biggest names in music today, Cardi B, is heading to Tauranga. Photo / Supplied
On July 27 Cardi B announced on Instagram that she would pull out of her long-scheduled tour with Bruno Mars because she was wrong when she "thought that after giving birth to my daughter that six weeks would be enough time for me to recover mentally and physically".
The Bay Dreams line-up also includes Shapeshifter, Tash Sultana, Sticky Fingers, Peking Duk, $uicideboy$, Macky Gee, Pnau, Katchafire and more.
With more than 40,000 tickets to both events selling within the first week of going on sale, less than 30 per cent of tickets are now available.
"We are truly grateful for New Zealand getting behind these festivals in such a big way. We have watched this go from just an idea around a table to becoming the country's biggest event in just a few years," Lowe said.
Lowe said in 2019 they were "stepping it up once again with massive production, including two main stages, the country's biggest line-up and some new experiences".
Alvarez said he could see the potential in Tauranga becoming an event capital of New Zealand about 10 years ago and hoped Cardi B's announcement would strengthen that goal.
"We saw the potential 10 years ago when we starting running smaller events in the city, and it's amazing to see the bigger vision coming together now. Tauranga currently hosts the biggest music festivals in the entire country, which is something we're truly proud of."
Hip hop superstar Cardi B will headline Bay Dreams. Photo / Getty Images
About Cardi B:
• She became the first solo female rapper to get her track, Bodak Yellow, to the No 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 • The single pulled 40 million streams in just one week, hitting No 1 on the Billboard streaming chart and becoming the highest charting single by a female rapper in 2017 • She became the third act – and first female act - to have five songs in the Top 10 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in a single week • Cardi B got secretly married to Offset from Migos last year
