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Cardi B is paying it forward. On January 9th a deadly fire took the lives of 17 people in a high-rise apartment building in the Bronx, New York City. The artist was raised in the Bronx and while there is nothing that can bring the victims family peace, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that Cardi B offered to pay for the funeral costs of the victims. She later took to Instagram to shout out other artists that were helping the cause and encourage others to help if they can.
Investigators said an electric space heater in the bedroom of a duplex on the third floor of the building had been on for a “prolonged period” when an unspecified malfunction set off a fire, per Associated Press. The cause of the fire is currently being investigated with survivors seeking at least $3 billion in damages from the building’s owners, per Bloomberg.
Many victims of the fire had ties to Gambia, and several of their families planned to bury them in their West Africa, per AP. The mayor’s office said Cardi B committed to paying the repatriation expenses for those victims to be buried in their homeland. “I’m extremely proud to be from the Bronx, and I have lots of family and friends who live and work there still. So, when I heard about the fire and all of the victims, I knew I needed to do something to help,” Cardi B in a statement. “I cannot begin to imagine the pain and anguish that the families of the victims are experiencing, but I hope that not having to worry about the costs associated with burying their loved ones will help as they move forward and heal. I send my prayers and condolences to everyone affected by this horrific tragedy.”
The artist later took to her Instagram stories to shout out local radio stations and artists fundraising and doing charity work. “A lot of them lost their things and their home and, there‘s a lot of artists like Fat Joe Remy Ma, Dream Doll, Brooklyn Johnny, Hot 97, Power 105.1 that have been doing so much.”
She also encouraged others to help. “I just wanna say that just because the funeral has been paid for there‘s a lot of things you guys can do to help these people, you know there were a lot of tenants like I said that have lost everything. They don’t have a home right now and, of course, the family that lost family members, they are going through a very hard time, and the funeral is just one of the things that they need help with,” she encouraged.