Cardi B To Open The 2018 MTV VMAs

Cardi B is gearing up for her return to the spotlight.

On Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018, MTV announced that the "Bodak Yellow" rapper has been chosen to open the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.

"WANNA PARTY WITH CARDI? @iamcardib will open the #VMAs," the VMAs' official Twitter account revealed. "You don't wanna miss this." Meanwhile, Cardi B herself, whose real name is Belcalis Almanzar, shared a screenshot of the post on Instagram, writing, "See you there!" However, as she later clarified on her Instagram Stories, "I'm just opening I'm not performing!!!"

At the time of this writing, it's unclear what this means exactly. However, the event will mark Cardi B's first major appearance since she and husband Offset (real name Kiari Cephus) welcomed their first child together, a baby girl named Kulture, in July 2018. 

The exciting news comes shortly after the 25-year-old rapper pulled out of performing in the final leg of Bruno Mars' 24k Magic World Tour. Cardi B, who was famously featured on Mars' hit song "Finesse," was meant to hit the road next month. "I thought that after giving birth to my daughter, that six weeks would be enough time for me to recover mentally and physically," she wrote in a text-post on Instagram in late July. "I also thought that I'd be able to bring her with me on tour, but I think I underestimated this whole mommy thing. Not only am I just not ready physically, I'm not ready to leave my baby behind since the doctors explained it's not healthy for her to be on the road."

As Nicki Swift previously reported, Cardi B leads with an impressive 10 nominations at the VMAs this year. Meanwhile, Beyoncé and Jay-Z scored eight nods, while both Drake and Childish Gambino trailed closely behind with seven noms each. According to E! News, the likes of Ariana Grande, Logic, Post Malone, Nicki Minaj, Shawn Mendes, Panic! at the Disco, Travis Scott, and more are expected to perform at the event, while Jennifer Lopez will be honored with the coveted Vanguard Video Award.

The 35th annual VMAs will air live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Monday, Aug. 20, at 9:00 p.m. EST on MTV.