Updated: 8/20/18, 5:05 p.m. EDT: Cardi B is reportedly not performing at the 2018 MTV Awards, but will be opening the show.
Suggested Reading
Sorry I’m not home right nowI’m walking into spiderwebsSo leave a messageAnd I’ll call you back
Okay, those are No Doubt lyrics, but they could just as well be Cardi B’s, given the visuals for her latest single, “Ring,” featuring Kehlani and a fair number of phone booths. Our favorite new mommy is literally all tied up in one bondage-themed scene of her new video, wrestling both cords and emotions while wearing a roped and tasseled corset dress. In another, Cardi and Kehlani have a platinum wig twinning moment, playing off each other in shimmering gunmetal-hued silhouettes (we’re personally living for Cardi’s full-length silver trench).
Of course, the release of “Ring” is perfectly timed to tease Cardi’s first postpartum performance on Monday night, when she’ll open the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards just one month and 10 days after the birth of daughter Kulture Kiari. With 10 nods for releases from her debut album, Invasion of Privacy, she’s leading the pool of nominees this year—as well as defying the expectations of almost any brand new mom by returning to work less than six weeks after giving birth.
And while we’re excited to see Cardi back onstage tonight, we’re hoping this performance is just a one-off until she officially returns to performing in October at the Mala Luna festival in San Antonio. Because every new mother deserves time off to heal and bond with her baby. In the meantime, we’ll just be over here bopping to “Ring.”
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.