Cardi B has said the killing of Javits Frimpong, a 15-year-old Ghanaian student shot dead in the Bronx, is the reason she would never raise a child in a New York public school or in the city’s hardest neighborhoods.
The rapper shared her view in a video posted to social media, where she also rejected the online debate that has framed the tragedy as a clash between Black Americans and Africans.
Frimpong had been living in New York for about a year when he was killed. Reports have linked his death to bullying he experienced at school.
The New York Police Department has said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
For Cardi, the case touched something personal. She said the killing “is the reason why I would never raise no kid in a New York public school,” adding that she would also never want to raise a child in the hood in New York.
Growing up there, she suggested, is less about childhood than endurance. “It’s really a survival,” she said.
She dismissed the common advice that children can avoid trouble by keeping to themselves, calling it a lie. In her telling, cruelty among New York kids begins early, with children who “start bullying you starting from the first grade.” The pressure, she explained, can push even well-behaved children toward dangerous choices.
“You could be an innocent kid. Next thing you know, you constantly getting picked on,” she said. “That make you want to join a gang so you could have your own group of people.” She did not frame this as theory. “That’s practically what happened to me,” she added.
Cardi also addressed the discourse that has spread online since the killing, in which some have cast the bullying of African immigrants as a problem specific to Black American students.
She rejected that framing outright, arguing that newcomers are targeted across the board.
“Everybody be bullying the new kids that come from foreign countries,” she said. Her message to parents was direct. “Y’all need to start talking to your kids about bullying,” she said.
Fat Joe also spoke out while volunteering over the weekend with Food Bank For NYC, where he regularly helps distribute meals.
The Bronx rapper laid out the sequence of events as he understood it, describing a boy who followed the rules and still lost his life. “He did the right thing. Reported them. They got suspended. They came back and killed him,” he said.
He described the mood in the city bluntly. “Whole lot of sad going on,” he said. Still, he framed his community work as a small counterweight. “We try to be a little light in the community,” he said, before adding, “while I’m here, we’re going to try to keep the peace.”
Comedian Michael Blackson, who was born in Ghana, also responded, announcing that he plans to make more appearances at high schools to address the bullying of foreign-born students.
His aim is to help those students adjust to life in America and learn how to speak up and get help when they are targeted.
Blackson said the case reminded him of his own youth. He was bullied heavily after first moving to New Jersey, before his family relocated to Philadelphia.
He has said much of it stemmed from his good grades and from being the only African student at his school, and that the harassment often came from people who did not even attend his school, including on public transportation.
Together, the three voices point to a shared concern. The danger facing immigrant children does not stop at the school gate, and those who have lived through it say the conversation needs to start at home.
Anyone with information about the killing of Javits Frimpong is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
