Cardi B added another VMA moment to her career on September 27 when “Safe,” her collaboration with Kehlani, won Best Hip-Hop at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards.
The category was one of the night’s most competitive. “Safe” was nominated alongside Don Toliver’s “E85,” Drake’s “Janice STFU,” Megan Thee Stallion’s “LOVER GIRL,” Travis Scott’s “DUMBO” and Tyler, The Creator’s “SUGAR ON MY TONGUE.”
The win also gave Kehlani a second connection to the night’s genre awards: her own “Folded” was nominated in Best R&B, while “Safe” ultimately took the hip-hop prize.
For Cardi B, the award reinforces something the VMAs have consistently rewarded in her work — music with a strong visual and cultural footprint, not simply chart performance.
Amplifier Take: The Best Hip-Hop field captured how wide the category has become. Cardi B and Kehlani won with a collaboration that sits comfortably between rap, melody and modern R&B — exactly the kind of genre overlap that defines current mainstream hip-hop.