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Cardi B has paid tribute to Dominican merengue singer Rubby Pérez after news broke that the 69-year-old was one of the many victims who died when the roof collapsed at the Jet Set nightclub. This incident took place in Santo Domingo during the early hours of April 8, 2025. According to a recent report from the BBC, the roof collapse left at least 113 people dead and over 150 injured as of this writing.
According to Complex, on April 8, Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, took to her BG Secret Society community on Instagram to pay tribute to the late singer. Cardi B wrote:
"Its so heartbreaking to see one of our iconic artist [Rubby] Perez leave in such a tragic way. I’m glad tho our final memory of him was him sharing his beautiful voice to us ..Sang one last time .I want my fans to pray for those who was in that building last night”
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For the uninitiated, Rubby Pérez was a Dominican merengue singer known for his songs like Buscando Tus Besos, Sobreviviré and Tonto Corazón. His accolades include the Casandra Awards for Orchestra of the Year and the Globo Award for Album of the Year.
Following the roof collapse, it was rumored that the singer, who had been performing at the venue at the time of the tragedy, was found and transferred to a hospital. However, his brother initially refuted the reports via a statement shared with a local media outlet, Noticias SIN, on April 8, saying:
“At the moment, he has not been rescued from the rubble. He hasn’t been sent to any hospital. Given the time the event occurred, which has already been 14 hours…only God’s grace can truly perform a miracle. Rubby is still in the rubble; we haven’t been able to rescue him. We hope he’s alive. We’re sharing this news as a family and I want it to be the right one.”
Rubby Pérez was officially declared dead at 5:00 pm local time on April 8.
Cardi B's father is Dominican
Cardi B, whose father is Dominican, took to her BG Secret Society community on Instagram following the roof collapse at the Jet Set nightclub to pass her condolences to the victims and their loved ones. She said she was in "literal tears" after seeing the posts and videos of the survivors being rescued from the collapse, writing:
“I’m in literal tears scrolling down my timeline seeing my Dominican people being rescued some wit lives and some gone. l’m sad seeing families crying desperately in pain looking for love ones ..I feel like every Dominican around the world is in a big hora Santa praying for survivors and praying for the ones that are gone to be in Gods Glory."
Cardi B also shared words of solace for the people who lost their loved ones in the collapse, adding:
"For the people who lost a family or a friend don’t have bad memories they left this earth singing and dancing and most likely happy and enjoying themselves and that’s how the lord will receive them.”
The rescue efforts are still ongoing as of publishing this article. According to the BBC, over 400 rescue workers are at the site, and the death toll is expected to rise. Octavio Dotel, a former Major League Baseball player, and Nelsy Cruz, the Governor of Monte Cristi province, are two of the victims who died in the collapse.
