El Paso rapper Krystall Poppin to open for Cardi B Tuesday

Grammy award-winning rapper Cardi B will be making her way to the Borderland May 21. One local female rapper will have the opportunity of a lifetime as she gets to open up for Cardi B.

Krystal Garcia, also known as Krystall Poppin, had a dream of becoming a female rapper it all started with a piece of paper, a pencil and some words.

“I had always just written poetry growing up. As far as I can remember. But there was just one day, maybe in high school, there was like a rap cypher going on at this party and I decided to go in there and say one of these rhymes that I wrote,” said Krystall.

After that experience, Krystall was invited to record her first song with a group of local rappers.

“Ever since that day I heard myself on the beat, I knew this is what I wanna do for the rest of my life,” said Krystall.

She would keep pursuing her rapping career by performing at local events while working at a local salon, but Krystal knew she needed to do something more to get her career going.

“I had talked to my manager DS Junior, and I was like ‘You know what, I really just wanna take this to the next level.'”

That next level would be quitting her day job, packing up her bags and moving to Las Vegas to pursue her career as a female rapper.

“I feel like it was the best decision I ever made,” said Krystall.

Krystall and her manager DS Junior chose 26 cities to visit across the U.S. They would travel in an R.V. that they transformed into their very own recording studio.

“We wanted to pave our own paths because we thought that the opportunities weren’t coming to us, naturally, so we were like we’re gonna go make our own opportunities.”

However, the opportunity to open up for Cardi B in El Paso was something they weren’t expecting.

“They emailed us and they were telling us about how they’ve been seeing our growth and seeing what we’ve been doing and they really liked it, and they thought that I would be a perfect fit to open for Cardi B,” explained Krystal.

For Krystal and the team it was a pleasant surprise, especially since Cardi B is someone Krystal looks up to in the industry.

“I love Cardi because she reminds me that I can be proud of who I am 100% and it shouldn’t matter what anyone else thinks of me.”

For Krystall, this opportunity is only the beginning. She has a piece of advice for other aspiring musicians.

“Make sure it’s somthing that you love first of all because when you chase your dreams you’re gonna reach a point where it’s not fun, and if you don’t love it you’re going to quit at that moment, and if it’s something you love then you just remind yourself why you’re doing it and it’s gonna keep you going.”

Cardi B is set to perform May 21 at the El Paso County Coliseum.

CLICK HERE for more music and videos from Krystall Poppin.