And in its eighth year, Made in America mellowed out.

The 2019 edition of Jay-Z’s annual Labor Day music festival kicked off with the most relaxed

Not over crowded, practically pleasant day on the Ben Franklin Parkway in its history.

After a 2018 that was filled with drama — with the threat of the fest being moved off the Parkway, and freed-from-jail local hero Meek Mill making a triumphant return

The opening day and night of this year’s fest was positively chill in comparison.

Rapper Cardi B headlined, returning to the festival she first played in 2017 as a brassy, bold-faced star who has dispensed with the doubters 

Who dared to suggest that the former stripper and reality show star would never amount to more than a “Bodak Yellow” one-hit wonder.

Hitting the stage at 9:40 p.m., the Bronx-raised spitfire addressed those haters straight away

On “Get Up 10,” the opening track that takes a page out of Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares” intro in its rising-in-intensity full-force attack.

Telling her rags-to-riches tale of going “from nothin’ to glory” while dressed in a form-fitting rainbow-colored body suit

She asserted her authentic grit with trademark flair and comic timing, declaring herself to be “a real b—, the only thing fake is the boobs.”

With a team of dancers behind her, the emcee born Belcalis Almánzar was then joined by rapper Pardison Fontaine on “Backin’ It Up,” 

In which she stated out loud what has become obvious through each stage of her career: “I’m the queen of talking’ s— and backin’ it up.”

Later, after showing off some athletic strip-club moves during “Money Bag,” she paused to tell the crowd that “I’ve always had a special love for Philly — even when I was a stripper.”

Since her rapid rise, Cardi has been in high demand as a featured guest on other rappers’ song and remixes of their hits

And the middle of her set was filled up with performances of her parts of songs by Maroon 5, City Girls, and others. 

They were exciting enough, briefly. But rather than build tension, the rapper’s DJ would bring each bit to a crashing halt, one after another, abruptly stopping any momentum in its tracks.

The hour long set — which was economical to the point of felling rushed — got its groove back with “I Like It,” her Latin trap hit from last year with J Balvin 

And Bad Bunny that ingeniously employed a sample from Pete Rodriguez’s 1967 boogaloo hit “I Like It Like That.” 

And she brought it to a close, of course, with “Bodak Yellow,” the unstoppable 2017 hit in which she announced that “I don’t gotta dance, I make money moves.” 

She then exited the stage and the video screens showed her doing dance moves in a protected area down among her fans, as fireworks shot off overhead and “Stripper Bow,” 

A song by Quality Control and her husband Offset’s band Migos played over the sound system.

With sunny skies, low humidity, and smaller crowds than usual, the Parkway site was easier to maneuver than any time in memory, as fans made the move from stage to stag

Or pursued sighting celebrities such as Beyoncé (the gold standard) or Sixer Ben Simmons or Jay-Z with Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf.

That was due in part to Cardi’s drawing power not being Beyoncé-sized, or even a match for the one-two punch of Mill and enormously popular pop rapper Post-Malone last year.

This year’s fest was also smaller, with its fifth locally heavy Skate Stage eliminated so the only Philly talent on tap Saturday was songwriter and gifted singer Pink Sweat$

Who played a standout mid-afternoon set under a baking sun. (215 rappers Tierra Whack and Lil Uzi Vert are both scheduled to play on Sunday.)

Other changes: The fest has upgraded from the spinning contraption amusement-park ride that has occupied the center of the site for the last two years with a Ferris wheel

A more picturesque, selfie-compatible choice, that’s become a visual signifier of other festivals like Coachella.

Made in America also again has a Cause Village, staffed with activist workers urging fest goers to get involved in issues like criminal justice reform and reducing gun violence. 

A poster featuring exiled NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick urged social justice warriors to #TakeAKnee 

And Kaepernick seemed to glare across the way to the booth of the Shawn Carter Foundation, named after the Made in America owning rapper 

Who has been criticized for his recent remarks that the racial justice movement is “past kneeling.”

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