As part of its “silver linings playlist” released this month, National Public Radio (NPR) listed Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s porn hit song “WAP” (“Wet Ass Pussy”) as one of the “best” songs of 2020.
“When we wanted to smile without looking at our phones, buoyant distractions abounded. If racism, xenophobia and sociopathic behavior made us want to scream, Black musicians found astonishingly inventive ways of saying, ‘Um, did you just start paying attention?’” the article read, before listing some of the “best” songs of 2020, including “WAP” at number one.
The racy hit drew backlash across social media after its release, particularly after conservative commentators, including Candace Owens, criticized the explicit content of the song and argued that the rapper’s music “contributes to the disintegration of black culture and values.”
In August, Elle reported that Cardi B was “committed to doing anything to get Joe Biden elected.” The anti-Trump rapper, who once referred to Trump’s supporters as “fucking racist rednecks,” interviewed Biden that month. Owens labeled the Biden campaign’s coordination with Cardi B as nothing more than “pandering” to black Americans.
“I marked [Cardi B] years ago as someone who was obviously a conservative and just didn’t know it, and that’s what the Blexit movement is all about. I believe that virtually every black American is a conservative and doesn’t know it,” Owens told SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Sunday in September. “We tend to lean conservative. If you ask us independently about issues, we always lean conservative, yet there’s a disconnect because of a culture that is fostered by Democratic and liberal principles.”
“Black Americans believe that we have to be Democrats, because otherwise Republicans are going to send us back on slave ships, and that’s being actively taught in the school system,” she added.