Why Everyone, Especially Christians, Should Celebrate Cardi B

Earlier this week, I posted on FB about Cardi B having the #1 single in the country, “Bodak Yellow”. This is notable, as she is the first woman rapper to hit #1 without a featured artist since 1998. The truth is, sometimes, when I hear Cardi B, the minister part of me cringes. She’s so loud, raw, uncouth, and vulgar. Then I hear the beat and remember my hometown of East Chicago, Indiana. I remember the people I grew up with who gave me joy. I remember my sister who is loud and full of life. And then I root for Cardi. I think, “Gon girl, keep doing your thing. Go as far as you can!" In a text conversation with my play big-sister (Hi!), we talked about why Cardi B should not be villainized because of her past and in fact, should be celebrated by everyone, especially those who desire to follow Christ.

 

• STRIPPING- Cardi B has detailed her stripping past which makes many Christian people uncomfortable. One line of the chorus in her hit song says, “I don’t dance now, I make money moves.” We can't forget that the dancing and the money are connected. Stripping is usually a choice people make because they don't have many choices and is often tied to class (more on this below). In interviews, Cardi talks about not wanting to strip anymore, about regretting implants, about hating to leave college, and about stripping to help pay for college. She is a product of the choices that were available to her. I'm happy for her that she now has more choices. Now, as she continues "I ain't gotta dance, I make money moves."

• INTERSECTIONALITY- Any critique of Cardi B should occur alongside a discussion of intersectionality (the ways gender, class, race, sexuality and more complicate our identities). Cardi's identity influences how we receive her and her music.
• Gender – Male rappers/artists ride their scandalous pasts to musical glory constantly. Many male rappers flaunt that they’ve shot people (50 Cent), sold drugs (Jay-Z), done drugs (Chance the Rapper), dropped out of college (Kanye West), and slept with strippers (J Cole, Drake, too many to name) and they are celebrated widely, even by Christians. We are quick to lift up men who struggle and then thrive, but women have to be “pure” to be redeemable. This feels like a false equivalency that illuminates our bias against women.
• Class – When Beyoncé dresses in near nothing, she is the epitome of Black women uplift. When she cusses, she is strong. When she bashes a car window in, she is empowering. I believe this is because Beyoncé also represents a certain class (or desirable class) of Black America. Beyoncé is married with three children, a churchgoer, and worth nearly half a billion dollars. Beyoncé is friends with Michelle Obama and Oprah (and notably, Cardi B). Most people do not mind revering Beyonce (or other Black women who fit the middle-upper-uber rich class status). But Cardi is not in this class. Cardi is unmistakably and unapologetically, hood. She constantly reminds us of this, she is not trying to be Grey Poupon, she is bright yellow mustard with the label off.
• Race – Race is always a factor in how we relate to one another. Cardi B (Belcalis Almanzar) is Dominican, Trinidadian and from the Bronx. She is a product of Afro-Caribbean diasporic culture. She does not fit neatly into the Lauryn Hill “Everything is Everything” box, the JLo "Jenny from the Block" box, or the Luis Fonsi “Despacito” box. She is not easily categorized and therefore society struggles with how to label her.  At one point in an interview, she emotionally names the way she is viewed racially - "What am I considered?" Because we cannot categorize her race quickly, it may be easier to dismiss her - this treatment is also connected to the insufficient way Americans (and Christians) have responded to the Caribbean hurricane victims.

• WWJD? - In John 8, when Jesus saw the woman about to be stoned for committing adultery, he said whoever is without sin, cast the first stone. I wonder what would happen if that woman wrote a song about her experience, her freedom to make other choices, and her current struggles. The Jesus I worship would see her as an unfinished product. Not quite at where she might be, but a world away from where she used to be. Outside of Christ, there are no perfect people to aspire to (even aspiring to be Christ can be problematic when you consider that Christ’s perfection makes him an imperfect person to aspire to because it is impossible to be him - We can only be LIKE Christ, we can never BE Christ.) Cardi B too, is imperfect. As a teenager, she was dancing for money, stripping to go to college, and in an abusive relationship. Now, at 24, she is traveling the world with a number 1 song. She is paying her mama's bills and deciding what to wear and for whom. Christians, especially Black Christians (intersectionality remember?), know something about our heroes starting in the slums, the ghettos, the barrios, the fields and becoming someone great. David was a forgotten boy who became a king (and committed adultery as a king). Moses was a murderer who became a liberator. Rahab was a harlot (prostitute) who was the ancestor of Jesus.

I’m rooting for Cardi B (and all of the Cardi B's in EC and the entire world) to continue to grow, develop and expand. But I don’t need her to be a perfect heroine. I also don't need her to be a TV personality. I only hope she continues to be herself. She’s got my support. (Oh, and her birthday is the day after mine, so yeah, there’s that).  As she grows, maybe she will reach some elusive Christian standard of acceptance. If she never does, I believe Jesus and Jesus followers should celebrate her journey and if you can, nod hard to that beat.