WAPt.
When the clock struck midnight, Megan and Cardi’s latest single, WAP, arrived to the listening, downloading and viewing pleasure of fans across the world. It is the baby of Black woman magic and fierce femininity during a time where representation and uplifting is most needed, for Cardi, Megan and Black women everywhere.
via @CardiB
Now, the song itself isn’t this uplifting, inspirational, power to the Black woman anthem. It’s a song about sex. A pretty good song about sex. A song that samples Frank Ski’s, There’s Some Whores in This House, or if you’re like me, you thought of Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz’s, I Like Dem Girls. Either way, the girls delivered, birthing a song dripped in sensuality and sexuality over a trap beat that truly bangs. And the video was nothing short of sensational. Cardi and Megan shared multiple scenes where the chemistry between the two was definitely steamy. The choreography was great but what amplified it was the fact that both Cardi and Megan not only ooze sex appeal, they can actually dance. Seeing them laying on the floor, grinding in the air or splashing around like Black goddesses in the water really made my heart full. Their solo moments on screen can also be appreciated because it gave each woman the chance to put on a little personal show, showing off their individual talents and split-atop-chair-and-table capabilities.
But it wasn’t just the sexiness of the video that got to me. It was what the video stood for, well, at least what it stood for, for me. This debut was the boost of positivity, the wave of creativity and big accomplishment both Cardi and Meg needed. Other than the occasional feature, Cardi hasn’t released music in nine months, according to her in a YouTube live, moments before the premiere of WAP early Friday morning. Since the artist was on a winning streak around the time of her debut album, Invasion of Privacy, fans had gotten used to her regular releases. But Cardi is like any other person on the planet and needs and requires a break. And it’s not up to her fans or anyone else to determine when that break happens or for how long it takes place. And she filled her time using her platform to bring awareness to politics and issues that really matter. But some of her fans, and her haters, didn’t seem to understand that or care. People had a lot to say about the brief pause from the artist, often questioning if and alluding to her career being over. Cardi, being the sweet Libra that she is, and more than likely an empath, takes in the things people have to say about her. And that’s not bashing Cardi. We’re human. We all do it! But that is to say you can tell it’s been a little rough on her. So she deserved and needed this moment so she can keep shining, keep pushing and keep winning.
We all know what’s been going on with Meg. It’s been a really rough couple of years for Thee Stallion. In March 2019, she lost her mother two weeks prior to losing her grandmother. The two women who made her and meant the most to her were now gone. Unless you’ve experienced the loss of a mother, you’ll never know what the pain and grief is really like, because imagining it doesn’t begin to scratch the surface. It’s a pain like no other in this world. One that rocks your whole world and makes it spin out of control, making your life lose balance. It’s a really traumatic experience honestly, especially if you and your mother were close and/or had a good relationship, like Meg and her mother. And I say especially because I believe no matter what your relationship is with your mother, you feel the pain when she leaves this world. It really does change your whole life, in more ways than one. After that came her rise in popularity. She was thrown into dealing with the woes of fame right after having gone through two monumental losses. And while she received a lot of love and grew a huge fan base of loyal “hotties,” people still found ways to attack her. Whether it was her height or her looks, people always had something to say. The hot girl summer movement, a moment carved out to empower and uplift women while also showing the world we can work hard, love and celebrate ourselves, and have fun and enjoy life, was obstructed by toxic men who hate seeing women happy, especially when it’s not because of or involves them. After that began her legal battles with her record label, another group of misogynistic men who wanted her to keep making them money but stay quiet when it came to demanding what was rightfully hers. And then finally, we arrive at the recent shooting in her foot that brought out the worst in Black people because it really exposed that hate that is constantly spewed towards Black women. While dealing with yet another traumatic experience, Megan also had to deal with people online, celebrities included, saying nasty things and making jokes about what she went through. In fact, let’s dive into that right quick, shall we?
The jokes that were made about Megan being shot, all the memes, the tweets, the interviews, all of it was and is truly deplorable and disheartening. Black women are constantly having to deal with being at the bottom of society, being the butt of the jokes and being unprotected and disrespected on a daily basis. People really took the time to make memes and give their disgusting thoughts and opinions on a situation that could have been deadly, a situation that, regardless of if true or not, happens to women, especially Black women on a regular basis. According to the CDC, homicide is the leading cause of death in women younger than 44. And over half of those homicides are intimate partner violence (IPV) related. Non-hispanic Black women, along with Indigenous women, experience the highest rate of IPV-related homicides at 4.4 and 4.3 per 100,000 people, with arguments and jealousy being the leading cause for these homicides. Studies by the Bureau of Justice Statistics show that 84% of women are spouse abuse victims, while 86% are victims of abuse at the hands of a boyfriend or girlfriend. Everytown Research reports that “every month, an average of 52 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner. Nearly 1 million women alive today have reported being shot or shot at by intimate partners, and 4.5 million women have reported being threatened with a gun.”
So please, tell me where the hell the joke is. Because I cannot find one at all in these numbers. There’s nothing even remotely funny about domestic violence. Violence against women is a serious crime and a serious situation that happens way more than you think, and on so many different levels. And it’s so normalized that it’s caused the Black community, in addition to the rest of society, to not only not give a damn about us, but disrespect us so much that when we speak out against it, we get bashed and chastised, as if we’re supposed to just sit back and take the treatment. Let me tell you, this is a fucked up state to be in man, where the creators of our very world are disrespected and tossed aside like our lives don’t matter. They do. And it’s time for everyone, including the Black community to wake up and see that.
Next is the fact that people thought it was ok to say that it was the (paraphrasing) “dick between Megan’s legs that made Tory shoot her.” Wow. Just… how fucking disgusting. That statement is hateful and transphobic. It perpetuates the hate that leads to Black trans women being killed at alarmingly high rates. It, in a very nasty way, attempts to give this terrible excuse to “men” who murder trans women. And it keeps these undercover, down low “men”, who are ashamed of their sexuality and attraction to trans women, in those terrible mindsets that make them hate themselves so much, they feel like they have to murder another human being because they are attracted to them. Like what is this horrible, inhumane behavior that we are exhibiting so much and so willingly? I really, honestly and truly, cannot fathom what the fuck is going on. This hate has to stop. This is why we scream ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER. Because when we don’t put ALL in front of Black, and when we don’t call out the hateful bullshit that people try to disguise as liberation and radicalism, Black lives get discarded and disregarded. They get tossed out and overlooked. They get ignored like they don’t exist and treated so bad that jokes about the treatment become the societal norm. This shit has to stop.
So with all that being said, Megan needed this debut. As a musical artist, I imagine one of the things that make you the most happy is when you get to express your creative genius, especially when you’re getting paid for it. I hope this track reigns down the blessings on both of those amazing, talented Black women. Lord knows they’ve both gone through so much since launching their careers and they truly deserve it all.
In addition to coming at the perfect time and being a cute little summer-in-the-house hoe anthem, the song is accompanied by a zesty music video that features and array of women, like Normani and Mulatto. And there’s Kylie Jenner. We honestly could’ve done without but I’m gonna let her rock because she’s a Leo and it’s our season. Regardless, Cardi and Megan delivered colorful, vibrant look after bold, sultry look, from each individual strand in every hairstyle, to the very tip of every spiked heel that walked the set. The girls had snakes and white tigers, titty water fountains and bubble butt statues. The energy of the video is so buoyant, you can feel it every time you watch it. I think what makes it so real is the fact that you know these are two Black women that work hard as hell and make time to uplift and support other women, especially other Black women rappers. I mean, it was perfection. All I have left to say is the girls ate. If you haven’t done so yet, make sure you stream WAP where you get your music and definitely, if nothing else, check out the video.