Cardi B and the Year the World Got Sick

When I say the world got sick, I’m not referring to the coronavirus. I’m talking about the complete and utter moral failure and lack of discernment by youth around the globe enabling Cardi B, a morally bankrupt hip-hopper, to be named “Woman of the Year” by Billboard magazine.

Does that sound like an exaggeration?

Take a moment to look up the lyrics to “WAP”—brace yourself, they’re explicit. Go ahead. Do it. Then explain how this pornographic song hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart—for four weeks—if it didn’t have a massive listening audience. In fact, “WAP” also became the first No. 1 song on the Billboard Global 200 chart. You might want to read that again.

National Public Radio (NPR) lost all credibility with me when they listed “WAP” as their No. 1 Song of the Year for 2020—a song they described as “raunchy fun.” NPR isn’t alone in their drooling over the latest hip hop smut-fest. With 93 million first week streams by jaded listeners, last year “WAP” set the world record for the “most streams for a song in a single week.”

As of this writing, there have been more than 205 million views of the video and just shy of 1 billionglobal streams of “WAP.” That’s sick.

Billboard’s December cover story gushed that 28-year-old Cardi B’s “unapologetic voice resonated far and wide in 2020 when the world needed it most.” Seriously? The world needed yet another XXX-rated hip hop song pumped into the kids AirPods at a time when parents have lost their jobs and, in turn, their homes?

How does a salacious sex-romp benefit family businesses which have been forced to close their doors forever?

How are lewd lyrics helping children, who have been deprived of friendships and peer interaction, cope with isolation, depression, and thoughts of suicide?

I’m still struggling to understand how Cardi’s “unapologetic voice” is what the world “needed most.”

For her part, Cardi acts surprised by those who would take issue with her vulgar lyrics. After all, she grew up listening to hardcore female rappers. She told Billboard, “I’m so used to listening to raunchy female rap music since I was a little girl” that “WAP” “to me was just a regular raunchy female rap song.” She adds, “I represent America.” I sure hope not.

One thing is sure, America—and the world—are listening.

What are the implications for this generation of young listeners who stream her music? Who is helping teens process Cardi B’s fixation on genital pleasure and her “filthy bit of joy” (NPR) in light of God’s gift of sex and human sexuality? Who is raising a biblical standard of purity in a culture which has largely traded love for lust and where courting has been replaced by copulating?

Focus on the Family remains an excellent resource for moms and dads as they navigate their parenting journey in these turbulent times. Click here to learn more.

A final thought. The darker the night, the more we need light. When it comes to entertainment choices in our homes, Philippians 4:8 provides a spotlight to live by: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (NIV).

That’s what the world needs most.

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