Is the music industry becoming too explicit? No it hasn’t, because a new wave of music has entered the era.

Born and raised as Belcalis Almanzar from the Bronx, New York City, the female rapper, Cardi B, rose to fame from her instagram, leading to a number of fans supporting her rapping career in 2016. From there, she progressed into the music industry with her first hit, Bodak Yellow, in 2017. Now, Cardi B is opening new gates in the music industry by gaining massive attention for her explicit lyrics in her songs – especially “WAP”, featuring Megan Thee Stallion. Her new hit single released through Atlantic Records on August 7, 2020, hitting the charts by grasping the number one spot on the Global 200 charts, followed by “100.9 million global streams.”

Incorporating sexual lyrics and provocative dance moves, it hit the masses by appealing to “young teenagers”. Simultaneously, gaining dislikes from many conservatives and Republican men who do not support the sexually explicit content provided to the masses centered around women. When asked how she felt about the backlash, Cardi B responded with, “I always encourage people to be confident, especially when it comes to your sexuality.” She continues on to address the natural habit of humans and their sex drive by ending her statement with the lines: “Just embrace it. Don’t be scared about it.” Cardi B wants others to know that there is no embarrassment or shame that should come along with expressing oneself, therefore all individuals should do as they want and say what they want.

Following the huge wave of viewers, it inspired a Tik Tok dance that involves twerking and other explicit dance moves. As many can infer, there was also backlash on it and the person to be blamed was Cardi B herself. 

“My mom won’t let me post my WAP dance but it’s in my drafts,”claimed Charli D’Amelio, a famous Tik Tok star, who is known for her dancing and choreography on the social media app. 

Her mom claims the video to be too explicit to release, considering that she is underage. With that commentary made public, many took to twitter to antagonize the mom for being overly strict with D’Amelio.

Unsurprisingly, the masses have been on edge because of how explicit the music is, which many parents would not condone because of the lack of censorship in lyrics and visual contents – but is censorship really the issue or is it about how many people are not willing to accept the fact that this type of music has become the new norm for the 21st century?

“It doesn’t make me angry. It makes me happy. They keep talking and the numbers keep going up. At the end of the day, whatever they’re saying, the numbers speak for themselves” – Cardi B.