NAACP President Derrick Johnson wants Cardi B to reconsider her decision to not participate in the upcoming election cycle. The Bronx-bred superstar spoke candidly to Rolling Stone in a new cover story about being disappointed in U.S. diplomacy and politics, which has led her to opt out of exercising her right to vote.
“Cardi B, let’s talk about it. Your voice matters, and our communities have to look beyond the presidential race. I invite you to speak with the NAACP on how we can all use our collective power this November to elect everything from mayors to school board members,” tweeted Johnson. The “Bongos” rapper has not publicly responded to the invitation.
Last November, Cardi declared that she would never endorse a presidential candidate again, following her support for President Joe Biden. This past March, she doubled down on her stance and said she would not cast a vote for Biden or Donald Trump, who announced his third run for president in November 2022 amid ongoing probes into alleged misconduct of varying degrees. The diamond-certified hitmaker has been a staunch critic of Trump. Now, her mindset is one of “I don’t f**k with both of y’all n**gas,” as she said in the interview.
In speaking with the publication, she vented that “it’s just like, d**n, y’all not caring about nobody,” as she expressed frustration with large foreign aid packages being approved amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, yet Americans continue to struggle to make ends meet with low-paying jobs and increasing costs of living nationwide. “It really gets me upset that there [are] solutions to it. There is a solution. I know there’s a solution because you’re spending billions of dollars on any f**king thing,” said the outspoken “Bodak Yellow” artist.
She continued, “[The U.S.] don’t pay for endless wars for countries that have been going through s**t for a very long time” and “[there are] countries [where] kids are getting killed every single day, but because [the U.S.] won’t benefit from that country, they won’t help. I don’t like that America has this superhero cape on. We never did things to be superheroes. We did things for our own convenience."
Among her ending remarks about the political system, Cardi blamed capitalism as a huge factor in whether the U.S. intervenes. The self-proclaimed history buff doesn’t just have her sights locked on domestic and foreign affairs, though.
After a six-year hiatus from being in album mode, she has promised fans that her sophomore LP, whose title has not been revealed, is slated for a 2024 release. To drum up anticipation for the follow-up to 2018’s Invasion of Privacy, she has released “Bongos” featuring Megan Thee Stallion, “Like What (Freestyle)” and “Enough (Miami).”