When Maroon 5 were announced as the Super Bowl Halftime act, the announcement landed with a thud. A whimper, not a bang. People searched for some kind of silver lining… “maybe Maroon 5 will ask some really great people to come out and collaborate,” they said. Allegedly, Maroon 5 did offer various artists a chance to do a cameo, and one of those artists was… Cardi B. At first, it seemed like Cardi might be down for it, but only if – LOL – she could her own slot of time, separate from Maroon 5. In the end, none of that happened. Now Cardi is talking about why it didn’t happen, and why she decided to do some performances around the Super Bowl but not actually take part in the Halftime show. Some highlights from her AP interview:
She turned down the Super Bowl offer right away: Cardi said that she had “mixed feelings” after she declined to take the stage at Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta. She said it was a hard decision since her husband, rapper Offset, loves to watch football, but she felt obligated to “stand behind” Colin Kaepernick because he “stood up” for minorities. “My husband, he loves football. His kids play football. It’s really hard for him. … He really wants to go to the Super Bowl, but he can’t go to the Super Bowl, because he’s got to stand for something. You have to sacrifice that. I got to sacrifice a lot of money to perform. But there’s a man who sacrificed his job for us, so we got to stand behind him.”
She did perform on Saturday in Atlanta though: Last year, Cardi B said she wouldn’t take the Super Bowl stage until Kaepernick gets a job. With Kaepernick still without a team, she is standing by her words, but will perform at a downtown concert Saturday. She is hosting a party this week and will also appear in a Super Bowl commercial. “I hear people saying like ‘Oh, y’all are saying all this stuff about the Super Bowl, but you’re doing all these parties,’” she said. “And it’s like, well, if the NFL could benefit off from us, then I’m going to benefit off y’all. Y’all make the most money off our people. Why am I not going to take advantage of y’all and take money from y’all too? Because of y’all, we are getting these parties. OK, thank you.”
On Trump & racism: “We got an arrogant president, and the racism right now has been reborn. They feel mighty brave nowadays. When Obama was around, I just feel like they were praying on the day when his eight years was over. A lot of jealousy. When they see (how) the choices they made due to racism has affected the country, that’s when things are going to start changing. Right now, they don’t want to accept that their decision has affected the country.”
I’ll admit it… I’m sort of down with how she explains her rationale for doing events around the Super Bowl, just not in concert with the NFL. Cardi cares about money, she cares about getting paid. She has principles, but she’s still going to find a way to make money. Would it be better if every single artist refused to participate in every single thing around the NFL and Super Bowl? Sure. But I also feel like that’s an unreasonable request or desire, and I also think that if we “demand” that of artists, what will happen is that all of the black artists will boycott and the Super Bowl will just look like a Trump rally.
Also: I love Cardi’s political analysis. “They feel mighty brave nowadays” and the promise of Deplorables learning their lesson… somebody tell Cardi that she needs to do a sit-down interview with Chris Hayes, because I think that would be magical.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
reborn?
ok then
In the context of everything else she has said, hoping that by this she meant “even fewer consequences once again for individual and systemic racism.”
Yes, I agree.
I think she means the vocal aspect has been reborn. But I would say recharged, myself. Or supercharged.
I actually LOVE how she puts things so well whenever she’s talking about issues like the NFL, politics etc. I don’t love her music, but my god she is BRILLIANT at distilling down her message to what will actually resonate with people. She’s better at making things personal to people (like when she was talking about Obama shutting down the government “so you grandmother could have healthcare”) than half the people whose JOB it is to do this.
Agree. She’s a clear seer and a talented wordsmith.
Yeah she basically gets right to the point with no sugar coating.
Look at it this way: she’s not telling us groundbreaking information, but she speaks bluntly without flowery words and reaches people that may not pay attention to what’s going on. So for that I applaud her.
Agreed. She’s also right about Trumpsters not wanting to accept the fact that their decision has had a negative effect on the country (and the world). You see a little bit of that in their desperation to claim every hate crime is a leftist hoax or ‘fake news’. It’s not just them though-it’s also their defenders who don’t want to accept it, and would rather keep feeding that side’s delusion that they’re the ones being wronged- that the way they’re being treated is ‘just as bad’.
I might disagree with one thing only and that’s that racists will change when they see how the changes have affected the country.
Sadly, I agree with you. I think it makes them more brazen
Good for Cardi B, but why is all the pressure to “stand behind” Kaepernick being placed on random musicians performing the halftime show and none on ACTUAL NFL PLAYERS performing ACTUAL NFL GAMES? Why aren’t we calling for them to turn down the opportunity? Or the NFL itself? Or the companies paying millions for 30 seconds of screen time? [Unrelated, yes I do think Maroon 5 was not the best choice for an Atlanta halftime show but if everybody else turned it down for personal reasons, then this is what we get. I’m hoping Spongebob FTW!]
I’ve been wondering the same thing. Why are the performers held to a different standard? They are earning a paycheck just like the players are. If folks really wanted to make an impact, the players would be the one to do it by quitting.
Do you guys have any idea of how the NFL contracts and pay structures work? Saying why aren’t the players boycotting is like asking why don’t prisoners on a chain gang just not work or why didn’t share croppers just demand fair pay. The NFL has one of the harshest and most unforgiving contracts for players of all the major pro sports. Incidentally- the magnificent Terry Crews has talked about this.
It is more realistic to ask artists (for whom this is ONE check and ONE event) to refuse to participate than the players (for whom this job is their MAIN check which supports their families).
All the more reason to put the pressure where it belongs- on the NFL! Nobody is forced to sign a contract or play football, as people are ordered to serve jail time. It is my understanding that the Super Bowl halftime show is not a paid appearance anyway. The musicians at one game a year have nothing to do with Kaepernick, and there will always be a Super Bowl halftime show, no matter who finally agrees to do it.
The thing is, prisoners do protest, quite regularly in fact. As did sharecroppers. Prison workers go on strike all the time. Sharecroppers didn’t go on strike, but the black labour force in the South during the turn of 20th century started moving north for better opportunities in such huge numbers that white business owners eventually (and very grudgingly) had to start paying them equitably in order to retain them.
The common thread between these two instances is that people rose up as a group, in large numbers, so that their impact couldn’t be ignored. Colin Kaepernick is facing these consequences because he is standing alone. If even a fraction of the NFL chose walk out in protest of how he is being treated, the powers that be would have to agree with their terms. Players in the NFL have plenty of reason to sit out and protest and go on strike, if you ask me. There is always strength in numbers. That’s how labour movements get started.
You make my point much better than I do!
why people, particularly black men, can’t walk away from the NFL is actually really complicated. i actually suggest you watch cris carter talking about it. in this case he is talking about CTE, but i think his point stands in this case as well. professional sports is one of the few avenues black man can take to truly elevate their financial future for themselves and their families so it is extremely complicated for the people with outstanding athletic ability to pass up the opportunity or walk away from it once they get it.
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/09/cris-carter-makes-emotional-statement-about-why-hed-still-play-football-despite-fears-about-cte
With the way that all the commercials for food and tv sales are like “getting ready for the ‘big game’,” presumably bc the NFL will sue anyone who says SUPERBOWL on tv, I am so happy she figured out a way to make money off the NFL!
No, forget Hayes. Her and Rachel Maddow need to sit down and talk. That will be the best.
Agree.
Cardi B looks like a cartoon character–but in an awesome way–and the fact that she is practical, no nonsense, and smarter than average probably pisses a lot of people off. Many people who want to dismiss her, have to say, “Well, she makes a good point. . .”
I have to say her skin is amazing, and all her different make up looks with her wigs, her nails — is so much fun. I always look forward to what she will wear for her next performance or appearance. I loved her blue/green mermaid wig for the AVN awards, so pretty!
She looks great, although honestly I preferred her original nose. But her choice.
I love her style.
I wonder what the ratings for the super bowl will be. Who the hell wants to watch the patriots win again 🥴 and maroon 5 really isn’t going to help.
Big football fans will still watch it. My husband and his family are
Wow! I love Cardi B more and more. As soon as I read “reborn” I realized that’s the word I’ve been searching for to explain. They poked their heads out of the biased ooze, like yay! The racists do feel “mighty brave” since #PresidentMiller and they aren’t having any introspective moments anytime soon. But, people like Cardi give me hope and a feeling of optimism, no matter how that may sound to others. I can’t care about how naive, silly, pat on the head cute what I think and feel sounds to anyone wanting to put me down – so that’s something I learned through all this mess. I’ll say it, bug white guys on airplanes who are angry about my very existence, put people out of my life who don’t need to be there and love Cardi B, not vote for any more old white guys, etc. Also, hell yes, make money off the NFL. Anyway, thanks @Kaiser for this piece, these help me endure, what I have to remind myself is, a marathon of broken to get to growth. It’s not all broken when we yet produce artists and advocates.
She’s astonishingly sharp about the current political situation. But what surprises me the most is that she’s sharp in a way that accounts for Trump voters’ rationale without excusing them for it. A lot of seasoned political observers can’t manage that. They either swing too much in sympathy for Trump voters, or dismiss them entirely. Neither is a good look, and it fails to hold the attitudes responsible for the current situation accountable.
Cardi B isn’t perfect by a long shot. But she’s alright. And I think she’s much more honest about what the reality is like for celebrities than most others are.