Cardi B has Kylie Jenner's back.
On Friday, Aug. 7, the Grammy-winning rapper released her first single of the year, "WAP," along with a headline-making music video. The visual, which has since amassed more than 59 million views on YouTube, features not only Cardi, but also the track's featured rapper Megan Thee Stallion and cameos from Sukihana, Rubi Rose, Mulatto, Rosalía, Normani and Kylie Jenner.
While the video certainly got fans talking, some of the chatter included criticism of Jenner and Normani's inequitable contributions to the video.
Danielle Young, a writer, producer and host, got Cardi's attention with a tweet she published early Aug. 7 about the women' performances and the greater implication for white and Black women. "Normani did ALL this and Kylie walked down the hall and opened a door," Young tweeted along with a clip of Normani's dance performance in the video.
"If that's not a perfect visual indication of Black women having to do the most and white women do the bare minimum to get somewhere, I don't know what is," Young wrote.
In since-deleted tweets, Cardi responded to Young in defense of her decisions. "Normani is one of the best female artist that dances Like she dances her f--king a-- off!Why would she open a door? Please tell me how that would make sense?The best part of the song is the beat&hook it what makes you want to shake your a--."
Cardi further fired back against the video being a matter of race. "Not everything is about race," she tweeted. "Theres issues out here in the world that it is about race that I i preach all the time about .Thjs is not about f--kin race."
As for Jenner's surprise cameo, Cardi explained her reasoning for casting the makeup mogul and reality star, noting her husband Offset's relationship with Jenner's ex, Travis Scott.
"Why did i put Kylie on my music video?she treated my sister and daughter so lovely at her kid bday party," Cardi wrote. "Travis and Set are real close and Kris Jenner have giving me advice on certain things I ask for and her husband real close with mine."
The day the video came out, Cardi explained on New Music Daily on Apple Music, "I wanted a lot of different females, not just female rappers...Y'all going to see it on the music video as well, from models to influencers and everything."