The Gospel of Cardi B

This past weekend CBS Sunday Morning did a story on Cardi B. If you aren’t familiar with CBS Sunday Morning - it is the highest-brow of all news programs. It is the program that NPR journalists watch to be inspired. For this highbrow, nerdiest of all programs to do a story on Cardi B is - well, just amazing. That alone is a testament to Cardi’s reach. But think about it a bit deeper… Cardi is the one that most people count out. She’s afro-latina, no college degree, and from a lower soci0-economic background. She’s from often marginalized or overlooked communities. People even consider her low-class due to her stripper background.

But on the program Cardi was… Cardi. She’s never been one to be inauthentic. Instead of waiting for the reporter to bring up her past, she embraced it, shared her mistakes and talked about the lessons learned. She even took the news crew to the strip club where she used to work. The entire interview was transparent and truly amazing. I loved it.

Here’s why… I love an underdog story. I love when the person counted out by society rises like the phoenix. I love someone who takes negative circumstances and uses them for their come-up. In a world of filters and perfect poses, Cardi s authentic. And that is refreshing.

But the most important thing she said was at the end. When asked how she deals with the hard times she said, “I get up every single time. I always get up, all the time.” I heard that and immediately thought “YASSSSSSS!” That’s it! The resilience of Cardi B is something to be admired. You can disparage her choices or even drag her through the mud, but she will claw herself out of the dirt and stand up again. And that is a lesson we can all take to heart.