By Mia Tommins

You might be hearing a little more than “OKUR” from Cardi B this presidential season.

The 26-year-old rap artist from the Bronx is making her voice heard, creating buzz by weighing in on political events, and people are listening.

Polk County Democrats invited Cardi B to speak in Des Moines, Iowa while she is in town for her upcoming concert tour in May. Iowa will kick off the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination process with the nation’s first caucus, scheduled to begin on Feb. 3, 2020. The caucus season is just around the corner, and many politicians are scheduled to make appearances at events; now, so is Cardi B.

It is not new for Cardi B to be political. She has been quite direct with her opposition to President Donald Trump. Back in 2016, Cardi B posted a video in the midst of Trump chatter during the primary elections, telling fans to “vote for Daddy Bernie, b—h.”

In the summer of 2016, Cardi B voiced her opinion again in an Instagram video. In response to the Black Lives Matter movement, the artist provided no solution to the situation; rather she told her viewers, “One thing we can do for sure is pray.” In this video, Cardi B expressed her love for being an American.

Cardi B captured the public eye in 2017 as she rose to fame. She started by debuting her second mixtape, “Gangsta B—h Vol. 2,” in January, which immediately jumped into the number two slot on the iTunes Hip-Hop/Rap album chart. Later that year, in September 2017, Cardi B’s album “Bodak Yellow” hit number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 list. At just 24 years old, she made history by becoming the second female rapper to lead the chart without a feature. As “Cardi B from the Bronx” continued to attract public notice, she did not back down on her political involvement.

On Sept. 26, 2017, Cardi spoke with Billboard about the president’s attack against football players taking a knee during the national anthem. She slammed the NFL for saying they wanted to release statements of support for their players, claiming these actions fell short. “But Colin Kaepernick … he still don’t got a job,” Cardi B said in a video, also referencing Trump as “Carrot Face.”

Cardi B also voiced her concern in an Instagram post, saying “the government is taking 40 percent of my tax money, and Uncle Sam, I want to know what you’re doing with my f—–g tax money.” It turns out, 24 percent of Cardi B’s tax money was going to Social Security, as of 2017. Shortly after she posted the video, Cardi B voiced that FDR was the real “Make America Great Again” president, which caught Bernie Sanders’ attention.

Since then, the public acknowledged Cardi B for her political presence on various occasions. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, he asked her what she would do if elected mayor of New York.  Her response included “fixing the subways” and “economic reform.” More recently, on Jan. 16, Cardi B called for an end to the government shutdown in another Instagram post. “I just wanna remind you that it’s been a little bit over three weeks,” she told followers in the video. “Trump is now ordering … federal government workers to go back to work without getting paid … This is serious. Our country is in a hellhole right now. All for a … wall.”

Cardi B also expressed concern and anxiety as the shutdown reached its final day. “I feel like we need to take some action,” she said. “I don’t know what type of action.. because this is not what I do. But… I’m scared.”

Cardi B grabbed the attention of many senators, including Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz and Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who joked about retweeting her government shutdown video. However, Cardi B has also faced some backlash. Opposers include Fox News host Tomi Lahren, who attacked her on Twitter. It is not unusual for right-wing specialists to comment on entertainment stars like Cardi B for getting involved in politics. However, there are also people coming to defend her. Joan Hill, who claims to have taught the rapper at Renaissance High School for Musical Theater and the Arts in the Bronx, is one of many who defended Cardi B on Facebook.

Cardi B’s visit to Iowa is definitely drumming up buzz, and it is clear that she will not just stick to rapping.