Geezer Butler Says Cardi B’s ‘WAP’ Is ‘Disgusting’
Count Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler among those who don’t like “WAP,” the hit song from rapper Cardi B.
“It's disgusting!,” Butler opined in an interview with Kerrang! magazine. "A friend of mine didn't know what the song was about but his 10-year-old girl was singing it. I was, like, 'What?!' To put it on an album, fair enough. But to put it out as a single? That's... a bit much.”
The song's title is an acronym for "wet-ass pussy," a phrase used throughout the track, along with many descriptions of sexual acts. The single, released by Cardi B in August and featuring a guest appearance by fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion, drew the ire of many conservative pundits and politicians for its explicit lyrics. These criticisms seemed to do little to hinder the song's success, as "WAP" spent four weeks at No. 1.
Butler, of course, is not stranger to controversy himself. Black Sabbath were decried as “the devil’s music” throughout their early years, a label the bassist laughed off decades later. In Butler’s opinion, such judgmental views are often cast on new styles of music.
“I remember when Elvis came out everybody said he was Satan. And then in the ‘60s and ‘70s he became America’s national treasure,” the Black Sabbath co-founder explained. “It happens with every new wave of music. Like metal, obviously. The Christians were going mental when Sabbath came about. And then when rap came about, people were up in arms about that and certain words that rappers were using.”
To that end, supporters of Cardi B claim “WAP” is actually a song of female empowerment, a message that seems to have been lost on Butler. The rocker admitted he’s probably not the song’s target audience, noting that at age 71 he’s “a bloody old goat.”