On Sunday, June 8, the Bronx-bred rapper Cardi B will be awarded one of ASCAP's top honors, the Voice of the Culture Award, at a private ceremony in Los Angeles. This honor validates her as a hitmaker and as a presence in shaping the conversation around culture, identity, and unapologetic authenticity.
The award, presented by the American Society of Composers, Authors , and Publishers, is given to an artist who has had an impact on the art form and the culture surrounding it. She's still a chart-topping superstar, but by receiving the Vanguard award, Cardi joins the ranks of past recipients such as Usher and has officially reached a new level of cultural shifter.
"Cardi B has not only skyrocketed to the top of the music charts, but she has also redefined the rules for women in Hip-Hop," said ASCAP Chairman and President Paul Williams. "Having shattered all sorts of barriers with her unparalleled success, she's always followed this with a generation-defining moment that inspires and transcends generations," he said. We are thrilled to honor Cardi B with the ASCAP Voice of the Culture award this year."
Cardi's mantle is already crowded with 23 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards and ASCAP Pop Music Awards for massive hits, including "Bodak Yellow," "I Like It," "Finesse," and "Girls Like You." But this new accolade is unique this time, in a narrative rather than a numeric way.
Cardi B has never been one to mince words or live small; that rawness has made her one of the most relatable and revolutionary figures in music today. From the strip club to the stage, from motherhood to mainstream ascendancy, she's forged a lane that anything with a vagina in rap and beyond can be proud to be in.
And even as ASCAP highlights her cultural impact, Cardi is already looking ahead. The follow-up to her long-awaited second album is nearly ready for release in 2025. In a recent Billboard interview, she hinted at a "messy" and emotional project full of love, heartbreak, and personal growth. At what could be as many as 20 songs, twice as long as Invasion of Privacy, the album will be her most personal yet.
Amid new music, Cardi's extracurricular life offstage, meanwhile, shows no signs of slowing down. In 2024, for instance, she had a baby, her third, and filed for divorce, and she still didn't take her foot off the gas creatively. Recent drops such as "Like What (Freestyle)" and "Enough (Miami)" have only fanned the flames of fan anticipation.
From a social media disrupter to an international voice for change, Cardi B is showing yet again that she's not just making waves rather she is the wave. And now, armed with last summer's ASCAP Voice of the Culture award, she's finally got the crown to prove it.
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