Cardi B Wants to Trademark Her Famous ‘Okurrr’ Phrase for Merchandise, Of Course

Since the June 2017 release of “Bodak Yellow,” her major–label debut single, Cardi B has generated plenty of headlines, and the 26-year-old Grammy Award winner fully intends to gain more attention. Are you “okurrr” with that? The rapper is aiming to trademark her take on “okay” to hawk merchandise, with the commercial pursuit (you guessed it) drawing considerable press.

The performer, born Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, has made “okurrr” what The Atlantic has dubbed “her signature exclamation,” and she has compared its pronunciation to that of what “a cold pigeon in New York City” would utter. No matter the word’s history or its supposed similarity to what a pigeon or any other creature, frigid or otherwise, would utter, Cardi B wants the two-syllable declaration to be an additional source of income via promotional products. In late March, she applied for a trademark on “okurr” for merchandise and apparel purposes, with Rolling Stone providing a breakdown of the goods that she wishes to cover.

Cardi B's bid to trademark "okurrr" has sparked much debate. @bgzimmer writes on why the rapper might actually have a case: https://t.co/3zTJfbpEdV

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) March 30, 2019

For everyone who would like to know the history of “okurrr,” (believe it or not, there's a long history of folks using or laying claim to the word), The Atlantic provides a thorough look at how it has evolved and become undeniably connected to Cardi B. It also touches on the possible legal difficulty that her representatives might have in securing protection for her, given that she is seeking a “sound mark.” That is certainly not to say that she will not emerge victorious. We are rather interested to see what comes of this matter because of the sound mark component and to speculate on what she might issue with the protected utterance.

Yes, we know, thanks to Rolling Stone, that Cardi B wants to sell merchandise that celebrates her interest in nonsensical wordplay, but how might the goods look? Will they simply bare the word “okurrr," or will they have more text? Would having additional words somehow taint the publicity that she is seeking for the exclamation? Are we in the End Times because we are asking these questions? Maybe we should just “Be Careful” with our critiques of this trademark quest.