How sign-language interpreters take on songs like WAP

MARYLAND • Raven Sutton, a dancer and American Sign Language (ASL) performer, stayed up for the midnight release of WAP, the raunchy hit by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion last year.

Sutton, who is deaf, then spent several hours translating the English into ASL, figuring out what signs to use and practising her flow to match that of the artistes.

"The song is very hype," said Sutton, 26. "Women empowerment, being proud of your body, all of that. So I'm trying to figure out, how do I want to express that? I want to be sexy. I want to be able to move my body and show exactly what they're talking about."

Sutton is part of a growing community of black deaf content creators who aim to educate people about deafness, highlight their own community and make music more accessible to deaf audiences.

The work does not come without challenges, including a common misunderstanding that deaf people cannot enjoy music. They can, largely through vibrations and interpretations.

That misconception can lead to problems ranging from basic logistics - remembering to book interpreters for live events - to knotty issues like ensuring the interpreter has a cultural background that will inform their translation.

"We don't just get some interpreter but someone who is culturally competent," said Ms Rorri Burton, founder of Pro Bono ASL, a group of Bipoc (black, indigenous and people of colour) interpreters.

"When you've got someone in hip-hop, you've got black artists doing black music, using the N-word, for example," she said.

This becomes a problem when the interpreter is not black. And while black deaf creators often come up with new, inspiring interpretations, white hearing interpreters are often in the spotlight.

Recently, Ms Kelly Kurdi, a hearing interpreter who is white, went viral for her expressive interpretation of WAP at Lollapalooza, which amassed more than 14 million views on TikTok in one week.

She was "doing more than the back-up dancers", read one comment on the video. Another wrote: "She KNEW the assignment."

Ms Kurdi said: "I love seeing deaf people in the audience. I love to see them having a great time and providing access to them... But I also recognise why I went viral."

She later posted on Instagram: "Provide ASL interpreters whenever possible. Support Deaf creators. And if you're still wondering why deaf and hard-of-hearing people go to concerts, follow these pages and learn something new. Seeing an interpreter at a concert shouldn't be shocking."

Ms Kurdi also cited Sutton as an important source of inspiration for her work: "I've watched Raven's interpretation like a million times."

This is not the first time a white hearing person has gone viral for a sign language interpretation of WAP. Ms Libbey Ketterer posted an interpretation of the song last year on YouTube in a video that has more than 2.7 million views.

Dr Anabel Maler, an assistant professor of music theory at the University of Iowa, said: "It's typically a hearing interpreter, particularly a white woman, often interpreting hip-hop." These interpretations are often sexualised, she added.

"It takes away from the real purpose - to provide access to the deaf community," she said. "And it also adds to... the idea that ASL is so beautiful and amazing, without talking about how it's a rich and complex natural language."

For the original black deaf creators, this pattern can be especially disheartening. "They are signing songs that are not of their culture," Sutton said. "This is a hip-hop song talking about a black experience of a black thing, but we got a white face who's gone viral."

Black deaf creator Matt Maxey, 33, said it is "more inspiring to see a black man up here signing if you're a black person".

Interpreters at events like music festivals get a disproportionate amount of attention.

Sutton wants people to know her interpretations are more than just TikTok dances. "Some hearing people misunderstand, saying, 'Oh, she's a deaf dancer,'" she said. "No, I'm interpreting. I'm providing full access, which, if I'm just standing there, that's not full access."

NYTIMES