Require another reason to learn ASL? Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s 2020 song "WAP" is undoubtedly an undeniable success which has produced shock waves across the entertainment industry with its racy lyrics and images. In July 2021, an interpreter known as Kelly Kurdi has gone popular soon after interpreting the fabulous song in American Sign Language (ASL) to accompany rapper Megan Thee Stallion’s performance.

Kelly’s ASL interpretation took place during Megan’s Lollapalooza set. Lollapalooza is usually a four-day music festival held annually in Chicago’s Grant Park. Megan Thee Stallion’s rendition of WAP during the festival additionally has gone popular. Having said that, the person who took the show that day was Kelly, the interpreter, who signed the song’s lyrics with wonderful sentiment and swiftness. Since then, she's turned into a national and international sensation through massive social media and television exposure.

Kelly is a freelance ASL interpreter who resides in the Greater Houston, Texas, area. Currently, she has well over 71,000 followers on Instagram. Even though Kelly doesn’t teach sign language herself, she strongly promotes people who do. Kelly also belongs to a group of ASL music interpreters called Amber Galloway Gallego’s Music Family. Collectively, the group has made an appearance on MTV, Jimmy Kimmel Live, CNN, and many other well-known shows and channels.

Kelly is a co-founder of ASL Music Camp, which intends to "train Deaf, Hard-of-hearing, and hearing interpreters to turn into specialists in the area of music interpretation." The camp was developed by Kelly and fellow music interpreters Rocco Lauricella and Amber Galloway Gallego, accompanied by a Deaf videographer and graphic designer. At the camp grounds, the interpreters utilize a group of Deaf artists, which is actually a great way to learn ASL quickly.

Even if she does not educate sign language herself, Kelly utilizes her social network influence with a large number of followers to promote people who do.

The volume of her social media followers keeps increasing everyday. Plus Kelly carries on devoting her content to many people eager to learn ASL along with other ASL interpreters who have developed change for the Deaf community. The moment Kelly’s performance went viral on TikTok, everyone was astonished with the degree of work that goes into interpreting a thrilling and high-energy show like Megan Thee Stallion’s set at Lollapalooza.

Guilherme Vital Senise da Silva, the viewer who shot the viral video footage, hopes that people can see Kelly’s performance as a good stepping-stone to better learn ASL and the culture that surrounds it. On her own social media accounts, Kelly appreciates her new fans and encourages them to go and visit other online influencers who posts content for and about the Deaf community and, of course, take the time to learn ASL at the earliest opportunity.

All over the world, music binds communities together simply because it tells elemental stories, educates about emotional intelligence, and bolsters a sense of togetherness. Many people learn about signing through events such as the Super Bowl, in which a sign language interpreter can be seen carrying out the US national anthem in conjunction with a pop star. At such instances, Deaf viewers might be able to more fully identify with the music being performed and feel more included than if no interpreter were present. As sign language music videos gets bigger on YouTube, they spark feedback from Deaf people, allowing a bigger audience to learn ASL.

At the same time, when an ASL interpreter performs at a musical event, every one of the audience members, including the Deaf and Hard-of-hearing, are guaranteed to experience a good time. In conclusion, the inclusion of interpreters really helps to develop a sense of inclusivity among all concert attendees. This relates to one of music’s fundamental functions - boosting the feeling of camaraderie while at the same time inspiring the hearing to learn ASL.