Cardi B is known for her hits such as Bodak Yellow, but she is also well known for her signature and very unique sounds she makes. In March, Cardi’s attorney Doreen Small filed applications on behalf of her company Washpoppin, Inc. to trademark her phrase “Okurrr” to use on items such as posters and clothing. She filed one application to trademark the phrase with three R’s and one with two R’s.
Last April, she opened up about her phrase on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. She said the sound is “…like a cold pigeon in New York City.”
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said no to the application. They refused to register that trademark because it is a “commonplace term, message, or expression widely used by a variety of sources that merely conveys an ordinary, familiar, well-recognized concept or sentiment.”
The office also noted that the expression is “commonly used in the drag community and by celebrities as as an alternate way of saying ‘OK’ or ‘something that is said to affirm when someone is being put in their place.'”
Many people think that Cardi B created the phrase, but the phrase can be heard being used by the Kardashian and Jenner family. But, according to People, neither of them created the phrase and that it actually derives from RuPaul’s Drag Race season six contestant Laganja Estranja, who used it first on the show.
Estranja called out Kim K for using the phrase after a fan suggested she make an “Okurr” Kimoji. She responded with:
YES GREAT IDEA! ADDING NOW! https://t.co/3g9iWbJKYV
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) June 1, 2016
So Estranja responded with:
POOR ME! Another one of my word candies has been stolen!! How @Alaska5000 of you @KimKardashian 🤑💚 LOL https://t.co/rx1hRSpePM
— Laganja Estranja 🏳️⚧️ (@LaganjaEstranja) June 1, 2016
Even though Cardi B may not have made the catchphrase, she certainly made it famous.
