Cardi B‘s new album has been a LONG time coming. Seven years after the release of her debut LP, Invasion of Privacy, it finally looks like the follow-up is really happening. Nah, for real this time. But will fans be satisfied with what they get after nearly a decade-long album hiatus?
Cardi B Announces New Album Release Date
On Monday (June 23), after teasing a big announcement, Bardi revealed on Instagram the name, cover art and release date for her highly anticipated sophomore album. Something she had not done when previously teasing the project. The LP is titled Am I the Drama? It will come out on Sept. 19. The album cover shows the Bronx, N.Y. rapper in a vibrant red one-piece dress surrounded by crows.
What Songs Will Be on Am I the Drama?
The album will feature the chart-topping singles “WAP” featuring Megan Thee Stallion and “Up,” which were originally released in 2020 and 2021, respectively. This appears to be a strategic move to get the upper hand on streaming numbers, as both singles hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and have already garnered billions of streams.
Though sans the 2024 single “Enough (Miami),” the new single, “Outside,” which dropped on June 20, will also be on the album, showing that Bardi is bringing that same bombastic energy.
What Features Will Be on Am I the Drama?
Cardi teased some exciting new features on the album back in March.
“The features on my album are really good,” she said during an X Spaces session. “I don’t have a lot of features—well, it depends on what y’all say is a lot of features. I’m working with artists, some that I have worked [with] before and some that I haven’t worked [with] before. The ones that I haven’t worked with before, I feel like it’s gonna really, really surprise y’all.”
Can Cardi B Top Invasion of Privacy?
Cardi B has admitted in the past that she has had anxiety about putting out the new album. There’s proof in the several times she announced the follow-up only to postpone the release yet again. It would be hard to blame her. Invasion of Privacy won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 2019, making her the first female rapper to win the award as a solo artist. Every song on the album has been certified platinum. Topping that would be a difficult task indeed.
But topping IOP might not being Bardi’s motive. After multiple pumpfakes and several delays, Cardi now seems satisfied with the product she is getting ready to put out.
“I could tell you this—I’m 100 percent confident with this album,” she said in March. “I just don’t think what I got is out there.”
Will Relationship Drama Taint Cardi’s New Release?
The rollout for Cardi B’s new album comes as she is going through a nasty divorce with her ex-husband, Offset. Cardi released her new single, “Outside,” on the same day Offset dropped the song “Bodies” featuring JID.
Cardi is clearly taking shots at her former husband and past marriage on the song. “Well, let’s go wrong for wrong (What?), let’s go lick for lick (Let’s go)/If I can handle that (Uh-huh), let me see you handle this (OK),” she raps. “Do you how you do me, bet you we won’t speak again/Favorite player from your favorite team, he in my DM.”
Offset’s song doesn’t have any shots at Cardi. He also liked Cardi B’s album announcement post on Instagram.
However, he is also prepping a new solo album, which he has not announced the release date for. And the two singles released on the same day have some people speculating it was a purposeful distraction.
Fans have been waiting for nearly a decade for Cardi’s new album, and have endured marital drama, court cases, beef and unfilled promises. Topping Invasion of Privacy will be nearly impossible, but Cardi finally seems to be in a good enough space to be up for the task. Will she get the same reception from fans after all these years? Time will tell.
