Cardi B promoting AM I THE DRAMA? on the New York subway
The Invasion of Privacy days are over, and Cardi B’s second album is finally here, seven years after her first. The highly-anticipated AM I THE DRAMA? debuted in the top slot on the Billboard 200. The first TikTok trend from the album has taken hold in a diss track aimed (literally!) at rapper BIA. Cardi B dares listeners to “Name five BIA songs g** pointed to your head.” After a brief pause, Cardi B quickly follows up on the song adding, “Bow, I’m de*d.” It’s less about dissing BIA, who’s only had a few hit songs aided by bigger names in the rap game, and more about creating an easy TikTok lip-sync moment.
Love her music or hate it, Cardi B herself is a fan favorite with strong New York roots. In fact, she took to the streets of New York to sell her album throughout September. She created an MTA ad that ensures that average commuters are bound to recognize her voice, and she’s spent a lot of time hanging out in the subways and street corners of New York getting her album out to the people. In an appeal to the younger crowd, she also made an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, which got 1.7 million views on YouTube. Cardi B did all of this while heavily pregnant and dressed down in sweatpants, she was trying hard to appeal to the average person on the street.
One of the album covers for AM I THE DRAMA?
Having a “song of the summer” is critical for artists in the hip-hop or rap landscape, and it’s worth remembering that Cardi B did exactly that in 2018. “I Like It” was playing absolutely everywhere, dominating the airwaves and winning award after award. It was the song that made history as the first rap song by a female artist to rack up more than a billion Spotify streams. Rolling Stone wrote, “This one’s a no-brainer… Everything about this song is perfect for summer.” You couldn’t attend a cookout or turn on your car radio without hearing the tune. With a fall release, Cardi B has totally missed the opportunity. There’s nothing wrong with a hit single or smash album the rest of the year, but there’s also no recreating that lightning-in-a-bottle moment that “I Like It” created so effortlessly. Now, Cardi’s putting in tons of effort into this album, with little but a TikTok trend to show for it thus far.
Cardi B’s newest releases are more focused on her personal relationships and her recent court dramas. If you aren’t caught up on the drama between her and ex-husband Offset, (not to mention the subsequent drama about her latest boyfriend Stefon Diggs) the lyrics to her newest songs might not have much of an impact. Lots of rap songs become popular for the images they paint of having tons of wealth and success, but revealing the messiest mundane parts of a toxic breakup doesn’t always make for a hit song or provide memorable lip-syncable lyrics.
She definitely drew attention earlier this year when she appeared in court to defend herself against allegations that she scratched a security guard while leaving a private obstetrician visit. Cardi totally denied this, and she even won her case. She delighted fans with her witticisms during it. At one point, she was asked if she called the security guard fat, and Cardi replied, “No. I was calling her a b****.” The media covered her trial throughout the summer, which was, unintentionally, a great way to get her name back in the public eye before rolling out AM I THE DRAMA?.
Photo via @iamcardib
Cardi B has taken shots at more than just her exes and BIA. She’s also coming for her long-time nemesis, rapper Nicki Minaj. As part of the album rollout, Cardi and Nicki resumed their feud, stemming back to 2017, on Twitter. In 2018, the two came to blows during a New York Fashion Week red-carpet event, which produced a bevy of headlines and speculation. Since a lot of rap beefs forever remain online, a physical fight in real life caught the people’s attention. They’ve continually squabbled via petty lyrics, Tweets, and notes app callouts. So, the current state of their online tension just isn’t enough to make fans gasp and start gossiping about them again. After avoiding Twitter for all of September, Minaj managed to step on Cardi B’s toes during the rollout by hinting at the release date for her next album in March 2026.
@iamcardib provoking Nicki Minaj
@NICKIMINAJ tweeting about a possible album release date during Cardi B’s album rollout
@Iamcardib tweeting about her feud with Nicki Minaj
So what will it take for Cardi B to have a huge hit with this current album? Only time will tell, although there are promising signs for AM I THE DRAMA? since it was streamed 146 million times in its debut week. Cardi’s got a fantastic rollout going! Maybe all she needs are a few more TikTok trends or radio hits to solidify her songs into the culture once again.
