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Gilbert Flores / Contributor by way of Getty Pictures
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Cardi B on the 2025 Grammy Awards purple carpet
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Key Takeaways:
- Cardi B’s sophomore album, AM I THE DRAMA?, options 23 tracks that mix disses, vulnerability, and Latin-pop aptitude.
- Lyrics aimed toward BIA, Offset, and others present Cardi B reclaiming her narrative by means of uncooked storytelling.
- Collaborations with main artists and genre-blending manufacturing elevate the album’s replay worth.
The seven-year wait is lastly over. On Friday (Sept. 19) at midnight, Cardi B launched her sophomore album, AM I THE DRAMA? The 23-song effort arrived with options from Tyla, Summer time Walker, Lizzo, Money Cobain, and plenty of extra.
On the album’s opener, “Useless,” Cardi raps about how she “tried to return in peace” however as a substitute, they tore her aside. Now she desires “all these b**ches lifeless,” as Summer time Walker sings on the refrain. The report units the tone for a lot of the undertaking, with the Bronx native persevering with to speak her discuss on cuts like “Hey” and the aptly titled “Killin You H**s.”
All through the LP, followers get one other Latin-pop anthem by the use of “Choose It Up” with Selena Gomez. Just a few tracks later, on “Secure,” Cardi enlists Kehlani for an anthem for all the great males who present greater than cash: “I do not want a wealthy n**ga, simply any individual that may make me really feel protected.” And naturally, the physique of labor additionally homes her pre-release singles: “Exterior,” “Imaginary Playerz,” plus a few older hits.
Cardi B’s “Fairly & Petty” Jabs And Extra Disses On ‘AM I THE DRAMA?’
Final yr, Cardi warned “each one that performed with” her to apologize earlier than 2025 or else she was “whipping everyone’s a** with a moist belt.” Seems, she wasn’t bluffing. On “Fairly & Petty,” the Bronx rapper unleashes a full-on diss aimed toward BIA, with whom she traded pictures final summer time on GloRilla’s “Wanna Be (Remix)” and “SUE MEEE?”
“Identify 5 BIA songs, gun pointin’ to your head / Bow, I am lifeless / That melatonin circulation placing us to mattress,” Cardi rapped. Later, she mocks the dearth of BET Awards on BIA’s shelf and claims she solely will get booked “once they can’t afford Coi [Leray].”
From the appears of it, Cardi additionally would possibly’ve taken jabs at JT and Lil Uzi Vert on “Magnet.” Many followers suspected the track’s complete second verse was supposed for the previous Metropolis Women artist: “She simply mad she acquired a n**ga she be sharin’ luggage with / My n**ga cheat, however I do not stick no dildos in his a**, b**ch.”
From Heartache To Headlines: Cardi B’s Offset References On ‘AM I THE DRAMA?’
On the subject of “Magnet,” Cardi clearly had some smoke for her estranged husband, Offset. “Shout out to my h**s that put on the pants like Kamala / Bought my child daddy actin’ like my child mama,” she dishes out halfway by means of the report. As the daddy of her first three youngsters, it is sensible that he looms giant within the Grammy-winning musician’s story.
The truth is, there are three back-to-back songs that appear to unpack their cut up and what led to it. On “Man Of Your Phrase,” Cardi displays on forgiving him after he “f**ked up once more” and the way their seven years collectively weren’t outlined by simply the dangerous moments. “There’s skeletons in my closet too; it wasn’t all luggage,” she admits. “As a spouse, I ought to’ve realized whenever you was damage / However as a substitute, I put my music first, d**n.”
The opposite two tracks are “What’s Goin’ On” and “Bathe Tears,” that includes Lizzo and Summer time Walker, respectively. The latter, written again in 2022, finds Cardi spitting, “How you allow a b**ch like me so hopeless? / Hope you already know the door ain’t all the time open and / And I’m simply hopin’ you already know what’s up.”
From ‘Invasion of Privateness’ To ‘AM I THE DRAMA?,’ Cardi B Showcases Her Creative Development
Whereas Invasion of Privateness set a excessive benchmark with its tightly curated tracklist, Cardi B takes a distinct strategy on AM I THE DRAMA?, increasing her sophomore album to an enormous 23-track lineup. The undertaking displays an bold effort to push boundaries each creatively and thematically, as Cardi herself said she added songs till she “could not presumably match no extra.” On high of that, she made the controversial choice to incorporate older hits like “Up” and “WAP,” alongside information like “Imaginary Playerz,” which have garnered blended reactions.
One factor is evident — AM I THE DRAMA? is constructed for the stage. With Cardi now gearing up for her “Little Miss Drama Tour,” the undertaking appears like a prelude to one thing even greater in individual. The LP walks listeners by means of all of her highs, lows, and in-between moments, providing glimpses we did not all the time get throughout her seven-year wait largely marked by chart-climbing singles. Take a pay attention beneath.