Was Cardi B’s Sophomore Album Worth the Wait?

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Cardi B is back with a vengeance.

The Grammy-winning rapper has finally released her long-awaited sophomore album, Am I The Drama?, and fans are already obsessing over it. It’s been seven years since Cardi B took over the hip-hop scene with her quadruple-platinum breakthrough, Invasion of Privacy, and while most artists couldn’t get away with such a long gap between projects, not all artists are Cardi B. Whether she’s releasing music or not, she demands attention—who else can stop traffic and serve a look while headed to court? Safe to say, she has us fully invested once again.

While Am I The Drama? puts Cardi’s love of New York hip-hop front and center, she still embraces other genres throughout the album. “Bodega Baddie” is a merengue-tinged track that pays homage to the star’s Dominican roots (can we get a Bad Bunny remix, please?), while “Pick It Up” featuring Selena Gomez perfectly blends elements of throwback pop and R&B.

Belcalis has done it again. Ahead, read through our top takeaways from Cardi B’s latest.

Cardi B is more confident than ever.

The star rapper has said time and time again that she didn’t want to drop a half-baked follow-up to her debut record, Invasion of Privacy. No one was more aware than Cardi herself that the music world would be ready to count her out if her long-awaited return didn’t deliver—but thankfully for Belcalis and her longtime loyal fans, Am I The Drama? does just that. Cardi brings her booming Bronx energy to the forefront of the 23-track long project, waxing poetic on love, loss, and a life of luxury. It wouldn’t be a Cardi project without a few words for her haters; the album is stacked with a number of lethal diss tracks on which she asserts her status as rap’s leading lady (there are plenty of stats to back the claim up). “Pretty & Petty” stands out as one of her most scathing moments—we’ll let you decide who it might be about.

The features are stacked.

If anyone can rally the girls, it’s Cardi B. Am I The Drama? is loaded chock full of collaborations with some of the most exciting women in music today, including Summer Walker, Selena Gomez, Kehlani, Lizzo, Tyla, Lourdiz, and more. Cardi has also made history with her sophomore release by being the first woman to have Janet Jackson feature on an album. Sampling Jackson’s 1986 hit “The Pleasure Principle” on the track “Principal,” she injects a dose of ‘80s energy into the project. Cardi also revisits fan favorites, including two of her biggest hits:
“WAP” featuring Megan Thee Stallion and her 2021 single “Up.” “Those are two of my biggest songs, my fans have been asking me to put them on an album, and people search for them on IOP all the time…,” the rapper shared with Billboard. “They deserve a home.”

She gets real about what went down during her divorce—and sheds light on her new relationship.

There are a number of songs on the rapper’s new album that are very clearly about her ongoing divorce from Offset, and Cardi doesn’t hold back. “Man Of Your Word,” “What’s Goin’ On,” and “Shower Tears” are three of the more vulnerable tracks on the album that peel back the curtain on why she chose to walk away—and return—to Offset a number of times over the years. But Cardi makes it clear that she’s done with the past; she’s moved on and happy with a new man, the NFL star Steffon Diggs. She even dedicates the NSFW track “On My Back” to just how good he makes her feel. Go off, Cardi!

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