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Cardi Bi\u2019s latest release is \u2018Am I The Drama?\u2019 <\/p>\n
Atlantic Records<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
This month, Gay City News reviews the latest albums from bi rapper Cardi B and genderfluid singer Neko Case.\n<\/p>\n
Cardi B<\/strong> | \u201cAm I The Drama?\u201d | Atlantic<\/em>\n<\/p>\n Since the summer of 2020, drama around Cardi B has come from her social media instead of music. Even as \u201cBodak Yellow\u201d and \u201cGet Up 10\u201d celebrated her rise from poverty, she seemed more preoccupied with her private life once she\u2019d achieved her goals of wealth and fame. \u201cBodak Yellow\u201d promised something great, delivering pounds of charisma. Within 10 seconds of rapping, she left no doubt about how badass she is. While her single, \u201cWAP\u201d \u2014 appended to her new album, \u201cAm I The Drama?\u201d \u2014 made a massive impact, it took her seven years (and countless loose singles) to follow up her 2018 debut, \u201cInvasion of Privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAm I The Drama?\u201d finds Cardi besieged by trouble. The album starts with a collage of news soundbites about her. Beginning with \u201cDead,\u201d \u201cAm I the Drama?\u201d takes aims at numerous rivals and imitators: \u201cif you get money and you cute, you basically my twin.\u201d Her fury is directed at female rappers, with shots at Ice Spice, JT and Nicki Minaj. \u201cPretty & Petty\u201d lives up to its name, attacking BIA for an entire song even though she\u2019s not exactly relevant in 2025. Without a constant stream of humor to leaven them, these dis songs would come off as unpleasantly bitter. Even with the jokes, Cardi doesn\u2019t care much for other women: \u201cKillin You Hoes\u201d sets the tone.<\/p>\n \u201cMan Of Your Word\u201d and \u201cWhat\u2019s Goin\u2019 On\u201d turn her anger in a different direction: her ex-husband Offset, who repeatedly cheated on her. \u201cMan Of Your Word\u201d strikes a newly mature, heartfelt note for Cardi, stepping out beyond her tough persona. The extremely austere backing track, graced with steel drums, props up its emotions. She bids a gracious goodbye to Offset, yet her sentiments are tinged with acid. \u201cWhat\u2019s Goin\u2019 On\u201d develops them even further, but Lizzo\u2019s sappy chorus, which interpolates Four Non Blondes\u2019 \u201cWhat\u2019s Up,\u201d wrecks the mood.<\/p>\n As for her other favorite subject, \u201cOn My Back\u201d enthuses over a new lover, getting very blunt about sex but not limiting its lyrics to it. Singer Lourdiz\u2019s breathy chorus adds to the mood. \u201cErrTime\u201d picks things up for a wild night at a strip club, with Cardi ogling the female dancers: \u201cfor a bad bitch, I\u2019m a whole dyke.\u201d The speedy \u201cBodega Baddie\u201d offers a major change of pace. Cardi responds to criticisms of her rapping skill by stepping it up over uptempo accordion and percussion, saluting her Latinx roots with a sample of Venezuelan singer Juan de Los Santos.<\/p>\n Cardi\u2019s pissed-off sentiments are frequently set to soft, spare production with sung vocals and R&B leanings. This leads to a lot of incongruity. When she\u2019s determined to hit as hard as she can, the beats let her down. Except for sexy drill pioneer Cash Cobain, the features come outside hip-hop. Cardi seems more comfortable with female singers, including queer R&B artist Kehlani, than rappers.<\/p>\n \u201cInvasion of Privacy\u201d hit every possible angle, from street rap (\u201cBartier Cardi\u201d) to Latin trap (\u201cI Like It\u201d) to ballads (\u201cRing.\u201d) \u201cAm I The Drama?\u201d repeats the same pattern, but it succumbs to Spotify-bait bloat. Its 71 minutes call for trimming: \u201cBetter Than You,\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019s Goin\u2019 On\u201d and \u201cImaginary Playerz\u201d are especially underwhelming. Still, there\u2019s an exciting 35-minute playlist within the album, a triumph of the attitude that made her a star in the first place.<\/p>\n Neko Case<\/strong> | \u201cNeon Grey Midnight Green\u201d | Anti- | September 25<\/em><\/p>\n The lush orchestration of Neko Case\u2019s latest album, \u201cNeon Grey Midnight Green,\u201d is a soothing balm. Re-introducing Case after seven years between solo albums, \u201cDestination\u201d is a manifesto for her desire to keep making music gracefully and avoid the traps society lays out for people who present as women. It salutes a friend\u2019s independence: \u201cyou fill me with envy and wonder\/somehow you live free of men\u2019s eyes.\u201d. For nearly six minutes, it explores the full implications of a credo as simple as \u2018I want to live a real life.\u201d<\/p>\n While she\u2019s one of the power pop band New Pornographers\u2019 two lead singers, Case\u2019s solo music has long been associated with folk and country. This identification is only accurate up to a point. While it held true for hear early albums, where she covered Patsy Cline and Hank Williams songs, \u201cNeon Grey Midnight Green\u201d rejects easy genre classifications. Instead of mere decoration, strings, supplied by the PlainsSong Chamber Orchestra, contribute to a deconstructed take on soft rock, lending Case\u2019s songs a large spoonful of Hollywood melodrama. Her stories may not be larger-than-life, but her music often is.<\/p>\n Case approaches her lyrics with great care for phrasing. Take the way she extends certain words to sustain their impact on \u201cWinchester Mansion of Sound,\u201d amidst bright piano that never quite settles down. It mingles the seductions of music and romance so closely they can\u2019t be separated. \u201cLouise\u201d is a stripped-down torch song professing love to the woman of its title. Drums aren\u2019t introduced till the song\u2019s final 90 seconds. \u201cLittle Gears\u201d threads her words over a snappy piano, with a shifting rhythm. The oddest song, \u201cTomboy Gold,\u201d suggests \u201870s Tom Waits, as Case sings over saxophones sans percussion.<\/p>\n Throughout \u201cNeon Grey Midnight Green,\u201d Case rejects assumptions about life as a musician in her 50s. For these musings, the album sticks to a distinctive sound, light on guitar and treating piano and strings as the lead instruments. She builds upon \u201870s singer\/songwriters without copying any particular artist. She proves over and over that she\u2019s far from devoid of creative energy, insisting that she\u2019s not \u201ca has-been, a housewife or somebody\u2019s lover.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Neko](\"https:\/\/gaycitynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/553bba1f-8d56-49b9-8a93-8776a96740c1.jpeg?quality=51&w=700\")