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Cardi B at the 2025 Grammy Awards red carpet
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Key Takeaways:
- Cardi B’s sophomore album, AM I THE DRAMA?, features 23 tracks that blend disses, vulnerability, and Latin-pop flair.
- Lyrics aimed at BIA, Offset, and others show Cardi B reclaiming her narrative through raw storytelling.
- Collaborations with major artists and genre-blending production elevate the album’s replay value.
The seven-year wait is finally over. On Friday (Sept. 19) at midnight, Cardi B released her sophomore album, AM I THE DRAMA? The 23-song effort arrived with features from Tyla, Summer Walker, Lizzo, Cash Cobain, and many more.
On the album’s opener, “Dead,” Cardi raps about how she “tried to come in peace” but instead, they tore her apart. Now she wants “all these b**ches dead,” as Summer Walker sings on the chorus. The record sets the tone for much of the project, with the Bronx native continuing to talk her talk on cuts like “Hello” and the aptly titled “Killin You H**s.”
Throughout the LP, fans get another Latin-pop anthem by way of “Pick It Up” with Selena Gomez. A few tracks later, on “Safe,” Cardi enlists Kehlani for an anthem for all the good men who provide more than money: “I don’t need a rich n**ga, just somebody that can make me feel safe.” And of course, the body of work also houses her pre-release singles: “Outside,” “Imaginary Playerz,” plus a couple of older hits.
Cardi B’s “Pretty & Petty” Jabs And More Disses On ‘AM I THE DRAMA?’
Last year, Cardi warned “every person who played with” her to apologize before 2025 or else she was “whipping everybody’s a** with a wet belt.” Turns out, she wasn’t bluffing. On “Pretty & Petty,” the Bronx rapper unleashes a full-on diss aimed at BIA, with whom she traded shots last summer on GloRilla’s “Wanna Be (Remix)” and “SUE MEEE?”
“Name five BIA songs, gun pointin’ to your head / Bow, I’m dead / That melatonin flow putting us to bed,” Cardi rapped. Later, she mocks the lack of BET Awards on BIA’s shelf and claims she only gets booked “when they can’t afford Coi [Leray].”
From the looks of it, Cardi also might’ve taken jabs at JT and Lil Uzi Vert on “Magnet.” Many fans suspected the song’s entire second verse was intended for the former City Girls artist: “She just mad she got a n**ga she be sharin’ bags with / My n**ga cheat, but I don’t stick no dildos in his a**, b**ch.”
From Heartache To Headlines: Cardi B’s Offset References On ‘AM I THE DRAMA?’
On the topic of “Magnet,” Cardi clearly had some smoke for her estranged husband, Offset. “Shout out to my h**s that wear the pants like Kamala / Got my baby daddy actin’ like my baby mama,” she dishes out midway through the record. As the father of her first three kids, it makes sense that he looms large in the Grammy-winning musician’s story.
In fact, there are three back-to-back songs that seem to unpack their split and what led to it. On “Man Of Your Word,” Cardi reflects on forgiving him after he “f**ked up again” and how their seven years together weren’t defined by just the bad moments. “There’s skeletons in my closet too; it wasn’t all bags,” she admits. “As a wife, I should’ve realized when you was hurt / But instead, I put my music first, d**n.”
The other two tracks are “What’s Goin’ On” and “Shower Tears,” featuring Lizzo and Summer Walker, respectively. The latter, written back in 2022, finds Cardi spitting, “How you leave a b**ch like me so hopeless? / Hope you know the door ain’t always open and / And I’m just hopin’ you know what’s up.”
From ‘Invasion of Privacy’ To ‘AM I THE DRAMA?,’ Cardi B Showcases Her Artistic Growth
While Invasion of Privacy set a high benchmark with its tightly curated tracklist, Cardi B takes a different approach on AM I THE DRAMA?, expanding her sophomore album to a massive 23-track lineup. The project reflects an ambitious effort to push boundaries both creatively and thematically, as Cardi herself stated she added songs until she “couldn’t possibly fit no more.” On top of that, she made the controversial decision to include older hits like “Up” and “WAP,” alongside records like “Imaginary Playerz,” which have garnered mixed reactions.
One thing is clear — AM I THE DRAMA? is built for the stage. With Cardi now gearing up for her “Little Miss Drama Tour,” the project feels like a prelude to something even bigger in person. The LP walks listeners through all of her highs, lows, and in-between moments, offering glimpses we didn’t always get during her seven-year wait largely marked by chart-climbing singles. Take a listen below.
