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Cardi B speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris
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Key Takeaways:
- Cardi B transformed a viral courtroom moment into a merch drop with three exclusive CD covers.
- The AM I THE DRAMA? courtroom edition is only available until Friday (Sept. 5), ahead of her album’s Sept. 19 release.
- Her TikTok and X Spaces jokes about being broke helped fuel fan engagement and buzz.
Fresh off being found not liable in a civil assault trial involving a security guard, Cardi B says she needs all the help she can get — kind of. On Wednesday (Sept. 3), the rapper jokingly urged fans to buy the courtroom edition of her forthcoming album, AM I THE DRAMA?, so she could pay off her lawyer fees.
In a TikTok video, the “Up” artist pulled three exclusive CD variants — which were made available for pre-order “due to popular demand” — out of her shorts. Each cover featured a close-up shot of Cardi’s face in court, including the blonde wig that even prompted an attorney to ask if it was her real hair. As she explained, she didn’t use her first day look because the wig “was messed up.”
“Just because I won the verdict, guess what? I still gotta pay these lawyers,” Cardi joked in the video. She then encouraged fans to “donate” $9.99 for each courtroom-edition CD, before poking fun at her own lifestyle. “You know I’m a single mother of three. I swear to God if I don’t sell these albums, I’m going to have to give up my Rolls-Royce, give up my Lamborghini,” the Grammy Award winner said. “Like, how am I going to live? How am I going to take my kids to school?”
Toward the end of the clip, Cardi walked out on the street and hollered at cars to “buy my CD” as they drove past. Watch it below.
The Invasion of Privacy artist similarly joked she was low on funds in August. Shortly after revealing the “pretty and petty” alternate cover for AM I THE DRAMA?, the rapper humorously said she was strapped for cash during an X Spaces session. “I’m f**ked up in the game right now,” she told fans at the time.
“I couldn’t even get my pool cleaned this week, you know what I’m saying?” she added. “If you guys want to donate to the AM I THE DRAMA? charity foundation and stuff like that, so I can get my nails done, that would be very nice.”
The courtroom edition of Cardi’s upcoming album will only be available until Friday (Sept. 5), she explained. After that, AM I THE DRAMA? officially drops Sept. 19, which will feature previously released singles “Outside” and “Imaginary Playerz.”
