Cardi B – “Am I the Drama?”

Her voice and delivery are instantly recognisable, the production is top-shelf, and her charisma is beyond dispute. Still, it’s hard to know whether this record can truly live up to the hype. It’s a fun, well-balanced album, as effective in its teary-eyed moments as in its cheekier ones — think Adam Sandler comedy (and with about as much depth). But if you’re hunting for an original or cohesive concept, you’ll come up empty-handed. The concept is Cardi herself: take it or leave it.

In the weeks leading up to release she’s been everywhere — countless interviews, a particularly cosy exclusive with HOT97 on launch day. Two questions kept cropping up: one about her pregnancy, the other about her label, Atlantic. What’s telling, though, is what isn’t here. For all its twenty-four tracks, the album omits more recent singles like Enough and Like What. There’s no Bongos either, another Megan collaboration that tried (and failed) to replicate their earlier magic.

It’s been seven years since Invasion of Privacy bagged her a Grammy, beating Astroworld (Travis Scott) and Daytona (Pusha-T) to Rap Album of the Year. Time has raised questions about how well that victory holds up, and whether it truly outshone its competition. But that win did cement her in the small, select circle of female rappers with Grammys, alongside Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliott and Lil’ Kim. Not until Doechii’s rise in 2025 would another woman join that pantheon. Small wonder, then, that the new album opens with a voiceover declaring: “Grammy-Award-winning recording artist Cardi B, known for her chart-topping hits…”.

Cardi’s role has always been cast against that of Queens’ Nicki Minaj: the industry’s enfant terrible, villainised and perennially snubbed by the Grammys, while Cardi collects trophies. Yet it’s precisely Minaj’s outsider defiance that secures her untouchable status as queen of the genre. So it hardly feels coincidental that Cardi’s big swing comes just as Minaj’s faltering tour grinds to a halt — or that the album’s centrepiece is a nod to Jay-Z’s Imaginary Player, positioning Cardi as a rap connoisseur. It’s one of the album’s best tracks.

Guest spots abound: Kehlani, Janet Jackson, Lizzo, Selena Gomez, Dougie F, Lourdiz, Cash Cobain, Tyla, Latto. Some are familiar allies, like Selena and Lizzo. Others – Cash Cobain and Tyla – speak to an appetite for fresher markets like afrobeat and sexy drill. And then there are the features that feel more like industry manoeuvring, notably Megan and Latto, both well-known Minaj antagonists.

For outright beef, there’s Pretty & Petty, a diss track aimed squarely at BIA (who, of course, has a remix with Minaj). The barbs are vicious, taking shots at BIA’s mother and even sneering that she only gets booked when venues can’t afford Coi Leray. The release was punctuated by an online row with JT, another rapper and Lil Uzi’s partner.

Elsewhere, tracks fall into two neat camps: the tabloid-friendly (What’s Goin On, particularly dreadful) and the more tender (Safe, Shower Tears, On My Back). Cardi’s messy split from Offset lingers in the lyrics, with digs scattered throughout. On Outside, she boasts: “Favorite player from your favorite team, he in my DM, uh. I’m so small and tiny, he’s so big and tall,” a double swipe at Offset’s height and her new partner, NFL player Stefon Diggs. Safe, featuring Kehlani, doubles as a heartfelt dedication to Diggs and one of the record’s clear standouts.

Am I The Drama? follows a narrative arc not unlike Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito. The comparison makes sense: Cardi has long tapped into the Latin market, drawing on her Dominican heritage. That strategy crystallises on Bodega Mami, a merengue-meets-Jersey hybrid clearly aimed at dancefloors. So far, though, no video.

In the end, Cardi leaves few stones unturned. Yet beneath the surface lies the sense of a playlist rather than a fully-fledged album – a collection of singles, calculated for chart dominance and brand repositioning. Not an ignoble aim, but not the most artistic either, in terms of lyrics or originality. Then again, she’s never pretended otherwise: “But nothing in this world that I like more than checks (Money), all I really wanna see is the (Money).”