Cardi B has announced the follow-up to her 2018 debut, Invasion of Privacy. Her first album in seven years is called Am I the Drama?, and it drops September 19 via Atlantic. The 23-track effort will include “Outside,” “Up,” and “WAP.” See the album cover below.
Cardi B returned last week with “Outside,” her first solo song in more than a year, produced by Charlie Heat and HeyMicki, with co-production from DJ SwanQo. Two days later, she teased a new announcement. “Seven years, and the time has come,” she said. “Seven years of love, life, and loss. Seven years, I gave them grace, but, now, I give them hell. I learned power is not given; it’s taken. I’m shedding feathers and no more tears. I’m not back; I’m beyond. I’m not your villain; I’m your karma. The time is here. The time is now.”
Before “Outside” came “Enough (Miami),” which, in turn, was her first formal solo single since 2021’s “Up.” In the meantime, she has released numerous collaborations, including 2023’s “Bongos,” with Megan Thee Stallion, and “Put It on da Floor Again,” with Latto; 2022 songs with Kanye West, Glorilla, Kay Flock, and Rosalía; and, in 2021, collaborations with Lizzo (“Rumors”), Normani (“Wild Side”), Migos (“Type Shit”), and Summer Walker (“Bitter”).
Cardi B’s biggest hit since Invasion of Privacy, of course, was the Megan Thee Stallion–assisted “WAP,” from 2020. That single was not submitted for Grammy consideration—though they did perform it at the 2021 gala—because, representatives said, a Grammys campaign was brewing that year around a new Cardi B album. The record never materialized to qualify. At the end of 2022, Cardi B responded to the leak of purported (and ultimately phony) new material with a short clip of an unidentified, unreleased track. “HERE some scraps since yall STARVING 😫😂😂😫😂😫😫,” she wrote.
Outside of music, Cardi B has spent some of her post–Invasion of Privacy time stumping for Bernie Sanders, interviewing Joe Biden, and acting in the comedy film Assisted Living—which she eventually exited, causing production to shutter. In 2020, she starred in the Facebook Watch series Cardi Tries, where she tested her efforts at learning new skills: ballet, gaming, ranching, stunt diving, and more.
Read about Invasion of Privacy in Pitchfork’s “The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s.”
