It’s well past midnight at New York’s Daylight Studio, and Cardi B is fighting to stay awake. Five hours into her Billboard photo shoot, a slight wardrobe malfunction with her black dress is prompting a quick timeout. “S–t, I got a wedgie,” she groans, dropping into her seat with a smirk. But like a true New Yorker, she toughs it out — chewing ice and cracking jokes like she’s headlining her own late-night set.
Clutching a Chick-fil-A cup, she rattles off a story about the fast-food chain botching her order. Then she seamlessly swerves into her recent social media spat with WWE’s Naomi. A couple of days earlier, Cardi had hosted SummerSlam at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium — and in the run-up to the event, she’d threatened on X to shave Naomi’s head and use her hair as a wig. “I just be talking s–t because I know these b–ches can really fight,” she gags, eyes gleaming.
Cardi’s jokes and swagger never clock out. But behind the antics, she’s focused — and eager to reassert her hip-hop dominance. Seven years after her Grammy Award-winning, multiplatinum-selling, culture-shifting debut, Invasion of Privacy, she’s finally ready to launch her next act with her long-awaited second album, Am I the Drama?
“I’m really one of those artists that people ask for their albums the most every year,” Cardi says matter-of-factly. “I wouldn’t be confident if nobody asked me for my s–t. Imagine nobody asking for an album of yours? Imagine nobody asking for your music? That’s why I’m so confident.”
She has only released one album, but Cardi B already boasts a Hip-Hop Hall of Fame-caliber résumé. She became the first female rapper to win best rap album at the 2019 Grammys. She has five Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s and 13 top 10 hits. She’s also the first female artist to have every track on an album certified platinum or higher by the RIAA.
Along the way, Cardi evolved into one of music’s most sought-after collaborators, partnering with pop giants Bruno Mars and Maroon 5 for Hot 100 chart-toppers, as well as hip-hop upstarts such as Latto and GloRilla.
“What’s special about Cardi is that she knows her audience, her fan base and how to stay relevant,” says Shawn Holiday, her manager at Full Stop Management. “She hasn’t put out an album in seven years, but she knows how to stay current because she knows how to do features that keep her in the marketplace.
“GloRilla was a new artist at the time [they collaborated],” he continues. “Cardi didn’t care. She was really trying to empower other females in hip-hop. It wasn’t about the money for Cardi; she did it because she loved the song and knew she could add value to it.”
While her music wins are undeniable, it’s Cardi’s triumphs outside of the studio that have solidified her legacy. Since releasing Invasion of Privacy, she has become a global brand force, securing partnerships with Fashion Nova, Reebok and Whipshots; her deal with NYX Professional Makeup culminated in a Super Bowl commercial in 2024.
It’s hard to believe, given all this enormous cultural influence, that she still has yet to embark on her own headlining tour. “A lot of people say I got comfortable because I make money, but the most money I make is when I go and do shows,” says Cardi, who tweeted in 2022 that she’d netted $1 million for a 35-minute show at a private event during Miami’s Art Basel. “I could rush and put out music like it’s nothing and then pick up millions of dollars per show, but it’s not about that. I want the music to be great. I want it to be amazing.”
With 23 tracks set to appear on Am I the Drama?, including two Hot 100 No. 1s — 2020’s “WAP” and 2021’s “Up” — Cardi’s aiming to prove it was worth the wait. Slated for release on Sept. 19, Cardi’s second act features a tougher storyline: Expectations are sky-high, her divorce from rapper Offset is pending, she’s raising their three kids on her own and she’s navigating the new Atlantic Music Group (AMG) regime under CEO Elliot Grainge.
“Cardi B is synonymous with the excellence that has made Atlantic Records a historically significant record label,” Grainge tells Billboard. “She is a real vanguard and a groundbreaking career artist who continues to push hip-hop and popular music culture forward in surprising and inspiring ways. There is no one like her. We are fortunate to be in her orbit.”
In June, Cardi released the album’s first single, “Outside,” a trunk-rattling track where she defiantly shakes off the shackles of her marriage and steps into singlehood. The song debuted in the top 10 of the Hot 100, a reminder that even amid chaos, Cardi can still storm the charts.
But if “Outside” was Cardi coming out swinging, it’s the René & Angela-sampling “Imaginary Playerz,” released in mid-August, where her pen first draws blood. Jay-Z famously flipped the R&B duo’s 1982 single “Imaginary Playmate” for his own “Imaginary Players” in 1997, and on her version, Cardi makes the beat her own as she fires shots with sniper-like precision. “My flop and your flop is not the same/If you did my numbers, y’all would pop champagne,” she snaps.
“Cardi remains at the top of her game,” AMG COO Zach Friedman says. “She released a great record with ‘Outside,’ marking another exciting milestone for her. The entire AMG family is here to support her vision for the new album. She continues to be one of one.”
It’s 2 a.m. when Cardi finally steps off-set, the 11-hour shoot behind her. She exhales, eager to trade couture for pajamas and finally fix that pesky wedgie. These marathon days, the kind that test your patience and prove your stamina, are the grind she has been craving — the same grind that helped her become an overnight icon. Now, seven years after Invasion of Privacy forever changed the rap game, Cardi is ready to be the headline, the plot twist and the finisher all over again. This time, she’s walking straight into the drama, daring anyone to even match her smoke.
