Cardi B’s new album, “Am I The Drama?,” released on September 19th, showcases her confidence, lifestyle and her future legacy.
For readers unfamiliar with Cardi B’s backstory, Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar was born in Washington Heights, Manhattan and raised in the Highbridge neighborhood of the South Bronx. She has a younger sister named Hennessy, and to keep the alcohol beverage theme going, they called her Bacardi. After getting fired from her job, Cardi B became a stripper at nineteen to make ends meet.
She was then discovered by the entertainment industry for her flamboyant social media personality. In 2015, she was a castmate on VH1’s reality television series, Love & Hip Hop: New York. In 2017, she released a song called “Bodak Yellow,” which became a hit. Later, she collaborated with Bruno Mars, Megan Thee Stallion, Kehlani, and more.
Her style of rapping is direct, honest and understanding. The lyrics from “Nice Guy” ft. Tyla (over 1.8 million views on YouTube)– “He got an accent (yeah), he don’t be cappin’ and he be trappin’ (facts) / And he tapped in, he got him a baddie, that’s how I be actin’ (huh) / I’m spoiled, I be misbehavin’ (Misbehavin’), he know I drive him crazy.”
As the lyrics demonstrate, she holds the control in her relationship. She does not want to simply be confident in her relationship, but to be adored as well.
The music video for the song “Safe” ft. Kehlani has also garnered over 20 million views on YouTube. In it, the two artists explore why it is essential to feel safe in a relationship. “I’m from the block, baby (Block baby), it’s you and I, baby (I, baby) / If the world turn against me, who I got, baby? (Who I got, bae?) Bust at your opps, baby (Gah, gah), up it and flock, baby…”
Despite her avowed independence, Cardi B gets vulnerable on this track. Relationships are important to her.
In her new song “Hello,” Cardi B knows who she is, and acknowledges the struggles and challenges to become a better version of herself. She even does her own promotion by taking the train to local areas she grew up in like the Bronx. She promoted her album at Queens Center Mall in Queens, New York. On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she jokingly told everyone to buy her album so she wouldn’t go homeless.
As reported by Billboard, Cardi B teased plans for her next album on X Spaces on October 27th saying, “… I want to put out a project, another album, in less than a year, so I’m really planning on that. I want a new era. I kinda know what I want it to look like. It’s gonna be different from “Am I the Drama?”. She also plans to launch the Little Miss Drama Tour to reach out to her die-hard fans. She is not only a mom of three, but also expecting baby number four. She wants to do what is best for herself, her fans, her career, and her family.
