Cardi B

Am I The Drama? (released September 19, 2025)

Don’t call this a comeback because Cardi has been here for years.

Literally. I mean, almost daily.

True, it’s been seven years since Cardi B’s Grammy-winning debut LP Invasion of Privacy but at no point has Cardi ever faded from the spotlight. Sometimes it’s for the music – she’s since become the first woman rapper to get a diamond certification – but most of the time it’s for … everything else.

The beefs and the babies, the crash-outs and the controversies – they’ve been as a big a part of Cardi’s story as the actual music. And she knows it.

Am I The Drama, Cardi’s long delayed sophomore project, directly leans into a decade of public disputes. Give her props, she’s not running from the headlines, she’s embracing them.

But real talk, I couldn’t care less about which football player she’s having a baby with and which underachieving rapper she’s currently mad at, the only question I’m asking is IS THE MUSIC GOOD?

And in the case of this album … it’s aight.

Am I the Drama effectively showcases the duality of Cardi’s personal and professional personas: The cocky rap antagonist and the conflicted wife and mom.

The album is at is safest – and arguably, it’s most effective – when focusing on the former.

Cardi literally takes aim at her opps on the album opener “Dead”, which is loaded with the wild one-liners that made her a star: “You better use your head ‘fore I come there, put a hole in it/Like, baow, baow, baow, now she can bowl with it.” You can tell she’s struggling to keep a straight face while delivering these bars, but they’re certainly entertaining. The lyrics aren’t as memorable on tracks like “Hello” or “Magnet,” but they’re driven by superior beats. “Magnet” specifically flaunts the raucous production that harkens back to so many late 90s/early 2000s hits.

Later cuts like “Errtime” and “Trophies” really ramp up the aggression, feeling like anthems-in-the-making. But Cardi can even turn a slower-paced effort like “Killin You Hoes” into a menacing march:

Say what you want, but you can’t call me broke
B****es swear they will, but I know these b****es won’t
I hope my name turn into glass in they throat
When I put my hands on her, she gon’ say it’s unprovoked

But Cardi Bully’s best moment by far is “Pretty and Petty,” where she absolutely eviscerates rival BIA:

You from Boston, let’s have a little tea party
Why you got kicked out of that condo?
Why you be online and be lyin’, though?
Why you always at Diddy house?
I heard they Combed that little kitty out

SOMEONE PLEASE CALL 911 *Wyclef voice*

As mentioned earlier, Cardi doesn’t shy away from her personal life, and provides some poignant reflections about halfway through the project. “Man of Your Word” is a shockingly mature reflection on her endless marital drama, an open apology where she admits fault on both ends of the relationship. It’s not just a welcome nuanced take, it shows tremendous artistic growth as well. She’s growing in all aspects. But she hasn’t gone soft on us – she’s much less forgiving in “What’s Goin On” and “Shower Tears,” where her vulnerability turns in to venom.

While I appreciate the themes of Am I The Drama, I’m much less tolerant of the album’s construction – specifically the pacing and features.

At 23 tracks, this album is LONG, and while I understand Cardi wanted to deliver a robust project to make up for her lengthy absence (plus more songs = more streams, duh), the project is loaded with filler and retreads. “Bodega Baddie” is fun but it doesn’t do anything “I Like It” already did years ago. The dreary pace of “Check Please” makes it as dull as three-week old dishwater – the kind with the orange grease floating on top of the water. Even the singles “Outside” and “Imaginary Playerz” add little to the project. I can’t shake the feeling of the former sounding like a “Black and Yellow” retread and while flipping Jay Z’s “Imaginary Players” is cool in theory she doesn’t do anything new with it. Same cadence, same structure, same monologues – feels more like karaoke than a homage.

And then … the features. Props to Cardi for bucking the current hip-hop trend of horrid autotuned hooks and using actual singers instead, but very few of the album’s features add to the songs. A couple are OK (Summer Walker on “Dead”) most are forgettable (Selena Gomez on “Pick It Up,” Kehlani on “Safe,” Tyla on “Nice Guy”) and others are atrocious (“Lizzo” screeching 4 Non Blondes lyrics on “What’s Goin On,” Cash Cobain’s unnecessary inclusion on the otherwise dope “Better Than You”). Only Lourdiz stood out from the pack on the sexually charged “On My Back.” BTW, Cardi saying “I wanna hold it when you pee” is the wildest line on an album filled with wild lines.

Oh, and Janet fans, don’t get your hopes up on “Principal.” We don’t get fresh Janet vocals here, just a chopped up “The Pleasure Principle” sample. It’s a good sample, but the song itself isn’t very memorable.

That’s the story of Am I The Drama – a mixed bag crammed with standout performances and solid production marred by unnecessary distractions and lost opportunities.

I have no doubt that Am I The Drama will be a successful return to the charts – “Pretty and Petty” alone will turn heads and several songs feel like viral moments waiting to happen. The album has a lot of heart, you just have to wade through a lot of chaos to find it.

Sort of like Cardi herself.

Best tracks: “Pretty and Petty,” “Man of Your Word,” “Killin You Hoes”

3.5 stars out of 5