The wait is over — almost. Cardi B announced her much-delayed sophomore album, Am I the Drama?, on Monday (June 23). Release day is still just under three months away, with the project slated to arrive on Sept. 19.
Cardi released her fiery “Outside” single to set the tone for the summer on Friday (June 20), and hinted at the album announcement over the weekend.
She made it official while revealing the album’s striking cover art, which finds Cardi sporting a red body suit while holding onto a matching bloody heel, as black birds circle the stormy clouds around her.
It’s been a long, winding road in the seven years since Cardi’s Grammy-winning Invasion of Privacy debut album in 2018. There’s been plenty of starts and stops as she released a handful of singles in the years since, including anthems like “WAP” and “Up,” both of which are set to appear on Am I the Drama?.
“Seven years of love, life and loss,” Cardi said in a voiceover teaser. “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. The time is here, the time is now.”
It’s unknown whether she plans to release more singles in the time leading up to Drama’s arrival, but she alluded to the delay being partially due to waiting on verses from guests slated to appear on the LP.
“I really need these f–king features,” she said in late April. “And it’s like I’m not really trying to press or go crazy on these artists because I love them down. But it’s like come on now! I need that! I need that right now! Helloooo! Y’all don’t want to miss this opportunity. I’ll sing this s–t myself! But I really need y’all and I need y’all to hurry up and I love y’all. I feel like nobody want to miss being on this album.”
With Cardi on the release calendar, she has one of the most anticipated albums of 2025. Before we start the countdown clock, here are five things we want to see from Am I the Drama?
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Another SZA Collaboration
SZA and Cardi B teamed up for IOP’s man-dismissing closer “I Do.” Bardi stomped over the dudes of her past, and now we’re hoping another such anthem could be in the works. SZA hopped into Cardi’s album announcement, teasing a potential collaboration: “Lemme send this verse chile,” she wrote, which sent fans into a frenzy.
In the years since they applauded independence when Privacy landed, SZA’s star power has reached another stratosphere, and a second time spinning the block should net plaque-yielding results for the duo.
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Insight to Offset Split & New Relationship With Stefon Diggs
Seven years is a long time. In the time between her first and second albums, Cardi has filed for divorce twice, so she has plenty to get off her chest for her sophomore LP. Personal experience is an artist’s best writing partner, and Cardi should have no issue cathartically digging into being scorned by her ex and giving fans a look into what led to their relationship’s demise.
The 32-year-old also turned the page to a new chapter, as she appears to be going strong into the summer with her boo, Stefon Diggs. Cardi B could provide some context into what sparked the connection to her NFL star boo, after going public with their relationship in May while sitting courtside together at a New York Knicks playoff game.
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Change the Album’s Cover Art
As much excitement as there was when Cardi B announced plans for an album, there was a significant negative reception to the gloomy artwork of Am I the Drama?. Now only Cardi knows the concept of the album she’s delivering, but the red bodysuit flanked by crows in the clouds doesn’t seem to match the energy of “Outside,” “WAP” and “Up.”
The alternate covers and CD artwork are in the same vein as the original as well with Cardi leaning into the villain role as a “Drama Specialist.” However, rap fans won out in 2020 in a similar situation when criticizing the Virgil Abloh-designed Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon cover art for Pop Smoke’s posthumous debut LP, which was quickly swapped out for another creative direction.
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Lean Into Other Genres
Cardi B struck gold — and diamond status — when teaming up with J Balvin and Bad Bunny for “I Like It” in 2018, early in their own respective meteoric rises. In doing so, she helped usher in a Latin wave that flooded America’s mainstream music scene at the turn of the decade, while collecting another No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit.
IOP saw Cardi jump from rap to Latin trap, R&B and ballads throughout the album. Putting her taste levels to the test once again by opening the flood gates for more emerging stars outside of hip-hop could help elevate Cardi’s sophomore album and widen the palette of her audience.
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Sharper Production & Hard-Hitting Beat Selection
Cardi B’s masterful ear was on display with her versatile IOP debut, and she needs to tap into a similar production value with her sophomore album. The Bronx bombshell’s brazen rhymes hit that much harder when she finds a pocket behind thumping drums, which propelled her to being a bona fide hitmaker in the late 2010s.
She clearly had a formula figured out, and perhaps Cardi can reconnect with the likes of talented producers such as J. White Did It, Boi-1da, Ayo & Keyz and Sean Island for more smash hits on Drama.
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