Maps of Music

Am I the Drama? (2025)

Where the lyrics of Am I the Drama? take you, and where it was really made.

Cardi B became the only female rapper whose first two albums both debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

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Am I the Drama?: second studio album by American rapper Cardi B
Released September 19, 2025 through Atlantic Records
Hip-hop record; follow-up to her debut album Invasion of Privacy (2018)
Features Summer Walker, Selena Gomez, Kehlani, Dougie F, Lizzo, Cash Cobain, Lourdiz, Janet Jackson, Tyla, and Megan Thee Stallion
Production by Ayo the Producer, Keyz, Charlie Heat, FnZ, London on da Track, TM88, and Vinylz, among others
Lead single "Outside" released June 20, 2025

Arrived more than seven years after the predecessor
Recorded over a six-year period
Mixes artists she had worked with before with new collaborators
Delayed several times; Cardi B cited perfectionism and pressure to meet expectations
"WAP" and "Up" placed on the track list, which drew criticism as a ploy to boost streaming
Cardi B said in a June 2025 tweet that those songs were among her biggest hits
Little Miss Drama Tour in 2026: 35 shows in North America, from February 11 in Palm Desert to April 18 in Atlanta

Cover art and the promotional video were compared to The Birds (1963) by Alfred Hitchcock
CGI trailer released June 30 showed black birds attacking Cardi B
Alternative vinyl and CD covers themed around tracks such as "Imaginary Playerz", "Pretty & Petty", and "Magnet"

Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, known as Cardi B, is an American rapper born October 11, 1992 in New York City.
She first gained fame on VH1's reality series Love & Hip Hop: New York in 2015 before launching her music career.
Her debut mixtape Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 1 was released in March 2016, followed by Vol. 2 in January 2017.
Her debut single "Bodak Yellow" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 2017 and was certified Diamond.
Her debut studio album Invasion of Privacy (2018) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 2019.
Her second album Am I the Drama? (2025) also debuted at number one, making her the only female rapper whose first two albums both topped the Billboard 200.
She has five Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, more than any other female rapper, including "WAP" with Megan Thee Stallion.
She has acted in the film Hustlers (2019) and hosted and judged the Netflix series Rhythm + Flow.
She has business ventures including Whipshots, Grow Good Beauty, and endorsement deals with Reebok and Pepsi.
She has been outspoken on political and social issues, including endorsing Bernie Sanders in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024.

Generally positive reviews from critics on release
Critics called it a strong return to form, highlighting Cardi B's lyrical delivery, rap flow, and honesty
Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield described it as a "massive comeback triumph" and a fittingly grand return
The Guardian's Alexis Petridis praised the "sharp, impressively witty lyrics" and described the material as raw and powerful
The Line of Best Fit's Sam Franzini gave a mixed view, writing that few of the songs seem poised to stick around

Metacritic: generally favorable reviews, weighted average of 74 out of 100 from 13 critic scores

Title came from the amount of "real-life drama" Cardi B was experiencing, and she also drew on a Drag Race meme.
The June 30 trailer showed a CGI flock of aggressive black birds attacking Cardi B as she tried to get into a car.
The second single "Imaginary Playerz" had a music video directed by Patientce Foster.
"Imaginary Playerz" samples Jay-Z's "Imaginary Player" (1997).