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| Cardi B settles scores on Am I The Drama?, her second album | |
| (about 16 hours later) | |
| US rapper Cardi B has returned with her first album in seven years, a blistering collection of songs that reference her recent divorce and ongoing beef with another female rapper. | US rapper Cardi B has returned with her first album in seven years, a blistering collection of songs that reference her recent divorce and ongoing beef with another female rapper. |
| Am I The Drama? - a title inspired by a RuPaul's Drag Race meme - was released on Friday, and is her first full-length album since her 2018 debut Invasion of Privacy. | Am I The Drama? - a title inspired by a RuPaul's Drag Race meme - was released on Friday, and is her first full-length album since her 2018 debut Invasion of Privacy. |
| Rolling Stone described the rapper's sophomore record as a "fittingly grand return for a queen who never left the throne". | Rolling Stone described the rapper's sophomore record as a "fittingly grand return for a queen who never left the throne". |
| Fans welcomed the return of rap's "queen of chaos" as they dissected the album's bracingly honest lyrics. | Fans welcomed the return of rap's "queen of chaos" as they dissected the album's bracingly honest lyrics. |
| The US star references her 2024 divorce from rapper Offset, formerly of hip-hop group Migos, rapping: "Last time you [messed] up, I said I was done / Messed up again, I took you back, I was dumb / Should've fell back from you, instead, I gave you a son." | The US star references her 2024 divorce from rapper Offset, formerly of hip-hop group Migos, rapping: "Last time you [messed] up, I said I was done / Messed up again, I took you back, I was dumb / Should've fell back from you, instead, I gave you a son." |
| She also raps about his apparent infidelity, commenting that she "could've cheated too". | She also raps about his apparent infidelity, commenting that she "could've cheated too". |
| But she also reflects on her own role in their break-up, telling him: "As a wife I should have realised when you were hurt / But instead I put my music first." | But she also reflects on her own role in their break-up, telling him: "As a wife I should have realised when you were hurt / But instead I put my music first." |
| Cardi B filed for divorce from Offset (pictured in 2023) last year | Cardi B filed for divorce from Offset (pictured in 2023) last year |
| Elsewhere, Cardi B escalates her ongoing beef with fellow rapper Bia, saying her rival's "melatonin flow [is] putting us to bed". | Elsewhere, Cardi B escalates her ongoing beef with fellow rapper Bia, saying her rival's "melatonin flow [is] putting us to bed". |
| She also challenges listeners to "name five Bia songs, gun pointing to your head", adding that Bia's record label should be thankful for the publicity from the fallout, rapping: "I'm doing you a favour, Epic." | She also challenges listeners to "name five Bia songs, gun pointing to your head", adding that Bia's record label should be thankful for the publicity from the fallout, rapping: "I'm doing you a favour, Epic." |
| In a 4.5-star reivew, Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield noted: "She's got a long list of scores to settle, enemies to crush, crowns to claim. | In a 4.5-star reivew, Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield noted: "She's got a long list of scores to settle, enemies to crush, crowns to claim. |
| "She's out to remind everyone she's looser, wilder, less predictable, just plain funnier than anyone else in the game." | "She's out to remind everyone she's looser, wilder, less predictable, just plain funnier than anyone else in the game." |
| The Times' Will Hodgkinson said the album "drills down into the things about her that made such an impact in the first place: a campy persona, aggressive and/or outrageously explicit raps about how great she is and how terrible everyone else is, and a sense of humour underpinning it all". | The Times' Will Hodgkinson said the album "drills down into the things about her that made such an impact in the first place: a campy persona, aggressive and/or outrageously explicit raps about how great she is and how terrible everyone else is, and a sense of humour underpinning it all". |
| But, he added in his three-star review: "At 23 tracks, it is far too long... and there are only so many times you can hear playground taunts set against drill and trap beats." | But, he added in his three-star review: "At 23 tracks, it is far too long... and there are only so many times you can hear playground taunts set against drill and trap beats." |
| Cardi B (left) appeared on The Jennifer Hudson Show to promote the album earlier this month | Cardi B (left) appeared on The Jennifer Hudson Show to promote the album earlier this month |
| Cardi B shot to fame in 2015 after appearing on the VH1 reality show Love & Hip Hop: New York. | Cardi B shot to fame in 2015 after appearing on the VH1 reality show Love & Hip Hop: New York. |
| Having already gained prominence on social media, she went on to release mixtapes and guest on other rappers' hits before releasing her own debut album. | Having already gained prominence on social media, she went on to release mixtapes and guest on other rappers' hits before releasing her own debut album. |
| Robin Murray of Clash awarded her second album 7/10, writing: "Turning the focus back to music, Am I The Drama? attempts to pin down the chaos of her life, and - in the most part - succeeds. | Robin Murray of Clash awarded her second album 7/10, writing: "Turning the focus back to music, Am I The Drama? attempts to pin down the chaos of her life, and - in the most part - succeeds. |
| "This is a record that feels like an exhalation, a long-awaited memoir that refuses to blot out the truth. [It] doesn't flinch from the explicit, and embraces discomfort." | "This is a record that feels like an exhalation, a long-awaited memoir that refuses to blot out the truth. [It] doesn't flinch from the explicit, and embraces discomfort." |
| Awarding four stars, the Guardian's Alexis Petridis wrote: Throughout it all, Cardi B offers sharp, impressively witty lyrics delivered with brutal vigour: she never sounds like someone going through the motions, or doing what's expected of her. | Awarding four stars, the Guardian's Alexis Petridis wrote: Throughout it all, Cardi B offers sharp, impressively witty lyrics delivered with brutal vigour: she never sounds like someone going through the motions, or doing what's expected of her. |
| But he also took issue with the album's length. "At 70 minutes, Am I the Drama? cleaves to an era when rappers felt impelled to pack CDs to the limit of their capacity," he said. "It's a questionable choice, particularly given a couple of duds." | But he also took issue with the album's length. "At 70 minutes, Am I the Drama? cleaves to an era when rappers felt impelled to pack CDs to the limit of their capacity," he said. "It's a questionable choice, particularly given a couple of duds." |
| Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, has remained in the headlines in the years since her first album. | Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, has remained in the headlines in the years since her first album. |
| Earlier this month, she was cleared of assault by a Los Angeles jury after a security guard sued her for $24m (£18m). | Earlier this month, she was cleared of assault by a Los Angeles jury after a security guard sued her for $24m (£18m). |
| Emani Ellis had alleged that the US rapper cut her cheek with a 3in (7.5cm) fingernail and spat on her outside an obstetrician's office in 2018. | Emani Ellis had alleged that the US rapper cut her cheek with a 3in (7.5cm) fingernail and spat on her outside an obstetrician's office in 2018. |
| Cardi B has had three babies since the release of her debut album and has just announced she is pregnant with her fourth. | Cardi B has had three babies since the release of her debut album and has just announced she is pregnant with her fourth. |
| Her new album will be seen as a strong statement that she has returned to reclaim her throne. | Her new album will be seen as a strong statement that she has returned to reclaim her throne. |
| And, as Petridis concluded in his review, the album "serves ample notice that getting on the wrong side of Cardi B is a course of action best avoided". | And, as Petridis concluded in his review, the album "serves ample notice that getting on the wrong side of Cardi B is a course of action best avoided". |