"Should you need confirmation that Cardi B's second album is considered a very big deal, you might consider the response of fellow rapper Young Thug to the announcement of its release, seven years on from her debut, Invasion of Privacy. An artist with 30 gold or platinum singles to his name, he nevertheless quickly shifted the release date of a new album he has been promoting for six months, when it became apparent that it would clash with the arrival of Am I the Drama?"
"The artwork for Am I the Drama? It was a gesture that seems somehow antithetical to the very nature of hip-hop a genre that's had gloves-off rivalry in its DNA ever since the night, getting on for 50 years ago, when Busy Bee made the fatal mistake of challenging Kool Moe Dee to an onstage battle and inadvertently ushered in a new rap era in the process. But equally, you can understand Young Thug's logic."
"From the first moments of opener Dead, the listener is made abundantly aware that Cardi B is not a rapper who needs her memory jogged about the gloves-of frivalry inherent in hip-hop's DNA. Never smart to beef with me what can I say? / These hoes be dumb, bitches die young, she offers within seconds of arriving on the mic. Seconds later, she is letting longstanding rival Nicki Minaj have it in no uncertain terms."
Cardi B releases her second album Am I the Drama? seven years after 2018's Invasion of Privacy. Young Thug moved his own album release date to avoid a clash, temporarily sacrificing his planned timeline. The album opener "Dead" immediately presents a fierce, confrontational tone with explicit disses and braggadocio aimed at rivals, including Nicki Minaj. Cardi invokes industry gossip and tour figures while delivering rapid-fire, entertaining lines. The gesture by Young Thug reads as both chivalrous and cautious, reflecting competitive instincts rooted in hip-hop's history of public rivalries. The record reasserts Cardi B's prominence and combative persona.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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