Cardi B isn’t concerned about ‘Flop’ album, ‘proud’ of what she released

CardiB recently released their long-awaited second studio album, “Am I The Drama?”, and it features over 23 new tracks. The project, released on September 19, also sparked viral sounds on TikTok and generated significant drama on social media. Now, a month after the album’s release, the former “Love & Hip Hop” star is hitting back at claims it was a “flop” and revealing the journey behind releasing her most personal record to date.

Speaking to Paper Magazine, Cardi B, 33, opened up about her album selling more than 200,000 equivalent units in its first week and took to social media calling her project a “flop.”

“The numbers have been so dramatic,” the mother of three said. “First of all, I’m very proud of my act. Very proud of my act. We’re in a very different time when it comes to music. So not only am I proud of my numbers, but you got some bitches on the sidelines that will try to make you not feel proud of your numbers.”

Much like the spirit of her album, Cardi B went on to criticize some of her industry peers, adding, “There are people who have never seen 100,000 sales who call me a failure.”

“So people will try to discourage you about your numbers, but clearly, they’re not discouraging me,” she continued. “That’s what people will try to do, but it fails. It fails when thousands of videos are made about your music. And then there are thousands of people making memes about your songs. There are so many people who doubted my album, who were like, ‘You know what, his album is good.'”

“Am I the drama?” was Cardi B’s first major release in seven years. His debut album, “Invasion of Privacy,” hit the streaming giants in April 2018 and featured the songs “Bodak Yellow,” “I Like It,” and “Ring.”

Between her first and second albums, Cardi B released several unique singles, including “WAP” and “UP,” both of which were hugely successful, leading many to wonder why there was a nearly eight-year gap between the projects.

“When I released my first album, people should remember that I didn’t even understand what the problem was. [about] to release an album,” she said. “This one, I understood how serious it was and I wanted it to be something that I loved. All these songs that I personally love. All these songs, these are the songs that I chose from a selection.”

While continuing, Cardi B explained that despite the success, she felt like her debut album was rushed due to behind-the-scenes business dealings and the fact that she was pregnant with her first child, Kulture.

“This time, I took my time. Not only that, but in the last seven years, I’ve grown so much. I’ve had a few kids. Now I’m really in the industry. I was navigating it. I was understanding it. I was learning. I was teaching myself. I was growing. I became an adult, a real adult, a real adult,” she said.

On her album, Cardi B wasted no time in helping out some of her industry peers. In the first three songs alone, the “Safe” rapper takes aim at City Girls’ JT and Ice Spice. In another song, “Pretty & Petty”, Cardi B directly mentions rapper BIA, criticizing his physical appearance in several bars.

According to a previous report from The Blast, Cardi B explained that she came out for BIA after the latter allegedly spoke negatively about her children, saying, “When my kids grow up one day and they see that you mentioned them…they’ll ask me, ‘So what did you say? What did you do?’ [in response]?”

“I’m not going to tell my kids, ‘I felt like she took the high road because she lost, because people weren’t on her side.’ No, I don’t tell my kids that. I am [gonna be] like, ‘See how raped I was?'” Cardi B continued.

Before releasing her latest album, Cardi B hinted on social media that she was going to cause trouble with her new songs.

“Seven years and the time has come. Seven years of love and light and loss. Seven years since I gave them grace, but now I give them happiness,” she said in a disturbing teaser video shared on her Instagram. “I have learned that power does not give, it takes. I am losing feathers and I no longer shed tears.”

“I’m not back,” she added, “I’m beyond. I’m not your bad guy, I’m your karma. The time is now. The time is now.”