AM I THE DRAMA? longs for Cardi B’s bygone dominance

“I Like It”, “Bartier Cardi”, and her once-in-a-lifetime hit “Bodak Yellow” unleashed her brash, hustler personality onto a command of the form – who can disagree with “Cardi put the pussy on Offset?” She was up front about stripping and less so about unsavory details like drugging and robbing men, but hers was, ultimately, a tale of success. “I ain’t telling y’all to do it, I’m just telling my story,” she raps on “Get Up 10”, a song that – I say with sincerity – captures an admirable tenacity and perseverance. It makes sense why she was everywhere in 2017-2018, from her 3 No. 1 hits to guest spots on Migos’ “Motorsport” or G-Eazy’s “No Limit” to throwing a shoe at Nicki Minaj at New York Fashion Week. Everything came back to her.

Seven years later, her sophomore album AM I THE DRAMA? comes with a bit of a misnomer; she hasn’t been the drama in quite some time, except for a recent (well-timed?) court appearance earlier this month disputing an assault accusation by a security guard. But even that ended up as entertainment rather than anything serious: “Did you call her fat?” a lawyer asks. “No,” Cardi responds, “I called her a bitch.” In a somewhat telling move, images from that appearance made their way onto an alternate album cover, using her personality to promote her music.

All of this to say that Cardi isn’t making it any easier on herself by waiting to release a new record during a year that 1) is several removed from when she was a topic of cultural conversation and 2) comes right after one where rap dominated most headlines. Nicki Minaj vs. Megan Thee Stallion (or, rather, Nicki vs. herself) and Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake provided enough material to last a lifetime alongside releases from minor players GloRilla, Ice Spice and Sexyy Red. The field isn’t as stacked this year, which should be an open path to victory, but few of AM I THE DRAMA?’s songs seem poised to stick around.

Whereas her blockbuster debut Invasion of Privacy used every minute of its runtime, AM I THE DRAMA? wavers and meanders around tracks that are fine at best and miserable at worst. Despite her holding court on the tremendous “Bodak Yellow”, Cardi feels the need to supplement these songs with samples, singers, and attention diverted from her. The nostalgia-maxing has reached its irritating conclusion on “What’s Goin On”, where Lizzo pummels the 4 Non Blondes song to its death. Their previous chemistry on “Rumors” has all but dissipated here, where Lizzo’s Barbie brightness doesn’t mesh with the trap beat. It’s only usurped by Selena Gomez joining on the bubbly, boring “Pick It Up” where the women sing about their phones, awkward and unflattering. Cardi and Summer Walker are a better pair, despite the latter’s crooning, and though the promise of a Janet Jackson feature lit up the internet, she lazily samples “Pleasure Principle” and calls it a day. Is the best collaboration here really a 5-year-old song? “WAP” still holds up, but it’s doing a lot of heavy lifting.

Her solo ventures are marginally more successful. “Up” hasn’t lost any of its star power from 2021, its alliterative chorus gaining more steam, and “Bodega Baddie” employs the same strategy of all-out warfare against the listener with its Spanish demands and a Jersey club beat. It’s certainly her most fun song in a while, though it’s capped at the knees at just under two minutes. “Hello” has the album’s weakest hook (“Hello, it’s me”) but has some weight behind her raps: “It be me carrying these hoes, surprised I’m not showing.” Similarly, the ratting bass of “Trophies” provides some intensity to a particularly boring stretch of songs. Others like “Pretty & Petty” or “Magnet” are structurally solid but shallow – put them on at a party as background noise, but it’s hard to picture them reeling anyone in. Even though it’s on an adamantly fun song, a line like “This tequila 90 proof, chase it with my pussy juice” goes for shock but ends up nauseating – a CupcakKe imitation that falls flat. These maybe-hits aren’t enough to offset the ersatz relationship autopsies (“Man Of Your Word”), lovey jams (“On My Back”) or lofty threats (“Killin You Hoes”). When she signals the waiter on “Check Please”, it sounds like she’s all set to leave.

AM I THE DRAMA? starts with a skit about a murder spree that will start “undoubtedly one of the darkest chapters in music history.” That song, “Dead”, promises a rampage that ends up being a false alarm. The following album is lacking the charisma that makes Cardi B such an integral online presence, reality TV icon, and, yes, rapper – nothing here matches the vitality of an Invasion of Privacy B-side. Worse still, she longs for when she was back on top – what else could be achieved by tacking “WAP” and “Up” on here – but does little to get back there. Weak bars and rewrites bloat the tracklist, making it somewhat expendable. Is she the drama? A cynical (but maybe honest) answer to the album’s title could be “No, but I remember when you were.”