ALBUM REVIEW: AM I THE DRAMA?
Album: AM I THE DRAMA?
Artist: Cardi B
Label: Atlantic Records
Grade: A-
Seven years after winning a Grammy for her first studio album, Invasion of Privacy, Cardi B graces the charts with her second studio album, AM I THE DRAMA?
Releasing at the peak of her beef with Nicki Minaj, and featuring performances from a variety of genre-bending artists, Cardi B takes listeners on an emotional journey. Many songs on the album tackle that beef directly, like “Imaginary Playerz” and “Check Please.”
She also opens a window into her tumultuous relationship with Offset, all before waving goodbye to that chapter of her life on “Man of Your Word,” wishing him well before happily bragging about her experiences with a new romantic partner on “On My Back.”
The album features a few club bangers like “Bodega Baddie,” which build on the Latinx influence of “I Like it Like That,” serving to spice the album up.
However, the album is long. With 23 songs and over an hour of runtime, some of the tracks felt too similar to each other, and some just sounded bad.
Selena Gomez did her best on “Pick it Up,” but sounded like she was imitating Doja Cat’s cadence—in which case, Cardi, just get Doja Cat. And while we’re at it, don’t get Summer Walker to try to sound like SZA on “Dead”—just get SZA.
Regardless, the album has a tone for every emotion and provides a phenomenal female voice to an otherwise male-dominated genre. Overall, it’s an 8/10 and deserves a spot in your playlist.
~Zafir Nagji, Sports Editor
