1992-present
Cardi B News: Singer Announces New Album Am I the Drama?
Cardi B is set to release her long-awaited sophomore album, Am I the Drama?, on September 19. The Grammy-winning rapper announced the record on social media on June 23 in a post unveiling the record’s cover art. It features the 32-year-old in a red body suit surrounded by crows.
Am I the Drama? follows the success of Cardi B’s 2018 debut Invasion of Privacy, which won the Grammy for Best Rap Album. In addition to “Outside” and other new music, the 23-track record will feature her No. 1 smash hits “Up” and “WAP” with Megan Thee Stallion.
Teasing the album announcement on Instagram the day before, Cardi B posted a video of herself, in which she described her journey leading up to the album’s release. “Seven years and the time has come. Seven years of love, life, and loss. Seven years I gave them grace, but now, I give them hell,” she said. “I learned power is not given, it’s taken. I’m shedding feathers and no more tears. I’m not back, I’m beyond. I’m not your villain, I’m your karma. The time is here. The time is now.”
Who Is Cardi B?
Cardi B is a Grammy-winning rapper known for the songs “Bodak Yellow,” “I Like It,” and “WAP.” The New York native first got the world’s attention through social media with her tough and frank attitude about life as a stripper. Starting in 2015, she appeared on VH1’s reality show Love & Hip Hop: New York but left the show in 2017 to pursue music full-time. That same year saw the release of “Bodak Yellow,” the first diamond-certified single credited to a female rapper. Cardi B is also the first solo woman to win the Grammy for Best Rap Album, recognizing 2018’s Invasion of Privacy. She is currently divorcing Migos group member Offset, with whom she shares three kids.
Quick Facts
REAL NAME: Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar
BORN: October 11, 1992
BIRTHPLACE: New York, New York
SPOUSE: Offset (2017–present; separated)
CHILDREN: Kulture, Wave, and Blossom
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Libra
Early Life
Cardi B is the stage name of Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, who was born on October 11, 1992, in New York City. She was raised in the Bronx and also spent a lot of time with her grandmother in neighboring Washington Heights. She is of mixed Caribbean heritage; her mother is Trinidadian, and her father is of Dominican descent.
In her teenage years, she was a part of the Bloods gang and attended Renaissance High School for Musical Theater and the Arts. To escape poverty and an abusive relationship, she decided to become a stripper and has publicly discussed how proud she was of her decision. “It really saved me from a lot of things. When I started stripping I went back to school,” she said.
Although she eventually dropped out of Borough of Manhattan Community College, Cardi B was able to find her own way of rising to the top: first through social media on the pioneering video app Vine and Instagram, then as a reality star on Love & Hip Hop: New York Seasons 6 and 7, and ultimately, as a force in the music industry.
Her stage name, Cardi B, is a reference to the alcohol brand Barcardi. “My sister’s name, her name is Hennessy, so everybody used to be like Bacardi to me... then I shortened it to Cardi B, and the ‘B’ stands for whatever... depending on the day,” the rapper once explained.
In March 2019, an Instagram Live video surfaced of Cardi B admitting to drugging and robbing men during her time as a stripper. She addressed the topic on social media a few days later but stopped short of apologizing, writing, “I did what I had to do to survive.”
Songs and Albums
In the fall of 2015, Cardi B introduced her musical prowess for the first time on Jamaican singer Shaggy’s remixed single “Boom Boom.” In March 2016, she released her first mixtape Gangsta B–– Music Vol. 1 and that September collaborated with other hip-hop artists to produce the KSR Group compilation Underestimated: The Album, which included her single “What a Girl Likes.”
The year 2017 promised even bigger opportunities. The rapper not only released her second mixtape, Gangsta B–– Music Vol. 2, but she also snagged her first major record deal through Atlantic Records in February. Staying busy on the touring circuit, Cardi B was recognized as a rising star with nominations at the 2017 BET Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Hip-Hop Artist.
“Bodak Yellow” Goes No. 1 and Makes History
Released in August 2017, Cardi B’s commercial debut single, “Bodak Yellow,” became a viral hit and eventually earned the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. “Bodak Yellow” was only the second song from a solo female rapper to hit No. 1, following in the footsteps of “Doo Wop (That Thing)” by Lauryn Hill in 1998.
Cardi B’s hit was certified triple platinum by the end of November 2017 but didn’t stop there. In March 2021, “Bodak Yellow” became the first diamond-certified single credited to a woman rapper. The latest data from the Recording Industry Association of America shows the song has reached 11 million in sales or equivalent streams.
“Bodak Yellow” earned two Grammy Award nods before the end of 2017, marking Cardi B’s first nominations at the major music industry awards show. It competed for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance but lost in both categories at the January 2018 ceremony, where Cardi B performed “Finesse,” her collaboration with Bruno Mars.
Debut Album: Invasion of Privacy
Adding to her success in 2017, Cardi B collaborated on G-Eazy’s “No Limit,” Migos’ “MotorSport,” Puerto Rican sensation Ozuna’s “La Modelo,” and in December, she released her second single, “Bartier Cardi” featuring 21 Savage. The track teased to her long-awaited debut album, Invasion of Privacy.
The album, arriving in early April 2018, included songs fans were already familiar with (“Bodak Yellow” and “Bartier Cardi”) as well as fresh tracks and new collaborations with Migos, Chance the Rapper, and SZA. Within a few days of its release, Invasion of Privacy established a new standard for activity on Apple Music by smashing the previous record held by Taylor Swift’s reputation for most streams of an album by a female artist in its first week.
Less than two weeks after her album’s release, Cardi B garnered eight nominations for the 2018 Billboard Music Awards before taking home the win for Top Rap Female Artist in May. The success of Invasion of Privacy continue that July when the album became platinum-certified and its song “I Like It,” a collaboration with Bad Bunny and J Balvin, hit No. 1 on the Hot 100. With that, Cardi B became the first female rapper to twice reach the top spot.
Invasion of Privacy led to four Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for “I Like It.” Come February 2019, Cardi B became the first female solo artist to win the Grammy for Best Rap Album. (Lauryn Hill had previously won the trophy as part of The Fugees. In 2025, Doechii joined their ranks.)
Later in 2019, the artist made her movie debut in Hustlers, playing a stripper named Diamond alongside stars Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu.
New Album: Am I the Drama?
In the years since Invasion of Privacy, Cardi B has released more than two dozen songs, including collaborations like the chart-topping remix of Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You” and “Clout” with the rapper Offset that both earned Grammy nominations. Other notable songs have included “Please Me” with Bruno Mars, “Press,” “Money,” “Rumors” with Lizzo, the Grammy-nominated track “Up,” and “WAP” with Megan Thee Stallion that spent four weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100.
While Cardi B’s sophomore album was slated to come out in 2024, the release was pushed back several times for reasons that seemed to be related to creative indecision and her third pregnancy. Finally, in June 2025, she announced that her new record, Am I the Drama?, will arrive this September. The 23-track album will include “WAP,” “Up,” and her 2025 single “Outside.”
Boyfriend, Estranged Husband Offset, and Kids
Cardi B is currently dating NFL player Stefon Diggs. They announced their relationship on social media in June 2025 after being seen together earlier in the year.
Meanwhile, the Grammy winner’s divorce proceedings with Offset, her husband of seven years, is ongoing. The former couple share three children.
She and Offset, a fellow rapper and Migos member, began dating in early 2017. That October, he proposed at a concert in Philadelphia. “She is real solid, came from where I came from, did what I did,” Offset told Rolling Stone. “I seen her develop from the trenches all the way up, and I like how she did it. I respect her grind as a woman. She came to the game with some gangsta s––.”
In reality, the couple was already married at the time of the public proposal. Cardi B confirmed rumors they had a secret wedding in September 2017 with only her cousin in attendance. “There are so many moments that I share with the world and then there are moments that I want to keep for myself! Getting married was one of those moments!” Cardi B posted on Twitter (now X). “I said I do, with no dress no make up and no ring!”
Following weeks of growing whispers that she was pregnant, the rapper announced she and Offset were expecting by showing off her baby bump during an April 2018 performance on Saturday Night Live. Happy to no longer have to conceal the news, she crowed, “I’m finally free!” after joining friends backstage. In May, she confirmed they were having a girl.
Cardi B became a mom with the birth of her daughter Kulture Cephus in July 2018. She and Offset welcomed a son named Wave Cephus in September 2021, then had a daughter named Blossom Belles in September 2024.
The growing family’s bliss hit a snag soon after Kulture was born. In December 2018, Cardi B announced she and Offset were breaking up. “We are really good friends, and we are really good business partners—you know, he’s always somebody that I run to, to talk to, and we got a lot of love for each other but things just haven’t been working out between us for a long time,” she said a video posted to Instagram.
The couple was able to patch up their marital difficulties in 2019, but the tumultuous nature of their relationship—dating back to Offset’s infidelity in 2017—continued. In September 2020, Cardi B filed for divorce, but she and her husband reconciled weeks later. They remained together until sometime in 2023. That December, Cardi B shared she was single before filing for divorce from Offset for a second time in late July 2024.
Amid their ongoing divorce proceedings, Cardi B blew off steam about their relationship on Instagram in September 2024. “I’ve always been too good for you,” she said, addressing Offset. She also shared: “I regret you. I don’t regret my kids. You’re a good daddy. You’re alright.”
2018 Arrest and Assault Conviction
At the beginning of October 2018, Cardi B surrendered to the New York City police for her connection to an August 2018 strip club fight in Queens, in which she allegedly ordered her entourage to attack two bartenders. The rapper was arrested and charged with two misdemeanors, assault and reckless endangerment.
After the rapper rejected a plea deal, in June 2019, a grand jury indicted the artist on two counts of felony attempted assault charges as well as six misdemeanors and six violations.
Later that summer, during a trial for Brooklyn-born hip-hop artist 6ix9ine, the rapper fingered Cardi B as a member of New York City’s Nine Trey Gangster Bloods. Cardi subsequently denied any affiliation with the gang.
Just before her trial for the 2018 assault was set to begin, Cardi B reversed course in September 2022 and pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors. “Part of growing up and maturing is being accountable for your actions,” she said in a statement. “I’ve made some bad decisions in my past that I am not afraid to face and own up to. These moments don’t define me and they are not reflective of who I am now.” The rapper was sentenced to 15 days of community service and ordered to have no contact with the victims for three years as well as pay their court fees.
Net Worth
As of April 2025, Cardi B has an estimated net worth of $80 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. That month, she announced she and the Revolve Group are collaborating on a fashion and beauty line.
Quotes
- I have a passion for music, I love music. But I also have a passion for money and paying my bills.
- To me, music is art and fashion is art, but fame? Fame isn’t art, but the person you become when you’re famous–your alter ego–that’s art.
- Being a feminist is real simple. It’s that a woman can do things the same as a man. Anything a man can do, I can do. I can finesse, I can hustle. We have the same freedom. I was top of the charts. I’m a woman and I did that. I do feel equal to a man.
- I know that when I leave this earth I would like to leave my kids more than property and a music catalog. I want to leave them wit something they can carry for generations to come, something that their mother built from the ground up.
- I remember a time I used to be focused on making everyone else proud and meeting everyone else’s expectations but in this new season the only person I’m focused on out doing and making proud is myself.
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