After a seven-year hiatus, Cardi B has silenced the noise and doubters by rewritting Hip-Hop history. Her second studio album, AM I THE DRAMA?, stormed the charts this week, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and making her the first female rapper to have her first two albums open at the top spot.
The Bronx-born superstar moved an impressive 200,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, including 88,000 pure album sales—marking the biggest first-week sales for a female rapper in 2025. Cardi herself celebrated the milestone on social media:
“Thank you sooo much everybody that supported my album!! Two weeks ago the album was projected to do 115k off of Outside and Imaginary Players.. I didn’t know what the outcome was gonna be. I didn’t put out an album in 7 years”.
She added, “You don’t know the confidence and boost you gave me in my music to keep pushing.. I can’t wait to see you guys on tour. Tonight we celebrate!!!”
In a lighthearted nod to her pregnancy, Cardi joked, “I can’t pop no champagne… but maybe I can open up some cranberry juice or something!”
Her 2018 debut album, Invasion of Privacy, also opened at No. 1, sold 255,000 units in its first week, and earned Cardi a Grammy for Best Rap Album—making her the first solo female rapper to win in the category. Every track on that project eventually went platinum or higher, and it stayed on the Billboard 200 for over 100 weeks.
The seven-year gap between albums only intensified anticipation for AM I THE DRAMA?, and the record-breaking debut proves that Cardi B remains a cultural and musical powerhouse. With her confidence, charisma, and unmatched energy, Cardi continues to define the sound and swagger of contemporary Hip-Hop.
