Cardi B is a name you’ve probably heard more than a few times: the former social media personality and regular star of “Love & Hip Hop: New York” turned rapper had a BIG 2017. After signing her first major-label deal with Atlantic Records, she released the smash hit “Bodak Yellow,” a song that catapulted to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first female rapper since Ms. Lauryn Hill in 1998 (year of my birth) to top the Billboard chart on a solo output (“Bodak Yellow” also placed 24th on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100). She then saw prominent features on Top 10-peaking songs such as “No Limit” with G-Eazy and A$AP Rocky and “Motorsport” with Migos and Nicki Minaj, and she also released her second single “Bartier Cardi” with 21 Savage at the end of the year. She hasn’t slowed up to begin 2018, either, earning a prominent feature on “Finesse (Remix)” with Bruno Mars, and releasing two brand new singles, “Be Careful,” and “Drip,” the latter of which features Migos. Furthermore, this year she became the first rapper (and third overall artist) to have three songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 simultaneously.
Cardi has absolutely been on fire since “Bodak Yellow” hit #1 on the charts, and she’s an artist I’ve actually kind of liked. While her no-filter, tell-it-like-it-is attitude is most certainly controversial, I definitely think she’s a very entertaining personality, and I can respect the fact that, even as she’s entered the music industry, she isn’t going to censor her opinion, kiss up to anyone, or try to put on a face. Musically, while I don’t listen to her all the time, I do think she has put out some pretty fun, punchy trap bangers in her very short career. So, I was interested in seeing if she continued to do that on this project. Let’s find out if she does, shall we?
Get Up 10: Cardi just oozes confidence on this opening track, as she talks about her story of going from stripper to rap star over a dark, kind of nocturnal but still very energetic instrumental. I love her flow throughout this track, her very energetic, fun performance, and I can’t lie, there were parts of this song where I legitimately felt pretty empowered and excited. I definitely feel like I’ll be coming back to this track quite a bit in the future.
Drip (ft. Migos): Here, Cardi and Migos rap about their successes over a rather standard but still pretty pumping instrumental. The hook isn’t really all that exciting on this one, but I do like Cardi’s very confident performance here, her flow on her verse is pretty solid, and all of the Migos come through with some pretty solid performances: Offset’s verse has some nice, varied flow to it, Takeoff is a show-stealer on his verse, and Quavo’s verse feels different enough from the other Migos to stay interesting. It’s not the best thing on this album, but it’s a solid enough track overall.
Bickenhead: A somewhat slow but still highly energetic track, I definitely feel like this one could’ve used a better hook. Cardi definitely provides another confident performance here, and she has some fun flow throughout, but there are some more staccato, start-stop moments that I’m not all that crazy about. And the constant “alright alright alright” in the background does get a bit annoying at times. Not a terrible track, but I’ve definitely heard better out of Cardi.
Bodak Yellow: The song that really launched Cardi into popularity, I’ve definitely given this song several listens since it hit #1 on the charts, and admittedly, it’s still a pretty fun track. It’s very braggadocio, but it’s still very energetic and punchy, Cardi’s performance is lively, and she definitely oozes confidence over this pretty fun trap beat. I know it’s a very polarizing song in a lot of corners, but it’s still a pretty good track.
Be Careful: Serving as something of a “warning” to her current fiancé Offset (of Migos fame), this is a much brighter track and it basically sees Cardi tell Offset that, even though she forgave his infidelity, she won’t stick around if he keeps at it. I really like the lyrical content here, and thus far, it might be one of Cardi’s best songs lyrically, but sonically, I’m not sure I’m digging it. It feels very bland and forgettable, and I also don’t really find the hook all that captivating or memorable. It’s not a terrible track, but I think it’s definitely one of the weaker of Cardi’s singles.
Best Life (ft. Chance the Rapper): Gotta admit, this track got me really excited as soon as I saw that it was gonna have Chance the Rapper on it. And his vocals on the hook are great! He has a lot of fun with his very charismatic performance and his catchy flow on his verse. Cardi also addresses her haters with her very confident verse, and I wanna say that “you a pussy and a rat, you like Tom & Jerry” might be one of my favorite lyrics ever, no lie. There’s also a very chill instrumental with a solid, head-noddy beat as well. Great track!
I Like It (ft. Bad Bunny and J Balvin): Here, Cardi is joined by Bad Bunny and J Balvin, the latter of “Mi Gente” fame, on a track that, once again, could’ve used a better hook overall. Still, this very Latin-infused song features a really solid verse from Bad Bunny, and J Balvin provides some very nice vocals and good flow overall. I will say that, given how Cardi showed off her Spanish skills on “La Modelo” with Ozuna, I wish she showed off some of that Spanish alongside Bad Bunny and J Balvin. Still a decent track overall, even if it’s not one of my favorites on the album.
Ring (ft. Kehlani): A song about not being able to reach something through a phone, Cardi enlists Kehlani on the hook for this, which was a great decision because her very gorgeous vocals mesh nicely with the pretty, fun instrumentals and head-noddy beat. Cardi’s verse also features the same confidence that she shows throughout pretty much all of her songs, and I feel like this track has some single potential. Even if Cardi doesn’t release it as a single, it’s definitely a track I enjoy.
Money Bag: A somewhat more electronic-sounding version of “Bodak Yellow,” this song is still plenty energetic, the electronic, somewhat 8-bit sound of the instrumental is really great, Cardi once again oozes genuine confidence, and the hook is admittedly kind of ear-wormy. While I was peaking at the lyrics, I worried the hook was gonna turn out really repetitive, but it actually gets stuck in my head quite a bit. I didn’t think I’d really enjoy this track, but I gotta admit, it’s quite good!
Bartier Cardi (ft. 21 Savage): When I first heard this song, it felt like something of a sequel to “Bodak Yellow,” not necessarily sonically, but in that it was her second single and it showed growth from the already-solid “Bodak Yellow.” It’s much more uptempo, the hook is even more fun, and Cardi’s performance continues to ooze confidence. While I’m usually not all that crazy about 21 Savage, his performance wasn’t all that bad, either. Definitely a great song.
She Bad (ft. YG): YG comes in to help Cardi on this track, one that is more nocturnal but still uptempo and plenty energetic. While Cardi’s verses continue to provide plenty of excitement and good flow, I must say that YG’s hook on this one can’t help but feel really generic to me. And given that his verse follows almost the same cadence as his hook, it just can’t help but feel contrived. Gotta admit I’m not really all that interested in this song.
Thru Your Phone: I was really interested in this track because, between writing the review, I saw several people on Twitter indicate that this cut was one of the standouts of the record. And admittedly, I dig it too! It’s a much slower, more emotional sounding track that talks about looking through your lover’s phone and finding things you don’t like (again, I'm pretty sure she's talking about Offset), and it’s got another solid performance from Cardi. The hook, apparently sung by Ali Tamposi, also meshes nicely against the brighter instrumentals on this one. Good track!
I Do (ft. SZA): Cardi ends off her album by bringing in fellow 2017 breakout artist SZA to handle the hook. Her vocals are nice as always, and the hook easily gets stuck in your head. Cardi’s performance once again oozes with braggadocio, to the point where she even spits the line “pussy so good, I say my own name during sex.” That’s another really memorable lyric that I love. I also love how she mentions how her “15 minutes of fame” just seem to keep on going, which contributes to the confidence of the song. Another special shoutout to the lyric “leave his texts on read, leave his balls on blue.” Honestly, I could go on for days about all the clever lyrics on this song, it’s a great end to the album.
Overall, Cardi B’s debut album “Invasion of Privacy” further reminds us of why she’s one of the biggest names in hip-hop. She drips confidence and braggadocio all throughout this record, and it’s clear that she wasn’t willing to coast off of her two big singles “Bodak Yellow” and “Bartier Cardi.” There’s a lot of really fun, exciting tracks on this album, and Cardi makes them memorable with some really clever bars and enthusiastic performances. This album feels like it’s definitely in Cardi’s wheelhouse, but at the same time, it's different enough to the point where it doesn't just feel like 13 “Bodak Yellow” variations or “Bartier Cardi” rip-offs. Cardi also brings in some great features throughout the album, as artists like Chance the Rapper, Kehlani, and SZA make great songs even better.
Admittedly, though, I do think the album does go down a few detours I’m not all that crazy about, and there were a few songs that could’ve used better hooks. Obviously, not every hook you make is going to be 100% perfect, but there definitely were some repetitive moments on some of these hooks, and admittedly, while I liked a majority of the tracks on here, the weaker cuts on here were rather noticeable. Even so, I’d definitely say that Cardi proved beyond being one of recent hip-hop's biggest hitmakers that she can back up that success with a really enjoyable debut album, and while my rating may come as a bit of a surprise, this is a rare case where, despite having a few weak tracks, they don’t detract from my enjoyment of this project. I really found myself digging a lot of it, and I definitely think I’ll be coming back to it quite a bit in the future. Good job, Cardi, really excited to see where you go from here.
OWWW
Favorite tracks: Get Up 10, Bodak Yellow, Best Life, Ring, Money Bag, Bartier Cardi, Thru Your Phone, I Do
Least favorite tracks: Bickenhead, Be Careful, She Bad
Rating: Excellent
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