Cardi B wasn't supposed to do this. She wasn't supposed to be here. She was never supposed to get this good. When Bodak Yellow became the gut-punch anthem of 2017, she was quickly confined to the one-hit-wonder history books. She'd never pull that off again.
But on Invasion of Privacy, the first studio album from this "gangster in a dress", Cardi B not only proves her haters wrong, she delivers the best hip-hop debut of the decade. How the hell did this happen?
Everyone, this critic included, underestimated the sheer charismatic willpower of Cardi B, a former stripper from the Bronx who released three hard-as-nails mixtapes with little fanfare before Bodak Yellow smashed faces and walls, and became a Billboard No. 1.
You underestimate her at your peril, and Cardi admits as much on Invasion of Privacy's opening salvo. Get Up 10 is a song that mixes supreme self-confidence with serious introspection and some hilarious one-liners.
In short, for nearly four minutes, she raps her ass off. And it's killer. "Went from makin' tuna sandwiches to makin' the news," she declares. "I was covered in dollars / Now I'm drippin' in jewels."
Thanks to Bodak Yellow and its follow-up Bartier Cardi, we know Cardi can do hard-as-nails street rap. But Invasion of Privacy's real surprise is that they're the only songs that go for the jugular, delivering dramatic widescreen intensity.
Instead, Cardi B, real name Belcalis Almanzar, mixes things up completely, proving there's far more to this 25-year-old rapper than anyone ever thought. You want variation? There's the cruisy self-empowerment anthem Best Life with Chance the Rapper's best verse in ages, woozy trap of I Do with SZA, and the brilliantly catchy old school bounce of Bickenhead. There's the predictable Migos cut, Drip, that sounds better than pretty much most of their recent 23-track effort, the crazed Mexican party anthem I Like It, and the recent single Be Careful, a low key mission statement that's bound to become another hit.
Best of all is the woozy, bruising ballad Thru Your Phone. Cardi treats the song's gloomy beats like they're punching bags, delivering spitball lyrics in the face of an ex. "I just want to break up all your shit / Call your mama phone / Let her know that she raised a bitch / Then dial tone, click." They're the opening lines.
Landing near the end of the album, it shows Invasion of Privacy contains so many great songs, so many potential hits, and so many quotables that it already feels like a Greatest Hits album. If you were sleeping on her, it's time to wake up: we're living in Cardi B's world now.
Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy
Label: Atlantic
Verdict: No holds are barred on killer debut
