Cardi B is taking old-school hustle to a new level. On Saturday, September 6, the Bronx rapper surprised fans by setting up shop on a New York City sidewalk to personally sell her upcoming album Am I The Drama?
With vinyls, CDs, and posters laid out on a black cloth complete with incense sticks Cardi sold merchandise straight to passersby. She even posted a video on social media, joking, “My label said I gotta get out in these streets and sell this album.”
The moment quickly went viral, drawing comparisons to the early mixtape days of hip hop. “She’s hustling like it’s 2008 mixtape days. Respect the grind,” one fan wrote on X. Not everyone was impressed, though, with some critics mocking the move as a sign of low sales expectations.
Am I The Drama? officially drops on September 19. Most of the merch is also available online, including multiple cover versions and a “Courtroom Edition,” a nod to Cardi’s past legal battle. She faced a civil lawsuit tied to a 2018 incident but was later cleared.
The new project is her first album since Invasion of Privacy in 2018, which won a Grammy. Speaking to Billboard earlier this month, Cardi said the past seven years have taught her hard lessons about fame and the industry. “Success for me will be people saying, ‘She put out a great album,’” she explained.
The album will include fan favorites WAP and Up, as well as Imaginary Playerz, Cardi’s take on Jay-Z’s classic 1997 track Imaginary Players.
