Cardi B is standing firm in her success. Following the record-breaking debut of her new album Am I The Drama?, the Grammy-winning rapper addressed the conversation surrounding her sales in a new interview with PAPER magazine.
“First of all, I’m very proud of my number,” Cardi said. “We’re in a very different era when it comes to music. So not only am I proud of my numbers, but you got b*tches from the sideline that are going to try to make you not feel proud of your numbers.”
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Her comments come after Am I The Drama? debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, earning 200,000 equivalent album units in its first week. The milestone marked Cardi’s second chart-topping album, following her acclaimed 2018 debut Invasion of Privacy.
Despite the major achievement, online debates over her commercial performance quickly surfaced — something Cardi addressed directly. “There’s people that have never even seen 100,000 sales calling me a flop,” she said. “People will try to discourage you about your numbers, but clearly, they don’t discourage me. That’s what people will try to do, but it fails.”
The 33-year-old artist emphasized that cultural impact goes beyond numbers. “It fails when thousands of videos are being made to your music. And then there’s thousands of people doing memes to your songs,” she added. “There’s so many people that was doubting my album that is like, ‘You know what, her album is good?’”
Her confidence is well-founded. According to Billboard, Am I The Drama? not only debuted at the top but also scored the biggest opening week of 2025 for an R&B/hip-hop project by a woman. The album has since been certified 2x Platinum in the U.S., selling 2 million units. With Am I The Drama?, Cardi B also became the first female rapper in history to have both of her first two studio albums debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — an achievement that puts her in elite company alongside names like Lauryn Hill and Nicki Minaj.
Her debut album, Invasion of Privacy, made history in 2018 for earning the largest streaming week ever for a female rapper at the time, while producing global hits such as “I Like It” and “Bodak Yellow.”
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