In a recorded livestream making its rounds on Friday (Jan. 3), Cardi B seemed to reaffirm her intentions to deliver a sophomore album. She was also candid about what’s been slowing her progress as of late.
“Every time I take d**k, I get distracted. I don’t want no distraction,” she stated. “This January is a very crucial month for me. ... I can't let nothing get in my way because January is very, very, very important. And I have a mission to complete. And if I don't complete this mission, it’s gonna f**k up the schedule for this year.”
Cardi continued, “I already feel like I’ve been getting tested already. But you know what? So far, it hasn’t affected me yet. ... I’m so proud of myself and I’m so focused because I’m a very emotional person. And when I get emotional, I don’t do things with love, and you can hear it in my music. My voice cracks a lot. You can see it on my face when I work. I just don’t have [the] thrive when I get emotional.”
It’s been almost seven full years since the Bronx talent unveiled her debut LP, Invasion of Privacy, which earned critical and commercial acclaim. The chart-topper was followed by an intermittent stream of loose hits, including “Please Me” with Bruno Mars, “WAP” with Megan Thee Stallion and “Up,” the last of which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Cardi also made a slew of featured appearances on a variety of songs across genres during that time.
In November 2024, she confirmed that the follow-up to Invasion of Privacy would finally make landfall in 2025. “Next year, my album will be out, my secret businesses will be out — I can’t tell y’all what I’m working on — [and] hopefully, next year I get [myself] a lil’ boyfriend,” she expressed to followers on social media.