The Bronx-born rap queen, 27, Cardi B, is here to usher in a new era in chillingly cinematic style with a teaser video for her long-awaited sophomore album. Seven years have passed since the Grammy-winning Invasion of Privacy launched her into the world of rap royalty, and now, Cardi's drive is becoming more evident every day: she's not here to play, but she's here to rule.
Released Sunday, June 22, the teaser video is a kind of short film drenched in symbolism. Staged in a blackened, windblown field beneath a brooding sky, Cardi appears solo, cloaked in darkness and trailing streams of circling crows. There's a weight in the thick, nearly spiritual air, and the message she brings home is even heavier.
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"Seven years, and it is time for seven years of love, Life, and loss. I gave them seven years; now I give them hell," Cardi announces. She breaks the silence with her voice. "I'm crying feathers, and I'm not crying." I'm not back; I'm beyond."
The teaser follows her performance of "Outside" at Spotify's Cannes beach party on June 20. The new single, which Cardi premiered Life, is a raw, emotional window into her current headspace: A track short of raw and emotional, an aggressive confluence of vulnerability and venom. The song has left fans and critics speculating, reading between the lines to interpret it as a direct response to her public split with Offset.
But for those expecting the entire album to fall in line with the emotional tone of "Outside," Cardi wants to be clear that's not the case.
"I know you guys think that my songs are gonna sound like that, and it's not," she said. "I heard someone else say my songs will sound like 'Bongos,' too. I'm coming very different. It's a very different vibe, but a good vibe."
The teaser's parting words were not warm and fuzzy: "I'm not your villain; I'm your tyrant. The time is here. The time is now." It is a coldly poetic statement made with a hint of an icy laugh, and it reflects that Cardi has no interest in shrinking herself back to fit into any mold, least of all the industry's, the media's, and indeed, not her past.
While its title and release date remain under wraps, Cardi promises news will come soon. "TIMES UP," she wrote beside the teaser clip. I have an announcement tomorrow."
With the industry holding its breath and fans watching, Cardi B is not simply releasing an album. She's paving the way for a complete transformation: wings molted, fire set, nothing left to cry.
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