Where Cardi B’s game-changing first album “Invasion of Privacy” freed up space in the music world, it has continued to run even over the years. The album currently has more than 4 million sales in the United States, further making it one of the best performing debut albums by a female rapper.
That fall, “Invasion of Privacy” came front and center with its ‘in your face’ mix of hip hop, trap, Latin trap, and R&B. Among the producers and guest artists on the album are Migos, Chance the Rapper, Kehlani, SZA, 21 Savage, J Balvin, Bad Bunny, and YG.
Cardi B reacts to ‘Invasion of Privacy’ selling an additional 500k units in the US this year:
“Album still sellin like good quality p*ssy ….OKAY OKAY let me stop playing and drop this second album 🤭” PIC.TWITTER.COM/JJ6KGDZLMK
— Buzzing Pop (@BuzzingPop) SEPTEMBER 2, 2024
When it finally dropped, “Invasion of Privacy” broke records and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, setting a new record and making Cardi B the first female artist to break 100 million streams with an album on Apple Music. The album received a quadruple-platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. All songs in this album have been certified platinum or higher, demonstrating its great deal of mass appeal and sustainability. Notably, it was listed as the top female rap album on the Billboard 200 of the 2010s decade-end chart.
The rapper recently took to social media to boast about the incredible feat, joking, “Album still sellin like good quality p*ssy ….OKAY OKAY let me stop playing and drop this second album.” This line has made light of not just her characteristic wit but also hinted toward the highly hyped release of her sophomore album, something which has kept her fans over the moon.
The cultural impact of “Invasion of Privacy” is not to be exaggerated. Cardi B has torn many barriers among female rappers; this is proof enough that women can hold it down in the rap world as hard and get as commercial as their male counterparts. Cross-generational appeal and genre-blended tracks have given way to the discarding of relevance today, where albums come in and out of public consciousness.
The commercial success and cultural phenomenon that “Invasion of Privacy” has become are testaments to Cardi B’s influence on music and pop culture. That it still remains this popular is a sign of how she connected to people through candidness in her lyrics, the charismatic persona, and moving the bounds in her music and public image further. Cardi B’s path from being a reality star to a Grammy-winning artist is the definition of authenticity and resilience in the face of an industry full of traditional narratives.
