Invasion of Privacy is Cardi B.'s debut studio album which was released on October 8, 2017 by Atlantic Records.
The album met with critical acclaim, topping the Billboard 200 chart. It has been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and won the award for "Best Rap Album" at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, making Cardi B the first female rapper to win the category as a solo artist.
She also became the first female artist to have all tracks from an album certified gold or higher by the RIAA.
Tracklisting[]
- Get Up 10 3:51
- Drip (featuring Migos) 4:22
- Bickenhead 3:01
- Bodak Yellow 3:43
- Be Careful 3:30
- Best Life (featuring Chance the Rapper) 4:44
- I Like It (featuring Bad Bunny & J. Balvin) 4:13
- Ring (featuring Kehlani) 2:57
- Money Bag 3:49
- Bartier Cardi (featuring 21 Savage) 3:44
- She Bad (featuring YG) 3:50
- Thru Your Phone 3:08
- I Do (featuring SZA) 3:20
Album Background[]
Prior to the release of the album, Cardi B.'s "Bodak Yellow" reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, while several collaborations also reached the top 10, setting multiple chart records.
In March 2017, Cardi B. announced at the iHeartRadio Music Awards that her album would be released in April. She announced the release date and the title posting the album artwork in her social media pages.
The album was recorded from 2016 until early 2017. It features production from 30 Roc, Allen Ritter, Andrew Watt, Ayo, Benny Blanco, Boi-1da, Cassius Jay, Cheeze Beatz, Craig Kallman, Cubeatz, DJ Mustard, DJ Official, DJ SwanQo, Frank Dukes, Invincible, J. White, Keyz, Klenard Raphael, Murda Beatz, Matt Allen, Needlz, NES, Nonstop Da Hitman, Scribz Riley, Tainy and Vinylz, among others.
Composition[]
Primarily a hip hop album, "Invasion of Privacy" also comprises trap, Latin music and R&B music while its lyrical themes include fame, success, wealth, sex, and feminism, as well as Cardi B's past.
The album opens with "Get Up 10", which speaks about Cardi B's rise to fame. It is followed by a trap song "Drip", which features a guest appearance by Migos, and speaks about jewelry, wealth, and Cardi B and Migos' status.
The third track "Bickenhead" has a feminist theme; its title refers to women who work hard for money.
A hip hop and trap song "Bodak Yellow" follows, on which Cardi B confronts her enemies and makes statements such as "I don't dance now, I make money moves", referring to her past, as she used to work as a stripper before rising to fame in the music business.
On the fourth track "Be Careful", Cardi B performs the hook using a softly sung vocal style over a "laidback" beat. The song also comprises "flickering" hi-hats and "slick" synths.
Lyrically, "Be Careful" is a song about infidelity, where the protagonist warns her cheating partner and asks him to treat her better.
During an interview, Cardi B stated that she drew inspiration from past relationships, while denying that the song was directed at her fiancé Offset.
The sixth track "Best Life" features a guest appearance by Chance the Rapper; the lyrics discuss the power of God and positive thinking.
It is followed by "I Like It", a bilingual (English and Spanish) latin trap song featuring singers Bad Bunny and J Balvin.
The album also contains two R&B mid-tempo songs: "Ring" (featuring Kehlani) and "Thru Your Phone" which both lyrically show Cardi B's emotional vulnerability.
"Ring" is followed by three hip hop and trap songs: "Money Bag", "Bartier Cardi" (featuring 21 Savage), and "She Bad" (with YG).
On the track, "Bartier Cardi", Cardi B raps about her attraction to diamonds, sports cars and sex, while 21 Savage raps about a similar theme from a male perspective.
Chart Performance[]
"Invasion of Privacy" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) the day of its release due to a technicality that incorporates the track-equivalent units moved by previously released singles "Bodak Yellow" and "Bartier Cardi."
The album was certified double Platinum on October 3, 2017. All thirteen tracks from the album have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA, making her the first female artist to achieve such feat, and third overall.
On April 13, 2017, Apple Music announced that "Invasion of Privacy" set a new record for the most streamed album by a female artist in a single week with over a hundred million streams.
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, moving 255,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, with 103,000 coming from pure album sales. It achieved the largest on-demand audio streaming week ever for an album by a woman with 202.6 million streams, which translated to 135,000 streaming-equivalent units.
At the time of its release, it became the second biggest first-week sales of 2018, after Justin Timberlake's album, "Man of the Woods." Cardi B became the fifth female rapper to top the chart.
On the US Billboard Hot 100 chart dated April 21, she listed 13 songs, with 12 of them being songs from Invasion of Privacy, thus surpassing Beyoncé for the most simultaneous songs on the chart by a solo female artist.
The album fell to number two in its second week with sales of 129,000 album-equivalent units, dropping forty-nine percent from the first week.
In its third week, the album remained at number two with over 91,000 album-equivalent units, dropping thirty percent from the previous week.
The album has spent twenty one consecutive weeks within the top ten on the chart—the most weeks by a female rap album (including eight non-consecutive weeks within the top five).
It also spent twenty two consecutive weeks within the top ten on the Top R&B/Hip Hop chart.
As of July 6, 2017, "Invasion of Privacy" is the best-performing female album of 2018 and the third overall in the United States.
The album remained the largest female debut of 2018 in the country until September 2018, with the release of Carrie Underwood's album, "Cry Pretty."
It also debuted atop the Canadian Albums Chart, moving 12,000 album-equivalent units and was certified Platinum by Music Canada for shipments of 80,000 copies.
The album was a commercial success internationally as well, peaking within the top ten on charts in Australia, Denmark, Finland, Flanders, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
It was the third most streamed album of 2017 in Apple Music globally, being the highest for a female artist. It was the tenth most streamed album in Canada on the streaming service.
It was also the fifth most streamed album in that platform ever, being the highest for a female artist.
In Spotify, it was the fourth most streamed album of the year in the United States, also being the highest for a female artist, with Cardi B. being the most streamed female artist.
As of January 2019, "Invasion of Privacy" has moved 2,060,000 album-equivalent units, including 222,000 pure copies, in the United States.
Critical Reception[]
"Invasion of Privacy" was met with critical acclaim.
At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 84 based on 24 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian gave te album 4-out-5-star-rating, and called it "a magnificent debut that fuses vulnerability, sexual voraciousness, paranoia, and party music" and wrote that the album "shows the rapper is capable of far more than punchy put-downs".
For Exclaim!, Erin Lowers scored the album a 9 out of 10, noting that her softer singles add "a new dimension" to her artistry, and adding that the release "feels like her 'Lemonade' moment, one that magnifies her insecurities for public consumption."
Maeve McDermott of USA Today gave the album another positive review, stating that "at 13 tracks, Invasion of Privacy isn't overstuffed with endless filler tracks like many releases by Cardi's rap peers. Leave it to Cardi, marketing queen, to know that fans get exhausted when performers overstay their welcome in attempts to rack up streaming numbers. The hip hop star likely doesn't have to worry about that, considering her album seems destined for charts success, if "Bodak Yellow"'s record-breaking last year was any indication."
Jem Aswad of Variety called it "one of the most powerful debuts of this millennium" and praised its opening number "Get Up 10" as an "empowering opening autobiographical testimonial," though he also felt "in a couple of cases the featured artists run off with the song so completely that it feels like Cardi is a guest on her own album."
Eleanor Halls of GQ wrote: "Invasion of Privacy proves "Bodak Yellow" was far from a summer one-hit wonder. These money moves are played for the long game."
Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone described the album as "lavishly emotional, intimately personal, wildly funny," and concluded "Invasion proves she's here to stay."
For Pitchfork, Sheldon Pearce awarded the album "Best New Music", writing that "Cardi B's remarkable debut places her, without a doubt, in the pantheon of great rappers. It is both brazen and vulnerable, filled with wild amounts of personality, style, and craft".
Jon Caraminaca of The New York Times noted, "she is more versatile than most rappers or pop stars of any stripe," adding, "[it] is also, notably, a hip-hop album that doesn't sound like any of its temporal peers."
Chris Richards of The Washington Post commented: "She seems to be telling one long story here — about self-empowerment, beating the odds, transcendence — but the force of Cardi's narrative resides in the sound of her voice as much as it does in her words. You can hear it during the album's grand finale, "I Do," when she asks, "My little 15 minutes lasted long as hell, huh?" What a victory speech. Close your eyes and you might feel the confetti falling on your shoulders, too."
Carrie Battan of The New Yorker complimented Invasion of Privacy by saying "[it] is as studious as it is bombastic."
Time magazine named "Invasion of Privacy" the best album of 2017, stating, "Cardi's debut doesn't just earn her a seat at hip-hop's table—it marks her as a singular voice."
Promotion[]
Prior to the album's release, Cardi B promoted its lead single "Bodak Yellow" in several live performances, including at the BET Awards 2016 afterparty on June 25, 2016, during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards pre-show on August 27, 2016 at the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards on October 6, 2016 and on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on October 18, 2016.
While accepting her iHeartRadio Music Award for Best New Artist at the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 11, 2018, Cardi B revealed that Invasion of Privacy would be released in April 2017.
On March 26, 2017, she revealed both the official artwork and title for the album.
The album was made available for streaming on April 5, 2018 through Atlantic Records and released for digital download worldwide the following day.
On April 7, 2017, Cardi B performed the first three singles on Saturday Night Live.
On April 9, 2017, she co-hosted The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, becoming the first person ever to co-host the show.
Cardi B also performed during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 15 and April 20, 2017.
She also performed at the Broccoli City Festival 2017 on April 28, 2017; she was also supposed to perform at the Wireless Festival in July, however, the performance was cancelled due to her pregnancy.
Cardi B.'s summer tour in support of the album, which would run from May 4 until July 29, 2017 in the United States, Norway and Ireland, and all performances until September were also cancelled.
She was also originally scheduled to be the opening act on Bruno Mars's 24K Magic World Tour in North America during September and October 2017; however, she withdrew as she just had given birth to her daughter, Kulture