Invasion Of Privacy

***Happy 5 Years of Invasion of Privacy!***

## ***Invasion of Privacy***Studio album by Cardi B

### Producer(s)

30 Roc, Allen Ritter, Ayo, Benny Blanco, Boi-1da, Cassius Jay Cheeze Beatz, Cubeatz, DJ Mustard, DJ SwanQo, Frank Dukes Invincible, J. White, Keyz Klenard Raphael, Louis Bell, Murda Beatz, Needlz, NES, Nonstop Da Hitman, Official, Sean Allen, Scribz, Tainy, The Beat Bully, watt, Vinylz

## Singles

1. "Bodak Yellow"
June 16, 2017
2. "Bartier Cardi"
December 22, 2017
3. "Be Careful"
March 30, 2018
4. "I Like It"
May 25, 2018
5. "Ring"
August 28, 2018

***Invasion of Privacy*** is the debut studio album by Cardi B, released on April 6, 2018 by Atlantic Records. Primarily a hip hop record, *Invasion of Privacy* also includes influences of trap, Latin trap and R&B. It features guest appearances from Migos, Chance the Rapper, Kehlani, SZA, 21 Savage, J Balvin, Bad Bunny, and YG.

The album debuted atop the US Billboard 200, earning 255,000 album-equivalent units in its first week (103,000 coming from pure album sales.) It has been certified 4x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It produced five singles - "Bodak Yellow", "Bartier Cardi" (featuring 21 Savage), "Be Careful", "I Like It" (with Bad Bunny and J Balvin), and "Ring" (featuring Kehlani). Both Diamond-certified singles "Bodak Yellow" and "I Like It" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first female rapper to achieve multiple chart-toppers. Upon release, the album set many records, including being the first album by a female artist to debut with more than 100 million streams on Apple Music, while she became the first female artist to chart thirteen songs simultaneously on the Hot 100. It also became the first album in music history to have all its tracks certified platinum or higher by the RIAA. It was the top female rap album of the 2010s, according to the Billboard 200 decade-end chart. It broke the record for longest-charting album by a female rapper on the Billboard 200, surpassing *The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill*, and as of May 2022 has spent three full years on the chart. It is the most-streamed female hip hop album on Spotify and Apple Music, and most-viewed female rap album on YouTube. According to The Recording Academy, it is the best-selling female rap album of the 2010s.

*Invasion of Privacy* was met with critical acclaim from professional music critics. A number of publications included it among their lists of best albums of the year, and the decade. It won Best Rap Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, making Cardi the first female rapper to win the category as a solo artist. It was also nominated for Album of the Year, with "I Like It" being nominated for Record of the Year and "Be Careful" for Best Rap Performance. It became the first female rap album in fifteen years to be nominated for Album of the Year. At the 2019 BET Awards, *Invasion of Privacy* won the BET Award for Album of the Year.

## Background & Recording

Prior to the release of the album, the lead single "Bodak Yellow" had already reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, while several other songs Cardi featured on had reached the top 10. Those singles set multiple chart records, including making her the first female rapper to land her first three entries in the top 10 of the Hot 100, and the first female artist to achieve the same on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. With her collaboration with Bruno Mars "Finesse", she became the first woman to have five top 10 singles simultaneously on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

The album was recorded from 2017 until early 2018. 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.

## Release and promotion

Prior to the album's release, Cardi promoted "Bodak Yellow" in several live performances, including at the BET Awards 2017 afterparty on June 25, during the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards pre-show on August 27, at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards on October 6, and on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on October 18.

While accepting her award for Best New Artist at the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 11, 2018, Cardi revealed that *Invasion of Privacy* would be released in April. On March 26, 2018, 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 was released for digital download worldwide the following day. The album was not available on any physical format upon its initial release. The album was eventually released on vinyl on December 7, 2018, and its CD release—initially scheduled for September 28, 2018—was released on February 22, 2019.

On April 7, 2018, Cardi performed "Bodak Yellow"/"Bartier Cardi" and "Be Careful" on Saturday Night Live. On April 9, she co-hosted The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, becoming the first person ever to co-host the show. Cardi also performed during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 15 and April 20, 2018. She also performed at the Broccoli City Festival 2018 on April 28, 2018; she was also supposed to perform at the Wireless Festival in July, however the performance was cancelled due to her pregnancy. Her summer tour in support of the album, which was to run from May 4 until July 29, 2018, in the United States, Norway and Ireland, and all performances until September were also cancelled.

Cardi was also originally scheduled to be the opening act on Bruno Mars's 24K Magic World Tour in North America during September and October 2018, however, she withdrew as she just had her daughter, Kulture.

## Music overview and lyrics

Primarily a hip hop album, *Invasion of Privacy* also comprises trap, Latin music and R&B, while the lyrics are focused on fame, success, wealth, sex, and feminism, as well as Cardi's past.
The album opens with "Get Up 10", where Cardi raps about her rise to fame and her difficult past. It is followed by the trap song "Drip", which features a guest appearance by Migos, and raps about jewelry, wealth, and Cardi & Migos' status in the industry. The third track "Bickenhead" has a feminist theme; its title is a pun on the term "Chickenhead" used as a derogatory term towards women, where Cardi spins it and refers to women who work hard for their money.

The hip hop and trap song "Bodak Yellow" follows, on which Cardi 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. On the fourth track "Be Careful", Cardi 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 stated that she drew inspiration from past relationships, while denying that the song was directed at her husband 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.

"Ring", featuring Kehlani, is a smooth R&B jam where the pair speak on heartbreak and jealousy relating to their lovers. "Money Bag" shows off Cardi's "stone-cold strut". Lyrically, she boasts about her growing riches over a cavernous production. On "Bartier Cardi" (featuring 21 Savage) Cardi raps about her attraction to diamonds, sports cars and sex, while 21 Savage raps about a similar theme from a male perspective.

On "She Bad", featuring YG, Cardi raps about her dominance towards men. "Thru Your Phone" shows Cardi rapping about discovering her partner's infidelity through text messages, and contemplating revenge on him. The album closes with "I Do", featuring SZA, described as a 'victory speech' where Cardi asserts how far she's come and proving her haters wrong, with SZA singing the hook.

## Critical reception

*Invasion of Privacy* received widespread acclaim from professional music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on 24 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". The Guardian gave *Invasion of Privacy* four out of five stars, 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". Exclaim! 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."

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." 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." 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."

Rolling Stone described the album as "lavishly emotional, intimately personal, wildly funny," and concluded "Invasion proves she's here to stay." Pitchfork 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". 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."

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." The New Yorker complimented the album by saying "[it] is as studious as it is bombastic."

Time magazine named *Invasion of Privacy* the best album of 2018, stating, "Cardi's debut doesn't just earn her a seat at hip-hop's table—it marks her as a singular voice."

### Accolades

A number of music publications included Invasion of Privacy among their top 10 albums of the year lists, with Rolling Stone and Time listing it at number one. In 2019, Rolling Stone and Pitchfork listed the album as one of the greatest albums of the decade, placing it at number 34 and 73, respectively.

#### All genres (2018)

* 1st – Capital XTRA
* 1st – Entertainment Tonight
* 1st – The Ringer
* 1st – Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone
* 1st – Staff, Rolling Stone
* 1st – Time
* 2nd – Billboard
* 2nd – Entertainment Weekly
* 2nd – Esquire
* 3rd – A.Side
* 3rd – Dagbladet
* 3rd – Highsnobiety
* 3rd – Metro Times
* 3rd – The New Zealand Herald
* 3rd – Okayplayer
* 3rd – Paper
* 3rd – Refinery29
* 3rd – Thrillist
* 3rd – Staff, Yahoo!
* 4th – El Periódico de Catalunya
* 4th – The Guardian
* 4th – The Nation
* 4th – Stereogum
* 4th – Vibe
* 5th – The Daily Beast
* 5th – Rhian Daly, DIY
* 6th – BrooklynVegan
* 6th – Karl Smith, Kerrang!
* 6th – The Line of Best Fit
* 6th – The Mercury News
* 6th – The Music
* 6th – NPR Music
* 6th – Slant
* 7th – Omaha World-Herald
* 8th – Consequence of Sound
* 8th – Jon Caramanica, The New York Times
* 8th – NME
* 8th – Uproxx
* 9th – Marianne Eloise, Kerrang!
* 10th – Complex
* 10th – Erik Leijon, Cult MTL
* 10th – NBC News
* 10th – The Sunday Times
* Top 10 (unordered list) – El Universal
* Top 10 (unordered list) – G1
* Top 10 (unordered list) – The Georgia Straight
* Top 10 (unordered list) – Out
* Top 10 (unordered list) – People
* 11th – Crack Magazine
* 13th – Dazed
* 13th – Noisey
* 13th – Jem Aswad, Variety
* 14th – Clash
* 14th – Gaffa (Denmark)
* 16th – Esquire (UK)
* Top 16 (unordered list) – Marie Claire
* 19th – Newsday
* 19th – Pitchfork
* 20th – Fact
* 20th – The Independent
* Top 20 (unordered list) – Junkee
* 21st – Flood Magazine
* 21st – Spin
* 23rd – The Triangle
* 37th – John Meagher, Irish Independent
* 42nd – PopMatters
* 54th – The Quietus
* Best of 2018 (unordered list) – Buzznet
* Best of 2018 (unordered list) – Chicago Sun-Times
* Best of 2018 (unordered list) – Evening Standard
* Best of 2018 (unordered list) – Gothamist
* Best of 2018 (unordered list) – GQ
* Best of 2018 (unordered list) – La Vanguardia
* Best of 2018 (unordered list) – New York Post
* Best of 2018 (unordered list) – The Philadelphia Inquirer
* Best of 2018 (unordered list) – San Diego CityBeat
* Best of 2018 (unordered list) – Slate
* Best of 2018 (unordered list) – USA Today

#### Hip-hop and rap (2018)

* 1st – BrooklynVegan
* 1st – Exclaim!
* 1st – Stereogum
* 2nd – Billboard
* 3rd – NPR Music
* 4th – Salon
* 5th – Paste
* 6th – The Austin Chronicle
* 7th – Revolt TV
* 9th – PopMatters
* 10th – HipHopDX
* 10th – Rolling Stone
* Top 10 (unordered list) – Yardbarker
* Top 50 (unordered list) – XXL
* Best of 2018 (unordered list) – AllMusic
* Best of 2018 (unordered list) – The A.V. Club
* Best of 2018 (unordered list) – Pitchfork

#### All-genres (decade)

* 8th – Spin
* 13th – Billboard
* 34th – Rolling Stone
* 35th – NME
* 56th – Stereogum
* 58th – Slant
* 67th – Paste
* 73rd – Pitchfork
* 79th – BrooklynVegan
* 83rd – Consequence of Sound

### Awards and nominations

* Album of the Year - 2019 BET Awards **(Won)**
* Album of the Year - 2018 BET Hip Hop Awards (Nominated)
* Top Billboard 200 Album - 2019 Billboard Music Awards (Nominated)
* Top Rap Album - 2019 Billboard Music Awards (Nominated)
* Music Drop of the Year - 2018 Break the Internet Awards (Nominated)
* Best Foreign Album - 2018 Norway GAFFA Awards (Nominated)
* Album of the Year - 2019 Grammy Awards (Nominated)
* Best Rap Album - 2019 Grammy Awards **(Won)**
* Most streamed album on Apple Music in one week by a female artist - 2019 Guinness World Records **(Won)**
* International Album of the Year - 2019 Juno Awards (Nominated)
* Album of 2018 - 2018 People's Choice Awards (Nominated)

## Commercial performance

On the day of its release, *Invasion of Privacy* was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) due to a technicality that incorporates the track-equivalent units moved by its previously released singles "Bodak Yellow" and "Bartier Cardi". It was certified double platinum on October 3, 2018, and triple platinum on April 3, 2019, following its physical release on CD.

On December 20, 2018, all thirteen tracks were certified gold or higher by the RIAA, making Cardi the first female artist to achieve such feat, and third overall. On March 24, 2022, *Invasion of Privacy* became the first album to have all of its tracks certified platinum or higher by the RIAA.

On April 13, 2018, 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 chart, moving 255,000 album-equivalent units with 103,000 coming from pure album sales in its first week. It achieved the largest on-demand audio streaming week ever for an album by a woman with 202.6 million streams. At the time of its release, it became the second biggest first-week sales of 2018. Cardi became the fifth female rapper to top the chart. On the US Billboard Hot 100 chart dated April 21, Cardi 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 record was later broken by Billie Eilish in 2019. It spent twenty one consecutive weeks within the top ten on the chart, which is the most weeks for 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, 2018, *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 *Cry Pretty*. In the US, *Invasion of Privacy* was the fourth best selling album of 2018 with 2,060,000 album-equivalent units, the best selling for a female artist that year.

In December 2019, it became the most-streamed album by a female rapper ever in Spotify. In January 2020, it became the longest-charting debut album by a female rapper on the Billboard 200, surpassing Lauryn Hill's *The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill*. In August 2020, it became the longest-charting album by a female rapper, surpassing 124 weeks. It surpassed 150 weeks in the chart in February 2021.

*Invasion of Privacy* also debuted atop the Canadian Albums Chart, moving 12,000 album-equivalent units. It 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, Estonia, Finland, Flanders, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

It was the third most streamed album of 2018 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 being the most streamed female artist. In 2020, Spotify's RapCaviar announced Cardi and Drake as the top performers on the playlist since its creation.

## Legacy and Impact

Since its release, *Invasion of Privacy* has set and broken numerous records and has been credited for marking a new chapter in the female rap wave. Spin staff credited the album for opening "the table to a new generation of pop artists remaking American music in their own image and accents. And Cardi will remain front-and-center." The magazine further added that Invasion of Privacy is an "invitation into [her] world of blood, sweat, and tears... it's a rebuke to much of what passes for chart-focused rap, where the artist's persona is crafted for maximum exposure. Instead, Cardi B recognized that POC artists no longer need to pander or soften themselves in order to become household names." In 2019, Consequence of Sound editors wrote "her authenticity and charisma are constants that reinforce her standing as one of the most formidable hip-hop artists of the decade," and NME stated that the album secured "her crown as the new Queen of Rap." In a book excerpt published in Jezebel of The Motherlode (2021) by Clover Hope, the author wrote that *Invasion of Privacy* was "the best rap debut in years and belongs in the canon along with Lil' Kim's Hard Core and Lauryn Hill's *The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill*," and stated that the album "jump-started a new era for women rappers in which success felt much more tangible" as Cardi "multiplied the wealth of talent and resurrected the idea that numerous women who controlled their own stories could dominate rap at once... Never again would there only be one."

Cardi has stated she is "so proud" of the album and its commercial reception, saying that it has motivated her to push even further with her upcoming sophomore album.

## Artwork

The album's artwork consists of Cardi perched on a black and yellow seat, striking her tongue up towards her lip, while adorning black cateye glasses, a black-and-white checkered ensemble, with a short yellow haircut. The artwork has a small "recording" symbol towards the top left, playing into the title "Invasion of Privacy." Cardi revealed in an interview with Jimmy Fallon that she did not know at the time this would be the album cover when they shot it, stating, *"No, not really, you know we did different looks. I didn't even know this was gonna be a look, the outfit that we had for this hair, it just wasn't fitting me anymore."* The photoshoot has been deemed "iconic" and has been recreated numerous times.

## Singles

* The album's lead single, "Bodak Yellow", was released on June 16, 2017. It topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks. Cardi became the first female rapper to have a song certified Diamond by the RIAA when "Bodak Yellow" received the certification in March 2021.
* "Bartier Cardi" was released on December 22, 2017, as the second single and features rapper 21 Savage. It peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and has been certified 4x platinum by the RIAA.
* "Be Careful" was released as the third single on March 30, 2018. It peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and has been certified 4x platinum by the RIAA.
* "I Like It", with Bad Bunny and J Balvin, debuted at number eight on the Hot 100 following the album's release. It was distributed to urban contemporary and contemporary hit radio as the album's fourth single on May 25, 2018, and several days later, the song's music video premiered on Cardi's YouTube channel. After being released as a single, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Cardi the first female rapper with multiple number one singles on the chart's history. The single has been certified Diamond by the RIAA, becoming the second song from the album to receive this certification, following "Bodak Yellow", and making Cardi the first female rapper with three Diamond songs. "I Like It" and "Bodak Yellow" made Cardi the only female rapper to have two videos on her YouTube channel with more than 1 billion views.
* "Ring", featuring Kehlani, impacted US urban contemporary radio on August 28, 2018, as the fifth and final single. Previously, it had entered at number 28 on the Hot 100 as an album track following the album's release. The single has been certified triple platinum by the RIAA.

"Drip" featuring Migos was released as a promotional single on April 4, 2018, having a brief release to Australian radio. It peaked at number 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song has been certified platinum by the RIAA.

"Bodak Yellow"
(June 16, 2017)"Bartier Cardi"
(feat. 21 Savage)
(December 22, 2017)"Be Careful"
(March 30, 2018)"I Like It"
(with Bad Bunny & J Balvin)
(May 25, 2018)"Ring"
(feat. Kehlani)
(August 28, 2018)
## Track list

1. "Get Up 10"
2. "Drip" (featuring Migos)
3. "Bickenhead"
4. "Bodak Yellow"
5. "Be Careful"
6. "Best Life" (featuring Chance The Rapper)
7. "I Like It" (with Bad Bunny and J Balvin)
8. "Ring" (featuring Kehlani)
9. "Money Bag"
10. "Bartier Cardi" (featuring 21 Savage)
11. "She Bad" (with YG)
12. "Thru Your Phone"
13. "I Do" (featuring SZA)