With just over a month out until Cardi B’s anticipated sophomore album arrives, the Bronx native follows up “Outside” with the release of her “Imaginary Playerz” single, which hit streaming services on Friday (Aug. 15).
The track samples Jay-Z’s legendary “Imaginary Players” from his 1997 In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. Earlier this week, Cardi revealed she received a stamp of approval from Hov.
“If he didn’t approve it, I probably wouldn’t even feel a certain type of way neither, because it’s like, ‘OK, maybe I just had to come a little bit harder,’” she said in an X Spaces. “But I’m glad that I came hard and he loved it.”
Cardi announced the single on Monday (Aug. 11) while revealing the opulent cover art, which finds her in a white fur coat and sitting on the front of a matching Rolls-Royce. “Just a lil taste of the drama. IMAGINARY PLAYERZ THIS FRIDAY,” she wrote on Instagram.
It remains to be seen if Cardi will be releasing a third single before the timer expires on Am I the Drama? release date. “Outside” debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Rhythmic Airplay and Rap Airplay charts.
Cardi’s sophomore LP boasts 23 tracks, including previously released singles “Up” and “WAP.” The Grammy-winning rapper defended her decision to keep the pair of years-old songs on the album. “This will be the last and only time I’m gonna address this,” she wrote on X in June. “WAP and Up are two of my biggest songs, my fans have been asking me to put them on an album, and people search for them on IOP all the time… they deserve a home.”
Listen to “Imaginary Playerz” below.
