Cardi B’s sophomore era is officially underway, and her latest single has the internet talking.
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Nearly 7 years after her record-breaking debut, the rapper is gearing up for the release of her second studio album, “Am I the Drama?” Her new single, “Imaginary Playerz,” dropped on Friday and features a sample from Jay-Z’s “Imaginary Players” song off his “In My Lifetime, Vol. 1” album. With such a long wait for new music, the expectations are high for Cardi, and not everyone is vibing with her comeback single.
The hosts of The Breakfast Club broke down the song on their show, with mixed reactions from the hosts. While DJ Envy gave the song a more positive review, saying that she “got some bars” in the song, Charlamagne Tha God said that it is a “very high bar” to sample “Imaginary Players” and that the song is ultimately just “okay.” He explained, “It’s something that would be cool on a mixtape or an interlude of the album, but as a single for the rollout…I don’t think it’s one of those.”
Charlamagne added that people should “leave certain classics alone,” saying, “there is no upside to doing it because I can’t help but compare it to the original.”
Host Armon Wiggins took to the internet with his thoughts, saying, “This song was whooping her a–.” He added, “I give her an A for effort … but I’m not gonna sit up here and make it seem like she demolished it with the same 2020, 2019, run and ‘catch the beat’ flow. People need to be honest about that.”
He added, “She is a lot more famous and a lot more popular than a lot of her peers who out-rap her.” Another TikTok creator, @cowboyazeez, went so far as to say that Jay-Z “set up Cardi to fail” by letting her sample that song and alleged that the song was intentionally created as a dig at Nicki Minaj. “This is Jay-Z Roc Nation against Nicki…he gave her the clear on that to spite Nicki Minaj.”
TikTok creator Porsha Deshannon also bashed the song on the social media platform, going so far as to say that “Jay-Z’s pen is definitely on this song,” and that she just copied and pasted the original song from a female perspective. “It always sounds like she didn’t write it because she always sounds like she’s reading,” Porsha added.
Other Cardi B fans and music fans alike have taken to the internet to praise the song, however. R&B singer Kehlani wrote on Threads, “loved EVERY bar on Imaginary Playerz. pop that POP.”
On X, @TheStevenDwayne wrote in a post with over 4,000 likes, “I don’t know. I think anybody hating on Cardi B’s new single is kinda just—a hater. Outside of her accent, she’s rapping and actually talking her shit. The very thing y’all said she doesn’t do. It might not be your cup of tea but to say it’s horrible is—hating.”
Another user, @RatedDru, shared similar sentiments, writing, “Jay-Z’s Imaginary Players was nothing but him flossing and rapping about his elevation. Full on braggadocio content. Cardi B did the same in her own way calmly stunting on her critics & opps. She paid homage to the original track as well. Job well done in my book.”
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