Grammy's Album of The Year Review: "Invasion Of Privacy" - Cardi B

I've decided to bring back my Album Of The Year nominee reviews. The field got expanded this year, so expect a review a week or thereabout. I'll draw at random which album I'll review week to week. I score each track on whether it stands out, is merely okay, or is a miss. The final score will be out of a high of 200. 

(All rights to Atlantic Records)

"Invasion Of Privacy" - Cardi B

1) "Get Up 10"

- Cardi starts right off demonstrating how she came up to where she's at, "Look, they gave a bitch two options; strippin or lose, Used to dance in a club right across from my school.....I was covered in dollars, now I'm drippin; in jewels". The track is laid out simply in a good way, without too much background noise. Cardi makes sure that she's going to be heard and stick around; "Knock me down nine times, but I get up 10".

2) "Drip" (ft/ Migos)

The track is fairly catchy, dealing with people still trying to understand where Cardi came from. However, "Drip" does tend to drag.

3) "Bickenhead"

This has a really smooth groove with a cool flow. This is a club ready track.

4) "Bodak Yellow"

This is her signature track that brought her to the mainstream. Cardi is showing here that she's on-top and basically that you're going to like it. 

5) "Be Careful"

This is an interesting track given the added context of Cardi's split with Offset; "I wanna get married, like the Currys, Steph and Ayesha shit. But we more like Belly - Tommy and Keisha shit". She wants to be like the "first family" of the NBA, but references a cheating spouse in the move Belly. She states that she isn't the kind to cheat for revenge.

6) "Best Life" (ft/ Chance the Rapper)

Cardi seems to be dealing with the struggles of social media in this track; "' 'Fore I fixed my teeth, man those comments used to kill me. Chance really adds a flow to this. Ultimately Cardi takes a step back to see how far she's come, "I took pictures with Beyonce, I met Mama Knowles. I'm the rose that came from the concrete and arose." 

7) "I Like It" (ft/ Bad Bunny and J Balvin)

This was arguably the song of the Summer of 2018, and deservedly so. It has a really nice dance beat to it.

8) "Ring" (ft/ Kehlani)

This track brings about a chance of pace, being more pop/r&b focused. Once again, some added context is given to this track with Cardi's recent split; "The ring on my phone, ring on my finger, You actin' like you ain't tryna do either."

9) "Money Bag"

There are interesting and catchy bits to "Money Bag", but it gets rather repetitive. 

10) "Bartier Cardi" (ft/ 21 Savage)

This has a quick flow to it. It has that same level of catchiness as "Money Bag", but it delivers more. 

11) "She Bad" (ft/ YG)

From the start, YG brings this track down, but Cardi brings it back up with quite an eye-opening statement about Chrissy Teigen and Rihanna. She certainly knows how to bring attention to a line, "Write a verse while I twerk, I wear Off-white at church."

12) "Thru Your Phone"

This has a nice slow groove. Cardi goes to another level on this track with a sung-verse. 

13) "I Do" (ft/ SZA)

This starts off with a trippy feel to it. Cardi closes the album off talking about her two different lives; "I'm a gangster in a dress". Its a nice closer to the album, further demonstrating the album's theme.

What a standout debut for Cardi B. There aren't any real misses in "Invasion of Privacy". There's a mix of both fun and light tracks, along with serious introspection to her relationships. 

"Invasion of Privacy": Cardi B - 161.5

"Black Panther: The Album" - 135.7