Cardi B sells Am I the Drama? CDs on NYC sidewalk after label cut

Cardi B took to a New York City sidewalk in early September to sell copies of her long-awaited album Am I the Drama? in a stunt the Bronx rapper said was prompted by a label cut and a desire to reconnect with fans. In a video posted to Instagram on Sept. 6, Cardi B laid out CDs and vinyl on a black sheet, waved burning incense and shouted bargain prices to passersby as she announced the 23-track album will arrive on Sept. 19.

The clip showed Cardi B, wearing a Rastacap and a Kehlani hoodie, playing Bob Marley and calling out deals such as "9.99" while pointing to stacks of physical copies. "My label said I gotta get out in these streets and sell this album," she wrote in the post, and she repeated similar lines on video as she described the spectacle as both protest and promotion. Fans saw references to different formats, including a so-called Courtroom Edition, and the footage quickly drew millions of views and likes.

Cardi framed the sidewalk sales as a response to a funding reduction from Atlantic Records that she described in a later social media announcement. In a mock royal decree posted to her accounts she said the label had deducted money from the album budget, leaving...