Cardi B to release second album as civil trial unfolds

Cardi B, the Grammy-winning Bronx rapper, is preparing to release her long-awaited second album while simultaneously defending herself in a civil trial over an alleged 2018 assault, a week that has put both her music and her public persona in the spotlight. In a wide-ranging interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1, posted Monday, the rapper addressed recurring feuds with other female artists and previewed Am I the Drama?, which is due Sept. 19. At the same time she has been on the witness stand in a lawsuit brought by a Beverly Hills security guard who says Cardi physically attacked her outside a medical office.

Cardi said the album title grows out of persistent headlines about supposed fights and confrontations. "It’s like, Damn, does drama chase me? Or am I the drama?" she told Lowe, adding that she believes she was "born with an anointed light" that "disturbs people’s peace." Cardi did not name specific rivals in the interview, but pointed to a pattern of other women in rap focusing on her rather than their own work. "Some bhes, I feel like they’re on this class right now, they’re sophomores, and I’m a senior," she said. She also said not every track on the LP will be a...