March 26, 2026
Cardi B’s ‘Am I The Drama’ Album Rollout Heads To Class At Howard University
The course will dive into Cardi B's unique marketing strategy to secure her second album's success.
Cardi B’s “Am I The Drama?” will head to the classroom with a new course at Howard University.
Titled “The Cardi B: Am I The Drama? The Art, Production, Marketing and Cultural Impact,” the HBCU course will dive into the rollout of the acclaimed album. Listed under the school’s Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, the class will count toward an elective for the university’s Hip Hop Studies minor.
Also facilitated by the Warner Music/Blavatnik Center for Music Business, the class is in session starting in the Fall 2026 semester. According to WBLS, the course will dissect the album’s success and its accompanying campaign, helping push the long-awaited project to sell over 200,000 units in its first week.
The class will focus on the strategy behind the album’s marketing, from Cardi’s own grassroots campaign through social media and the public frenzy that follows the boisterous rapper—despite releasing her first project since her 2018 debut, “Invasion of Privacy,” Cardi and her team kept the momentum going despite the years-long break.
Given Cardi’s own affinity for the spotlight, the Bronx-born rapper was able to keep her name in the comments and the charts. She turned courtroom battles, such as her legal case with a former security guard for an alleged assault, into her own marketing ploy. Cardi’s facial expressions during the trial were later used as cover art for special CD versions of “Am I The Drama?,” demonstrating her willingness to think outside the box for publicity.
The mother of four also stepped back into her community, hosting a “Bodega Baddie” event at a corner store in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood. She continued to use the media circus surrounding her personal life and upbringing to drive conversation about her album, creating a unique rollout strategy to prove she was more than a one-album wonder.
The class contributes to a growing trend of hip-hop-focused studies in higher education. At another esteemed institution, Princeton University, Cardi B and other “Ladies of Hip Hop” have undergone their own academic dissection. The course investigating hip-hop from the women who helped shape the genre began this spring.
As for Cardi B specifically, her masterclass in turning viral moments into marketing campaigns will get the academic treatment at Howard. Students can register now to take part in this historic class this fall.
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