Eight years between album one and album two. Cardi says the third one is coming in one.
## What she said Friday, September 18, backstage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, The Breakfast Club got her on camera (Complex, HNHH). "I am doing a new album. And after November, after my birthday, I'm shifting myself away just to record." Charlamagne asked whether fans would wait another eight years. "Nope." She has two songs she likes, says she has "a long way to go," and put the release in 2027. Then: "I'm not even playing around. I just got this confidence," before singing a bit of Patti LaBelle's "New Attitude."
## The timeline she's beating Invasion of Privacy dropped in April 2018. Am I the Drama? came September 2025, seven and a half years later. In between: a Grammy, a run of singles that charted without an album to hold them, a divorce, and four kids. Since Drama: the Little Miss Drama Tour, 35 dates from February to April, and the July single "AH HA," which peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
## Why 'after my birthday' is the tell Cardi turns 34 on October 11. Putting a date on when she disappears into the studio is the most concrete thing she's said about a project since Drama. The last album cycle was famous for teases that went nowhere; this one has a start date and a target year.
## What we don't know No title, no producers, no features, no first single. Two songs are done. For a rollout that's a sketch, not a plan. But the record with Cardi has always been that when she commits on camera, the music tends to follow.
## The take Am I the Drama? proved she could still move a room after seven years away. The third album is the harder test: can she do it on a normal schedule? She just said yes, on the record, to Charlamagne. That's a receipt.
## Sources - Cardi B says her third album is in the works: 'I'm not playing around' — Complex, Sept. 19, 2026 - Cardi B is not 'playing around,' reveals her third album is dropping next year — HotNewHipHop, Sept. 19, 2026 - Cardi B confirms new album is coming in 2027 — Hip-Hop Vibe, Sept. 2026
