This week, the Bronx hitmaker teased her upcoming single, “Imaginary Players,” online and casually revealed it comes with a major co-sign. Without naming names, she told fans she had to get the song approved by “the one and only”—a clue Hip Hop lovers instantly tied to Jay-Z. After all, Hov’s got his own “Imaginary Players” on 1997’s In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, sparking instant speculation that Cardi B might be flipping the classic.
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“There were a lot of Hip Hop heads in the building … and they heard ‘Imaginary Players,’ and they absolutely love it,” Cardi said on X Spaces. “This song is like a staple for me … I have to get it approved by the one and only.”
Even with the nod secured, Cardi said she wouldn’t have taken a rejection to heart. “If he didn’t approve it, I probably wouldn’t even feel a certain type of way, because it’s like, ‘OK, maybe I just had to come a little bit harder,’” she explained. “But I’m glad that I came hard and he loved it.”
The track drops this Friday as part of her Am I The Drama? rollout. Describing its energy, Cardi called it “how I talk all day every day but in a song… real flex s—t, real calm flex s—t.” She also hinted there’s a whole story behind the record’s journey—one she’s saving for release day.
