Released just over a year after their blockbuster double-platinum debut, Ratt's second album, Invasion of Your Privacy, contained all of the same ingredients that helped launch the band to MTV and radio success: a batch of commercially savvy pop-metal tunes and a half-naked model on the cover. This may seem like an overly simplistic analysis, but it helps make the point that, for all its many positive attributes (including a number nine chart peak), Invasion of Your Privacy was very much a creative holding pattern for the group. If anything, returning producer Beau Hill merely helped Ratt fine-tune their songs and give them a brighter pop sheen (including some telltale electronic percussion), but although there were still hit singles to be had via riff-driven opener "You're in Love," "Lay It Down," and "What You Give Is What You Get," none of these challenged the first album's "Round and Round" in terms of commercial or cultural ubiquity. Nonetheless, another largely consistent selection of tracks (including fan favorites "Give It All" and "Between the Eyes") helped Ratt avert most accusations of looming creative stagnation, and the full flowering of budding guitar hero Warren DeMartini (while still leaving some lead work for co-axeman Robbin Crosby -- the band's heart and soul) was a highlight in and of itself. Ultimately, no after-the-fact nitpicking can change the fact that Invasion of Your Privacy was a perfectly respectable effort, much loved by Ratt's fans, and easily avoided any hints of a sophomore slump.© Eduardo Rivadavia /TiVo

Cardi B, the High Priestess of social media, has created an indestructible identity appearing in strip clubs and on reality TV. A sheer outspoken force, she capitalised on this reputation by pulling all of her energy into her passion: music and rap. And then came a small miracle, Bodak Yellow. In this track borrowed from rapper Kodak Black, she perfectly showcases her Bronx smooth talk, her boundless energy and her extreme sincerity. Opting to ride a harder line in the vein of Remy Ma or Gangsta Boo, Cardi B asserts herself without leaning towards Nicki Minaj’s pop. Propelled to the status of a brand new and original voice, she has achieved posterity, but the future still holds a few unknowns. In Invasion of Privacy, Cardi B turns all of her qualities into hits. She ticks all the boxes, going from the club formula of DJ Mustard with YG, to motivating minimalism with the Migos. Some choices are less obvious like the ballad with unclassifiable Kehlani, the sun-filled smile with Chance The Rapper, and even this provocative anthem for female freedom with rebellious SZA. All the guests are well chosen, presenting Cardi B under different lights, with widely eclectic atmospheres eventually reaching the radiant Latino tune I Like It. But once again, it’s in her solo performances that the rapper is most convincing, with Get Up 10, a technical and harrowing introduction in the vein of Meek Mill, and Bickenhead, the triumphant and feminist cover of a Project Pat’s classic. In each interpretation, the rapper appears laser focused, outrageous at times, but always extremely articulate, and aptly expressive. Her Latino accent creates an atypical and original rhythm. Each defect of pronunciation is used as a musical weapon in all kinds of situations. Cardi B uses her multi-labelled identity to play on words and try other elaborated internal rhymes, which make her even more enigmatic. Invasion of Privacy comes through as a true open book with maybe just a few torn-off pages, an invitation to learn more even though we already know too much… Always balancing between connivance and honesty, Cardi B successfully passes the always-tough milestone of the first album. And she takes the opportunity to strengthen her proximity with the public through a few mad gestures and an unfiltered writing. As for everybody else, she becomes the highly relevant icon of a new generation seeking a form of virtual authenticity. © Aurélien Chapuis/Qobuz

Following a landmark year of record-breaking success and a quick rise into the mainstream, New York rapper Cardi B issued her first studio full-length, Invasion of Privacy. The spiritual descendant of Nicki Minaj and Remy Ma, the artist born Belcalis Almanzar brought a similar glitz-meets-grit attitude to her debut, a fun and endlessly quotable collection of big-bass trap dusted with pop-savvy glitter. The production is top notch and the guest features are not wasted, but it's Cardi's personality and charm that are the stars of the show. When she's not dropping shocking threats at her detractors ("I'ma put a Louboutin where her neck at") or making outlandish boasts ("Pussy so good, I say my own name during sex"), Cardi takes the time to remind listeners of how far she's come since her stripper days, and doesn't shy away from revealing the woes and pitfalls that came with sudden fame. The underdog angle is exploited for maximum effect and it's so genuinely endearing that listeners will be rooting for her -- if they don't already -- by the last line of the empowering, SZA-assisted closer "I Do." Invasion of Privacy keeps pace and doesn't wear out its welcome, kicking off with Cardi's own superhero origin story on "Get Up 10," as in "Knock me down nine times/but I get up ten." The rags-to-riches narrative continues from there, with Cardi remarking that she's gone from "small ass apartments to walking red carpets" on the uplifting "Best Life" with Chance the Rapper. Later, on the popping "Money Bag," she playfully laments "I been broke my whole life/I have no clue what to do with these racks!" She gets filthy on the explicit "Bickenhead" -- which samples its namesake Project Pat song with a little Blood twist -- that it could make Lil' Kim or Foxy Brown blush. Her chart-busting singles "Bodak Yellow" and "Bartier Cardi" are also included here, nestled with other tough-talking shots like "She Bad" with YG and "Drip" with fiancee Offset and his group Migos. The Latin trap "I Like It," with Bad Bunny and J Balvin, is a notable highlight, a potential chart-buster in waiting. Surprisingly, Invasion is not just sneering street bangers about her "money moves." Bittersweet infidelity dirge "Be Careful" finds Cardi yearning for a solid relationship with a real man, not an unfaithful one (all signs point to Offset). On "Ring," a smooth R&B jam that features Kehlani, Cardi is vulnerable, revealing a well of pain beneath her tough-as-nails facade. "Thru Your Phone" is unflinching and relatable, wherein Cardi burns with vengeance as she poisons her cheating man with bleach in his cereal and a good old-fashioned stabbing. It's cartoonish but real, a confession of thoughts that are all too familiar to the scorned. This balance between over-the-top party starters and thoughtful reflection makes Invasion of Privacy an impressive debut for a rising star who can back up her outspokenness with raw talent.© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo