Ever since Cardi B announced that she was planning on dropping her latest track “Press,” we’ve been not-so-patiently refreshing her Instagram and waiting for the song to appear. Now, it’s finally here, and it’s everything fans love about the Bronx-bred rapper: Thundering lyrics overloaded with ruthless swagger, all delivered in Cardi’s signature roars over an apocalyptic beat. “Press, press, press, press, press, Cardi don’t need more press,” she declares.
The song dropped at midnight on Thursday, along with a few more early visuals, which capture the unabashed spirit of the song perfectly. In an image she posted on Instagram, a fully naked Cardi is shown getting arrested before a parade of clicking cameras. It’s audacious and iconic, and this is exactly why we missed her.
Within hours, “Press” had entered the U.S. iTunes top 10. Cardi had originally teased the song back in December, so it’s been a long time coming. The track is her first single since last year’s “Money” and comes after Cardi took a bit of a hiatus after giving birth to her first child Kulture. Even in the time that she wasn’t releasing new music, Cardi was busy winning pretty much every accolade ever, including the Grammy Award for “best rap album” for her debut, Invasion of Privacy.
Stream the song below: