It’s been a see-saw summer for Cardi B fans. Just two months ago she sadly informed the Bardigang that the long-awaited follow-up to her smash debut 2018 album, Invasion of Privacy, would probably not be coming out this year because she was focusing on “relaxing” and enjoying her summer.

Then on Thursday (July 18) she appeared to have a change of heart on the eve of the release of her new collab with Rob49, “On Dat Money.” In a post on X, Cardi explained that she’s rethought the chill zone and is planning to drop new music after all. “I wanna say this to Bardi gang or anybody who’s just a fan of my music or even my craziness… I have my good days and my bad days but you know what, whether it’s good or bad I couldn’t be happier with the obvious anticipation for my album,” she wrote before dropping the good news.

“Sometimes I get a little aggressive because yall know I don’t like to be told what to do but I promise you it’s coming THIS YEAR. Thank you for the love and anticipation and always holding me down. I love yall,” she added.

Cardi immediately made those dreams come true with her glamorous cameo in New Orleans MC Rob49’s video for “On Dat Money,” in which the rapper serves as point man in a mansion filled with exotic dancers as a torrential downpour of $100 bills rain down all around him. While Rob rapidly dispenses with his stacks, Cardi rides shotgun in his cash-piled car in Jackie O vibes, wearing oversized cat-eye sunglasses, a fur wrap, black head scarf, impossibly long black nails and bold red lipstick. Elsewhere, Cardi lounges in bed covered in bills and rocks a fire engine red miniskirt, knee-high boots and crop top jacket ensemble as Rob raps, “F–k me on that money, b–ch/ B–ch, f–k me on that money” over the song’s grinding trap beat.

Midway through Cardi gets in on the action, rapping, “Yeah, f–k me right there on that money/ I ride d–k on my feet, I be hoppin’ like a bunny/ I’m a freak, slut me out, you gon’ see me get disgustin,” in yet another one of her signature earworm features as thong-wearing dancers twirl on stripper poles behind her.

The pop-in on Rob’s song follows Cardi’s release of two loosey singles earlier this year, “Enough (Miami)” and “Like What” and a number of other features. It also comes after she slammed rapper/podcaster Joe Budden on Thursday for his critical take on the roll-out of her eagerly anticipated sophomore album in the lead-up to the Rob49 single dropping.

“Bro I gave you a lap dance two times in Starlets. You was high as f–k. High as f–k on coke, n—a… I don’t give a f–k when people talk s–t about me,” Cardi raged. “It’s the fact you always talk s–t about me Joe Budden. Out of nowhere, you would think I did something to this n—a… For the past two years, this n—a has only talked bad things about me.”

After lambasting Joe for constantly comparing other female rappers to her, Cardi got really real. “But you really want my album to come out so you can criticize it. Cause every time I drop something you don’t like it,” she said. “Every single time a b—h drops something and they doing mediocre, you say they doing better than me… What are you talking about? The s–t is in motion. Merch is in motion, the box sets is in motion. You don’t know s–t.”

On a recent pod, Budden confidently predicted that Cardi would not release another album in her carer, saying, “We’ll never get another album again. I am standing on it.” Rolling Stone reported that a rep for Cardi confirmed to the magazine that she will release an album this year.

See Cardi’s post and the “On Dat Money” video below.