Cardi B reveals if Jay-Z “approved” sample for her new single Imaginary Players
H to the OV! This is a public service announcement – Cardi B has confirmed that Jay-Z did approve her upcoming single, Imaginary Players, amid fan speculation.
Los Angeles, California – Cardi B is set to release her next single, Imaginary Players, and the rapper has clarified whether she got Jay-Z’s blessing to sample his 1997 classic record.

On her Wednesday X Spaces Live, Cardi dished on Jay-Z and other “hip hop heads” who approved the track ahead of its midnight release.
She shared, “There were a lot of hip-hop heads in the building, and they heard Imaginary Players, and they absolutely love it.”
“This song is like a staple for me,” the Bongos rapper teased, adding, “I have to get it approved by the one and only” – seemingly referring to the Empire State of Mind hitmaker.

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Cardi also admitted, “If he didn’t approve it, I probably wouldn’t have even felt a certain type of way either, because it’s like, ‘Okay, maybe I just had to come a little bit harder.'”
She added, “But I’m glad that I came hard and he loved it.”
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Cardi also admitted, “If he didn’t approve it, I probably wouldn’t have even felt a certain type of way either, because it’s like, ‘OK, maybe I just had to come a little bit harder’.”
She added, “But I’m glad that I came hard and he loved it.”
The single, which samples Jay-Z’s track from In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, is the second release ahead of Am I The Drama? – the first being Outside. Cardi’s anticipated sophomore project drops on September 9!
Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / Dreamstime & KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP