BY ODIGIE OKPATAKU

Cardi B hinted that Jay-Z approved of her new single, “Imaginary Players,” during a livestream on social media, this week. While she didn’t mention the legendary rapper by name, she referenced getting the song greenlit by “the one and only.” Jay-Z famously has a track of the same name on his 1997 album, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. In turn, fans have been speculating that she’ll sample the song with her new effort.

“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,’” Cardi explained on X (formerly Twitter) Spaces. “But I’m glad that I came hard and he loved it.”

When Live Bitez shared Cardi’s stream on Instagram, fans expressed their excitement for the single in the comments section. “Getting an approval from Jay (out of respect) is a big deal. Can’t wait to hear her version, Imaginary Players is one of my faves,” one user wrote. Another wrote: “I’m excited for her actually
Nobody takes risks nowadays so this is cool.”