Jay-Z’s “Imaginary Players” Sees Over 300% Streaming Increase After Cardi B Sample

August 20, 2025 362 42 4

Jay-Z‘s “Imaginary Players” is getting new life. According to Complex, the classic Hov track has seen a +305% increase in Spotify streams in the United States since Cardi B released her single, “Imaginary Playerz.” Cardi’s song prominently samples Jay’s 1997 track; and “Imaginary Playerz” dropped as a prerelease single from her upcoming album Am I the Drama?

Jay-Z’s song was never released as an actual single, but was a standout track on his sophomore album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. “Imaginary Players” was also memorably featured in the 1997 Roc-A-Fella home video release Streets Is Watching.

During an X Spaces livestream before the single dropped, Cardi B talked about what the song means to her.

“The song is kind of long and I took my time with [it] because this song is like a staple for me,” she explained. “And I was like, ‘Oh my god, I got to make sure that this song is good’ because I have to fucking to get it approved by the one and only [Jay-Z].”

She went to say that she wouldn’t have been offended if Jay-Z rejected her request to sample his song, which itself flips “Imaginary Playmates” by famed R&B duo Rene & Angela.

“If he didn’t approve it, I probably wouldn’t even feel a certain type of way neither because it would have been like, ‘Okay, maybe I just had to come a little bit harder,’” she continued. “But I’m glad that I came hard and he loved it and everybody else love it. Somebody came up to me and they said, ‘Uh, I’m not even going to lie. When you announced that you was doing ‘Imaginary Players,’ I was a little nervous, but you ate that.’”

Am I The Drama? drops September 19.