Playboi Carti’s new album—MUSIC—is about as enigmatic as the artist himself. It is, in many ways, a highly disjointed and inconsistent project that occasionally falls into major creative lulls. It is also one of the most thrilling mainstream releases in years and a confirmation of Playboi Carti as the hip-hop juggernaut of a generation.
MUSIC opens with “POP OUT”, a visceral, industrial cut with some of Carti’s most strained, labored vocals to date. It is not an excellent track, but it is as uncompromising and abrasive of an intro as I’d hope for at this point in Carti’s career.
And Carti follows through well. “CRUSH”—while a bit overproduced—is a sonically rich, almost-metamorphic segue into two singles released early last year: “K POP” (fka “KETAMINE”) and “EVIL J0RDAN”. Both remain effective showcases of Carti’s new sound, characterized by a deeper, froggier voice and heavier instrumentation. Albeit, the new addition of an incredibly banal, one-minute intro to the latter boggs down the originally simplistic appeal of its stripped back instrumental and piercing synth line.
It is during this opening stretch that MUSIC soars—in sound and stature—to the incredible potential which Carti had purported through nearly five years of teasers and other marketing ploys. But Carti struggles to maintain that momentum, especially through the marathon of a 30-song tracklist.
What’s most surprising about MUSIC’s pitfalls—and there are a handful—is the mere lack of creativity. MUSIC’s mixed reception might remind some of Carti’s previous album, Whole Lotta Red, which was once widely criticized too. But Whole Lotta Red’s polarizing effect stemmed from its paralyzing originality. Instead, MUSIC is often bare bones and generic.
In fact, it is shocking just how much he lacks command over his own sound here. “RATHER LIE” is a forgettable Weeknd collaboration on a generic Weeknd type of beat. “WAKE UP F1LTHY” is a forgettable Travis Scott collaboration on a generic Travis Scott type of beat. “TRIM” is a forgettable Future collab on a generic Future type of beat. “CHARGE DEM HOES A FEE” is a forgettable Travis Scott, Future collaboration on a generic Travis Scott, Future type of beat. So on and so forth.
Carti emulates Future to a tee on “TOXIC” (which is only salvaged by a terrific Skepta verse). Most egregious is “WE NEED ALL THE VIBES”, which is—actually—a random, old Young Thug throwaway track in which Carti has tacked on a 17-second verse of his own.
Carti’s sudden shift to conformity is puzzling. He’s already a megastar. He did that through uncompromising originality. Does he believe that now, by pandering to the blandest of mainstream sensibilities, he will suddenly blast off from 50 million monthly listeners to 65 or 80 million monthly listeners?
If so, it’s not working. The songs I’ve seen discussed most aren’t the aforementioned lulls but rather the album’s gleams of originality—and there are many. BACKD00R is a nice melodic cut with well-placed contributions from Kendrick Lamar and Jhene Aiko. Carti and Kendrick continue to build upon that chemistry with “GOOD CREDIT”, another highlight. “CRANK” and “COCAINE NOSE” see Carti hone in his new sound as well.
Luckily, Carti does sustain some momentum through the final third of the album. “OLYMPIAN” sports a very nostalgic, ethereal instrumental, reminiscent of Whole Lotta Red track “Die4Guy”. The frenetic “OPM BABI” is an incredible moment of experimentation, which is better heard than told about. “LIKE WEEZY” is a fitting ode to the Atlanta rap culture of the early 2010s, coupled with a memorable, go-lucky performance by Carti.
The closing 1-2-3 punch of “HBA” (fka “HOODBYAIR”), “OVERLY”, and “SOUTH ATLANTA BABY” does leave a satisfying impression, one that makes me a bit forgiving for MUSIC’s occasional barrages of mediocrity.
MUSIC is one sprawling, mixed bag. It cements Carti as the most exciting act in rap today.
