By John Medina, Staff Writer, and Draven Copeland, Managing Editor
Context
Playboi Carti, an artist who gained prominence in the latter half of the 2010s with a run of chaotic live performances, hypnotic beats, varied vocal inflections, artistic reinvention, and controversial outfits. As an artist, Carti vastly strays from previously established norms and “rules” in rap.
If you go into a Playboi Carti album expecting masterful displays of lyricism, social commentary, and double entendres, you’ll surely be disappointed. Though these musical deviations would be a career death sentence for a rapper 20 years ago, Playboi Carti is not a conventional hip-hop artist.
His style has caused a major divide in the mass reception of his music, with people either loving or hating him. Despite that, Carti has steadily accumulated a loyal and rabid fanbase throughout the years. Culminating with the release of his previous album, Whole Lotta Red.
The gap between his debut, Die Lit, and Whole Lotta Red was just two years and seven months.
A considerably tame gap for an artist to take for new music, but fans were just NOT having it. A mix of social media antics, a new rockstar-inspired fashion aesthetic, and a myriad of songs from the album leaking caused delays to the release; seemingly, this only made fans hungry for more.
Upon Whole Lotta Red’s 2020 Christmas release date, audiences were split. Many listeners genuinely didn’t know what to make of the album. Songs were filled with bass-boosted, grimy, and chaotic production that acted as a backdrop to Carti’s loud, unhinged, repeating vocals.
Aside from fans, general opinions on the album were largely negative. With critics of the album absolutely dunking on it, citing lackluster writing, repetitive choruses, and at times awkward vocal delivery, this even resulted in #WholeLottaTrash trending on Twitter. Despite that, fans held out.
As there was a global pandemic happening at the time, concerts as a whole were put on pause.
Though, as restrictions were slowly lifted in the following years, music audiences would finally see how this album was truly meant to be experienced. The same reasons that critics trashed the album for, were now what made the songs prime for live performances. The loud and erratic beats were practically made to bust subwoofers, and “repetitive songwriting” turned into easily chantable anthems.
Perception of the album suddenly flipped as thousands of people ran to buy tickets to take part in the chaos. But, it would seem just as quickly as Carti took the spotlight, he would go back into hiding.
A spree would follow of teasing albums that would never be released, scamming Twitch streamers, cancelling tours, the occasional new single, the occasional run-in with the law, and oh my god, so many pictures of his outfits (we get it, you are swagged out, but we need music).
Just like Whole Lotta Red before it, Music was delayed into oblivion. Even down to the night of release, where normal releases are done at midnight, Carti delayed his album until seven in the morning. There were people patiently staying awake for the release, only to be trolled by Carti one last time.
During the early morning of March 14, 2025, at 7:30 a.m., a little over five years after Whole Lotta Red was released, Playboi Carti would drop his highly anticipated album: MUSIC.
It’s safe to say that Carti had a lot to live up to with this album. Not only factoring in the 1,540-day gap from his last album, but also taking into account the 30-song track list. Carti is literally claiming to be the physical embodiment of music itself, as is made evident with the album cover and title. That’s a pretty ballsy declaration.
Does a rapper that is seemingly so divisive have the right to make that claim? What are fans to expect from a new Carti album? Especially since Whole Lotta Red was a big pivot.
And how does this album stack against his previous albums?
Additional thoughts will be added by Draven Copeland. Hopefully, to add a more complete and varied look at the album. I’ll also be splitting this story into three parts to keep the review digestible, breaking the 30 songs on the entire album into 10 songs in each part.
Disclaimer: I know that trying to lyrically analyze Playboi Carti songs is a pretty fruitless endeavor. Again, he’s not a lyrical rapper. Much of the enjoyment gathered from his songs is from his energy, beat choice, or vocal inflections. Despite that, as I go through the album track by track, I am going to try to summarize what the songs are vaguely about, to get a conclusive and in-depth opinion on the album, a year after its release.
One last thing, I understand that my opinion may be skewed and that Carti’s music is not for everyone. I went into the first listening experience as an established fan, having already listened to his previous work. I hope that I am able to add additional bits of information that you may not have known about the album and provide context for what I enjoy or dislike about the album.
“POP OUT”
<John>
Intro songs are very important; artists utilize the opener to lay the groundwork and establish a tone listeners should expect for the rest of the body of work. And it for sure sets a heavy tone. The album breaks through with a jolt of energy that no one was expecting at 7:30 in the morning.
“POP OUT” dawns an instrumental that is the musical equivalent of getting run over by a truck. A wall of bass and distortion begins with no second thought, no warning, or build-up.
Carti matches the mechanical instrumental with an insanely chaotic vocal performance. He explains the reason why people don’t invite him to parties, talks about cars that he’s bought, illicit substances, and his romantic interests. A key part of Carti’s appeal is his inclusion of backing vocals in most of his songs, known as ad-libs. Typical ad-libs start and end at a simple “yuh” or “ay.” New recurring adlibs like “seeyuh” will be common throughout the album, although Carti also matches the song’s tone with repeated manic screaming, including “F*CK YOU”, and “SWERVE.” The track ends with a distinct switch to a spacy and futuristic ending.
An important aspect of the rest of the album is established here: the recurring added vocals from collaborating DJ and producer, Swamp Izzo, who has worked with other artists like Gucci Mane, Lil Wayne, and Young Thug during the early days of their careers. Swamp Izzo provides additional screaming, grunts, and other general hype man inflections. Keep him in mind; he will make his presence very known throughout the album’s run-time, to varying degrees of success. I believe that, when he’s at his best, he is able to turn up a track several notches, although there are generally mixed opinions to his inclusion on the album, calling him annoying or out of place.
The energy on this song is absolutely haywire but, at the same time, so infectious. Some people believe this song is too much and that a different opener would fit better, like the next track, “CRUSH.”
I do not agree; this song took all the crazy, high-energy moments from Whole Lotta Red, turned the heat up to 11, and then deep-fried them. This track is one of the hardest-hitting and abrasive album intros of the 2020s.
“CRUSH”
<Draven>
The first Travis Scott feature on the album begins with one of the most unique beats on the album.
I love the build-up to the first verse, as the beat continues to add layers – including a full choir and metal-inspired electric guitar chords – until the verse starts. While Travis doesn’t have much to say on this track other than a refrain of “straight up” at the end and backing Carti in the beat-build prelude, it’s still cool to have him on the track, as the whole thing feels like it’s meant for hype-building – something Travis is known for. As far as the verse goes, it’s a pretty solid flow from Carti… he’s obviously not a lyrical rapper, but none of the bars here are disappointing or out of place on this one. It’s interesting to note as well that the beat feels reminiscent of Carti and Travis’s previous collaboration on the incredibly popular “FE!N,” as the electronic notes waver up and down to introduce the song.
“K POP”
<John>
Previously dubbed “Ketamine” by fans, “K POP” was one of the six singles released on Carti’s Instagram prior to the release of the album. On this track, Carti attempts a voice that sounds like an evil frog? As for the instrumental, it kicks off with a 4 count start that leads into a backing track that oozes eeriness and urgency. I really enjoy the repeating high hat that is present throughout the entire instrumental and the looming synths, as they both add another sense of urgency to the track.
The lyrics are, at times, a downside in this song, with Carti just saying things that come off incoherent and just said to “sound cool,” but it just comes off cringey. I still don’t really know what “trampoline jump for a cougar” is supposed to mean. I understand that part of Carti’s appeal is how “mysterious” he is or whatever, but you can’t be vague for the sake of being vague. Your lyrics actually have to mean something, at least to a point.
It took a while for this one to grow on me. Upon initial release on his Instagram, I thought it was among the weaker showings out of the 6 singles. Something about the frog voice didn’t really land with me. Since then, I’ve been able to appreciate the track for the ominous mood it is able to build and the occasional intimidating lyric from Carti.
“EVIL J0RDAN”
<Draven>
If there is any solo track off this album that is publicly known beyond the sphere of Carti fans, it’s “EVIL J0RDAN.” From the cinematic intro featuring The Weeknd singing “Begging on her knees to be popular” right before one of the hardest beat drops on the album, to the fantastic alarm-like production throughout the track, to some of the best/most coherent bars we get from Carti on the album, this song is a banger from start to finish. It’s definitely a high point for Carti on the album, and feels very much like it was made to be a primary single among the 30 tracks to choose from.
It also features Swamp Izzo announcing the title of the album in the final spoken line, “I am the music!”
<John>
An additional point of contention comes from the multiple different versions of this song. The original single that was released on Carti’s Instagram did not include the extended intro, and there are also live versions including an electric guitar throughout. It really comes down to personal preference.
I enjoy the added guitar sections as they make the track more dynamic. But, personally, I could really do without the extended intro. The extended version is good to hype up a live audience, but when streaming it I would rather the song just kick off immediately.
Also, Carti or his producers added one of the most commonly used gun sound effects that feels really out of place. The same sound effect has been used in other media – I personally recognize it from Roblox, so it just kind of kills any intended hype the extended intro is supposed to release.
Sometimes less is more.
“MOJO JOJO”
<John>
Named after the main villain from the cartoon Powerpuff Girls, “MOJO JOJO” has a simple, yet punchy and spacey instrumental. A surprise appearance from Super Bowl performer and rapper, Kendrick Lamar, is featured on this song, to the shock of many. The two had never made a song together and Kendrick’s inclusion on this album was revealed a day prior to the release, with many people anticipating how the two would work off one another. Carti, representing a new wave of hip hop that is vibes-based, compared to Kendrick, who is known for his lyrical prowess and technical rapping ability, led people to be obviously excited to see what they would cook up. Hype was only compounded due to Kendrick’s recent beef with Drake.
The song begins on a confusing note. In the beginning speaking section, Kendrick begs for Carti to bring an alien energy to the song, in a tone that I can best describe as Kendrick trying to get into Carti’s pants. I know that sounds odd, but that’s because it is just odd. I really don’t see what the vision was for the beginning segment.
Once the verses roll in from Carti, it’s made evident that Kendrick is merely providing additional backing vocals. I do enjoy Kendrick’s contributions overall, with some funny one-liners and chants. Some of my favorite ad-libs from him include “BREED,” “We go dummy,” “b*tch stop calling me.” a multi-layered “HEYYY,” and a “hi.”
The rest of the song is a pretty standard Carti-fare, with the typical fashion flexing, talking about girls, and a repetitive chorus. A chorus that is unfortunately repetitive to its detriment, as the “oh my god, he a goon” gets tiring by the end of the track. This track is one that I don’t come back to often, despite some high points. I will say, I do enjoy the line “Can’t believe my eyes, so I wear GoPro” from Carti.
When the album was first released, features were hidden from songs, so fans could only hope that this would not be the only Kendrick feature on the album.
“PHILLY”
<John>
The next song marks the second appearance of Travis Scott on the tracklist. This song features an instrumental that is a reworked version of “Carter Son” by NBA Youngboy, with added production. Travis presents a spacey and autotuned vocal performance, with a flow that ends in a repeated “lets go.”
This is a pretty standard and underwhelming Travis verse that doesn’t bring much to the table in my opinion, apart from general lyrics about a rapper’s lifestyle.
Once Carti’s verse begins, a more interesting, frantic flow is presented, although his vocal delivery is back to the frog voice. It ends up coming off as a little silly. This is only reinforced by his lyrical content that leaves much to be desired. Genuinely, what is “In the car with two blickies, and they both got t*tties” supposed to mean?
Other than an earworm chorus from Travis, this track offers very little to the overall album listening experience. The best part of this song is the beat, as it sounds like a western movie. It’s a beat from another artist anyways. Also, prior to release, Carti built up the idea of NBA Youngboy appearing on the album through a series of scattered posts. Despite that, his only appearance on the album seems to be through an instrumental? Weird.
“RADAR”
<John>
“RADAR” features standout production from hip hop producer, Metro Boomin. Through the overall presentation of this album, the inclusion of Swamp Izzo, as well as the extended tracklists, it acts as a nod to early mixtapes from artists like Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane. Carti, no doubt, is taking major influence from that era for this album. I mention this to say that the instrumental feels plucked straight out of an early Atlanta mixtape, with sports-channel-like horns present throughout the entire track, as well as an alien-like synth making an appearance later in the track. Carti raps over the beat about the usual fair, although I like his flow.
Overall, this is a good song with a standout beat and high energy.
“RATHER LIE”
<John>
During the 5-year gap between albums, Carti would drip-feed his fanbase with a handful of song features. The most prevalent example would be his work with The Weeknd. The songs “Timeless” and their collaboration with Madonna, “Popular,” received major radio play and exposed a larger audience to Carti’s voice and style prior to the album’s release. Both songs have accumulated over 1 billion streams each and have built anticipation for any future collabs.
“RATHER LIE” is the radio hit of the album. Featuring the usual heavenly vocal performance from The Weeknd, a cloud-rap inspired instrumental made by producer F1LTHY, and a chorus that is equally as lovey dovey as it is toxic.
The track is kind of simplistic, especially with the weak lyrical performance from The Weeknd, which I was expecting more from. The chorus is seemingly dumbed down by his standards; I get it, though, it’s the radio song, you have to keep it simple and catchy.
Although, this comes with one HUGE caveat: since the release of this song, people much smarter than I have analyzed Carti’s verse and concluded that it is likely AI. With someone else recording the vocals, then dubbing over with an AI Carti voice, people believe this due to the heightened vocals that Carti is able to achieve on the track – hitting high notes and singing vocals that are present nowhere else on the album and are very out of place. Really a shame since I enjoyed “Carti’s” vocal performance on the song, including multiple tonal switch-ups throughout.
This is a huge disappointment to music listeners who seek real, not AI-assisted music. This was initially one of my highlights from the tracklist, though I have revisited it less and less since being made aware of the use of AI. Really disappointing.
“FINE SH*T”
<Draven>
I love Carti’s smooth and laid-back delivery on this track. While he talks about his strict conditions for his lovers, he’s almost singing every word, hilariously only changing his cadence to the frog voice for “The money gon’ talk” towards the end. For most listeners, I could see this one being a throwaway, mainly because of its very simple, smooth production and overall very chill vocals from Carti, but it’s honestly one of my favorites on the album. Also, having a song called “FINE SH*T” just feels so perfect for Carti — it’s one of the most fitting titles for the artist on the album, even though he never actually says those words on the track.
<John>
A standout, hilarious lyric from this song is:
“Don’t say you’d ride for me, just ride,
Don’t say you’d die for me, lil b*tch just die.”
Also unfortunate, but important to mention that this song has also received its own AI allegations. The song is fun and upbeat, but my enjoyment of it is capped due to the AI, and the use of AI in mainstream music should not be normalized. Do better.
“BACKD00R”
<John>
To round out this section of the review, “BACKD00R” is a nice energy change from the previous AI slop. The track features production from Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and the beat is distinctly smooth compared to other tracks and features a chopped-up vocal sample that pairs nicely with the trap instrumentation. Ye is known for his creative sample-based production, and he does not disappoint on this song.
The main chorus of the song is the title repeated by Carti. A singing verse from Kendrick Lamar appears on this song with backing vocals from Jhené Aiko as well. Kendrick did an excellent job on his verse, riding the beat pretty effortlessly, and delivering a standout singing performance. I like the extended “oooo,” “youuu,” and layered vocal sections with Jhene. Though, like the previous Kendrick feature on “MOJO JOJO,” Kendrick is largely on the back burner for parts of this track. Carti does hold up his part of the song with a good flow and solid lyrics. Although, I do see how some may grow tired of the “Backdoor” being repeated. Still, it’s a fun track with a good beat, so give this one a listen!
Conclusion
As this section of the review is already 8 pages long, I’ll wrap it up here for now. The first 10 songs alone have sent me on a rollercoaster of emotions. I’m really excited to continue the review as the following tracks are some of my favorites on the album.
Make sure to tune in next week for the next 10 tracks!
