- I AM MUSIC: A Year Later — Tracklist Part I
- I AM MUSIC: A Year Later — Tracklist Part II
By John Medina, Staff Writer, and Draven Copeland, Managing Editor, with additional commentary by Chandler Arnold, Special to the Journal
Playboi Carti, a new-age rapper that seemingly has people obsessed with his every move. After his genre-bending release, Whole Lotta Red, Carti went on a prolonged 5-year hiatus, only broken up by the occasional new single or guest feature. After a grueling 1,540 days, Playboi Carti would release his highly anticipated album: MUSIC, also dubbed I AM MUSIC. I want to keep this opening section nice and brief to get straight to the next 10 tracks. Make sure to check out part one of this review with the first 10 tracks before giving this part a read. Let’s go ahead and get to the tracklist!
“TOXIC”
<John>
Absolute banger alert! On this track, Carti makes one simple but repeating declaration throughout the song:
“I got too much profit.”
This song is about making a lot of money and exudes wealth from every crevice. The song’s instrumental is simple and looming yet akin to something heard on a fashion runway or car show. Carti has some impactful and funny lines throughout the track, my favorite being “White diamonds, caucasian. Every day, amazin’”.
Skepta, a rapper from London who has appeared on some of Carti’s previous work, provides a really stellar feature verse on this track. He brags about his success outside of the United Kingdom, reaching American audiences, needing both a million dollars and a million euros, and concluding the verse with a reference to Carti’s song “JumpOutTheHouse” from his last album.
Nice and simple banger about money making, with good performances from both artists. No complaints, this song bangs in the car!
“MUNYUN”
<John>
Now, “MUNYUN” is an interesting one. The beat for this one is fast-paced and at times overpowers Carti’s vocals, which I don’t necessarily like. The pace of his vocals feels awkward and rushed at times, with not much of value being said. The song does have a verse where Carti reflects on his career thus far, not being able to believe that he was featured on Forbes Magazine. The verse is fine, although Carti has several other songs that handle career retrospection a lot better than this one.
Not a song that I go back to much, which is a shame since the ending includes a unique transition that fades into a more spacey atmosphere that I find really ethereal. Although this album is all over the place, the transition doesn’t really go anywhere and is made null by the beginning of the next track.
Speaking of…
“CRANK”
<John>
“CRANK” suits one of the darkest and unsettling beats on the whole album. The visceral feeling and vibe that this song exudes is everything I wanted from this album. Both Swamp Izzo and Carti sound absolutely insane on this track. It’s similar to the opening track “POP OUT” for me, with a chaotic beat and an equally unhinged performance from Carti. A section of the song that I really enjoy has Carti take on multiple personalities or talk to himself in a conversation for the sake of an intimidating lyric, further driving home the unhinged nature of this track.
“I’m prayin’ for all my opps while I’m hawking for my next b*tch.
Oh, you prayin’ for them motherf*ckers now, Carti?
Yeah, they got a death wish.”
Despite his frequent appearances on previous songs, I haven’t mentioned DJ Swamp Izzo too much throughout my review. This is an occasion where I believe his ability as a hypeman shines. He turns the dial up on this song with deranged grunts, “LETS GO”, and “ALIVE”. Paired with the repeating
“Free Throw” chorus, this song is an unconventional earworm that I have not been able to get out of my rotation. “CRANK” is one of my favorite songs on the entire album and would undoubtedly go crazy live.
It’s also important to mention that this track is a remix of “F*ck Taylor Gang” by SpaceGhostPurrp, featuring an updated beat with clearer and punchier production. My friend Chandler Arnold is a big fan of SpaceGhostPurrp, so I have decided to reach out to him for a better biography of SpaceGhostPurrp as a figure in rap. Take it away!
<Chandler>
It should be noted that this track’s beat is composed around a sampled version of SpaceGhostPurrp’s 2011 song “Fxck Taylor Gang (Not a Diss We Are Just Not Dxckriders)” from his cult classic BLVCKLVND RVDIX 66.6 mixtape. The sample, though certainly containing more polished production than what was present on SpaceGhostPurrp’s original tape, is immediately recognizable to long-time fans of both Purrp’s music and underground rap alike.
BLVCKLVND RVDIX 66.6 is widely considered the definitive release in Purrp’s 18-year tenure, having been credited by many to have been responsible for the creation of a number of rap genres; most notably the Memphis-inspired Phonk genre and the currently trending Rage rap songs that permeate today’s rap circles, with Playboi Carti being considered the backbone of the latter. Purrp’s influence is immeasurable, having produced tracks for a large number of today’s chart-topping artists such as Lil Uzi Vert, several members of A$AP Mob, Juicy J, Wiz Khalifa, and his group RAIDER KLAN (otherwise seen as RVIDXR KLVN to the more committed of his fans). All have collectively spawned an equally large number of successful artists.
Purrp’s legacy has largely been tarnished in recent years due to his consistent feuds with contemporaries, mental health struggles, and general public misbehavior. These factors plunged Purrp into relative obscurity, with many of his new releases flying under the radar outside of his immediate fanbase. Many newcomers to the genre are widely unaware of the cultural behemoth Purrp once was, with “CRANK” serving as an introduction to his existence to many.
“CHARGE DEM HOES A FEE”
<Draven>
After their hugely successful collaboration on Future/Metro Boomin’s “Type Shit,” Carti teams up with Future and Travis Scott yet again on “CHARGE DEM HOES A FEE.” From the very start, this track really feels like Future’s song, as he commands the beat for the first two minutes before Carti finally shows up. While I really love this song and I think it fits well on the album, especially considering the number of features Future and Travis both have throughout the tracklist, I stand strongly by the fact that this is a huge step down from their previous triple-collaboration. Where “Type Shit” had unstoppable energy from start to finish with great lyrical displays from all three rappers (Carti included), this one feels just the opposite: besides Travis carrying from a lyrical standpoint and Future doing his thing – for better or for worse – this track feels like the a B-side collab instead of a heavy-hitter that we’ve seen from the trio before.
“GOOD CREDIT”
<John>
This track starts off on a fun note, with a beginning interlude explaining how to open a fraudulent Home Depot credit card account with a stolen social security number. A heavy, alarm-like instrumental fades in and engulfs the entire track. The instrumental on this one reminds me of the one on “EVILJ0RDAN”.
Carti seems in his element on this track, with clearer vocal delivery and expressive lyrics. Though the real meat and potatoes of this song appear from the guest verse – Kendrick Lamar makes his third and final appearance on the album, on this track. Finally, a full rapping verse from Kendrick on a beat that is akin to a rage beat. Having Kendrick on production like this is unusual, which is why many fans were hyped for his possible contributions to this album. He absolutely snapped on his verse with a flow that is locked in and focused with a plethora of unique vocal inflections. He also discusses his recent domination in not only music but also on the West Coast of the United States, comparing himself to Luka Doncic, a Slovenian basketball player who is a member of the LA Lakers.
Kendrick finalizes his verse by stating that he prefers the “love” he gets to be fake. I read this as Kendrick stating that, despite praise he may get for his rapping ability, at the end of the day, people don’t actually know him. At the level of greatness he has achieved, he prefers people to keep their distance and just enjoy the music
This song is the rapping performance and beat selection that fans were anticipating from these two collaborating. I think it made for one hell of a track that makes me wish for Kendrick to hop on more production like this.
“CARTI MY EVIL TWINNNNN.”
“I SEEEEEE YOU BABY BOI”
<John>
Eh, the beat is kinda trippy, but Carti’s repeated refrain gets old really fast. I don’t really like this one. Also, for some reason, Carti really wants this “baby boi” alias to catch on. He even has the DJ call him baby boy. I just don’t really understand it, but who am I to judge?
<Draven>
Contrary to John, I actually really love this one. The beat feels like a sped-up Uzi production from their Eternal Atake era, and I like how Carti uses a combined whisper/singing flow for the lyrics on it. The vibes all come together for me, and I even really like his repetition of “Instead you wanna be the one to lie to me;” it’s a rare moment where I feel like Carti is actually flexing some songwriting skills. Throughout the song, he details the relationship he wishes he could have with the subject of the song, finally remembering that he can’t have any of that because she’d lied to him and he can no longer trust her with any of those things. I have no clue what the hell any of that has to do with the title of the song, though; it feels like something he just threw together because he didn’t have a good name for it.
“WAKEUP F1LTHY”
<Draven>
Named after popular rage producer F1LTHY’s tag, this is yet another collaboration with Travis Scott that has Carti straight up yammering on the beat. His flow feels especially drug-induced here, as he plays around with cadences and voice inflections; a particularly funny moment is at the end of his verse when he says, “The opps on live, they tellin’ lies, why y’all speak?” He does it in the silliest tone, and it makes me chuckle every time I hear it.
As far as the beat goes, it’s… fine? I’ve never been especially impressed by F1LTHY’s production outside of his work with metal artist Kim Dracula, and this one feels especially underwhelming because it’s named after him. On first listen, I was expecting F1LTHY to go all out on the beat and what we got just felt kind of baseline. Overall, this is a listenable and even enjoyable song as an interlude between tracks, but by itself, it’s just okay. Definitely a filler track, and one where Travis’ inclusion feels more like he finished the song for Carti instead of being featured on a track the primary artist was really proud of.
“JUMPIN”
<John>
The track JUMPIN has a fittingly bouncy beat that is high octane and filled with bass. This song features rapper Lil Uzi Vert as a supporting guest. He and Carti have a very connected history together, being a dynamic rap duo, having many fan favorite songs together, and even teasing a collab album that never came into fruition.
At a low 1:32 run time, this track feels like a confusing drug trip. Carti’s slurred vocal delivery guides us throughout the track until Uzi’s section. You can really tell how long this track has been in the vault prior to its release. Uzi comes in by promoting his album Pink Tape, a project that was released a whole year and eight months prior to MUSIC. Uzi has the occasional funny line on the song, but generally isn’t anything to write home about.
This duo has made songs that outshine this track tenfold; it’s really disappointing to see what is essentially a throwaway make it on the final album.
<Draven>
Since Uzi has been my favorite rapper for some time now, paired with the fact that a few of their previous collaborations are genuinely peak songs in the last decade of rap (I’m thinking mainly of “Shoota” and “wokeuplikethis*,” both tracks on previous Carti albums). I went into this song expecting them to drop another iconic hit. What we got with this song is really just a measly six bars from each artist that aren’t bad, but definitely nothing memorable at all. I also find it hilarious that Uzi adlibs “Don’t do that, my *****” while Carti is talking about doing drugs; as much as I love them, anti-drug is something Uzi has never been.
“TRIM”
<John>
This is basically just a Future song Carti managed to ruin. I’m sorry, but there’s a reason I don’t come back to this one often. Future really delivers on this track, with a flow that is effortless, skillful, and focused. Then Carti comes into the song, talking absolute nonsense. His delivery on the line “I’ma blow up” sounds really dumb and instantly turned me away from the song altogether.
And oh my god, Swamp Izzo, shut up! – I am a Swamp Izzo sympathizer. When the album came out, a lot of people were annoyed by his appearances on the album, but I think he can be a great asset to bring more energy to the album. However, tracks like these make me see why people have such a problem with him. Carti won’t even say anything with substance, and Swamp Izzo will let out the most visceral hype man grunt imaginable; it just gets annoying at a point.
Overall, this song should’ve stayed in the vault or been released as a solo Future song.
“COCAINE NOSE”
<John>
Buried within the 30-song tracklist, finally a diamond in the rough! Try to guess what this song is about. On “COCAINE NOSE”, we get more stellar production from F1LTHY; a guitar sample loop creates a beat that is fierce and hard-hitting. This is another song that I can imagine being awesome during a live performance.
A song that is prime for a wrestling match or rage room. This track is addictive like the substance it’s named after. Pure chaos.
Conclusion
That’s another 10 tracks down, yet another mixed bag of them. On one end, some of my favorite tracks appear. The songs are visceral, high intensity, and catchy with plenty of replay value. On the other, some songs feel like filler, a waste of amazing instrumentals, and at times feel pointless. I feel like this was only bound to happen with a 30-song tracklist. But hey, at least fans can’t complain about a lack of music after the five-year wait.
Please tune in next week for the final 10 songs and my final thoughts on the album in its entirety!
