Overview

Jordan Carter, aka Playboi Carti was born in Atlanta, Georgia with a dream to be the biggest rapper of our generation. This belief and motivation has allowed Carti to soar throughout his career with multiple successes which include a number 1 album on the Billboard 200 with “Whole Lotta Red”, a number 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Carnival”, and his recent album “MUSIC” also debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200. Carti’s long-awaited album “MUSIC” has been built up over 5 years since Carti last dropped. Rumors and false release dates have spread across the internet over the length of the rollout, in turn adding to the promotion of the album. 

Carti simultaneously dropped hints and snippets over the course of the “MUSIC” campaign, for example the multiple songs he would tend to put either on Instagram or YouTube as exclusives until the real album comes out. Songs like “DIFFERENT DAY”, “2024”, “BACKROOMS”, and “EVIL JORDAN”. All of these tracks eventually made the tracklist of the album because of its impact on the process this album went through as well as its positive fan response. 

In an interview with Playboi Carti, done by Numero Berlin Magazine, the magazine asks “What’s the name of your new album you’re making at the moment”. Carti states “Music because that’s all it is at this point”. Shortly after Carti started teasing the album rollout by posting a website with only the album cover on it, leading fans to speculate when Playboi will drop next. As you can see he kept his promise on the song title and concept and I say he delivered on all cylinders.

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Mixtape Inspiration

Diving into the tracklist, I observe a heavy-set album with over 34 songs including the bonus tracks. This album could genuinely make up two 17-song albums yet Carti smushed all of them onto one giant playlist-like record. I’m not sure If I agree with this approach as these albums tend to feel bloated, but I will give Carti the benefit of the doubt and the fact he hasn’t released music in 5 years. This also stems from Carti’s desire to make this album feel like a lustrous mixtape coming from the underground soundscape of Atlanta, where he is from. 

All over this album we hear the name “Swamp Izzo” echoing across the songs, serving as a classic mixtape style shouting DJ that is prevalent across a lot of old school hip hop. For example, artists like Lil Wayne on “Dedication” and DJ Drama on Tyler the Creator’s “Call Me If You Get Lost” have similar tones and strategies that were used on Carti’s “MUSIC” with Swamp Izzo shouting adlibs and his name throughout the whole album. Now, let’s get into the substance and content in this record.

Production and Sound Design

The production on this record is a huge standout, as it is on all of Playboi’s albums currently. A long line of some of the game’s most talented producers show their skills on this album including OjiVolta, Cardo, F1lthy, Maaly Raw, Mike Dean, Metro Boomin, Bynx, Travis Scott, and Wheezy. Songs like “CRUSH”, “POP OUT”, “OPM BABI”, “LIKE WEEZY”, and especially “OLYMPIAN” rely heavily on the vibe of the production and the soundscape in which Carti surrounds his mumble lyrics. 

And it works most of the time, unlike on the song “WAKE UP F1LTHY” and “HBA”. These tracks seem to dismiss the song structure of having good lyrics and cohesiveness and throws it out the door. These songs also don’t seem to peak my interest in comparison to the other songs. This may be caused from the fact that the album is too large and bloated leaving some inevitable skips to the album. 

My personal favorite song with the best production has to be “OPM BABI” and the way Carti perfectly meshes all these loud and abstract sounds together. The whistles and sirens blend together to create almost a new instrumental yet to be heard in hip-hop, the gunshots serve as a loud drum to keep your body moving to the song. Lots of ad-libs and “seeyuhs” from Carti, as well as Swamp Izzo the DJ shouting all of his ad-libs in his arsenal. As well as the producer spamming the soundboard to create a beautiful chaotic record that will be echoed through stadiums and mosh pits while Carti goes on tour with The Weeknd.

Standout Tracks

The way this album is formatted forces towards mainstream audiences only taking away a couple bangers from this album and blowing them up on the billboard charts. Songs like “EVIL JORDAN” (number 2) and “RATHER LIE” (number 4) seem to be peaking the most on the hot 100 charts. While most of the other songs on the album are transcending into the twenties, thirties, and forties. The album “MUSIC” is also number 1 on the Billboard Top 200 going on 2 weeks since it dropped. All of this cementing himself as the first rapper with more than 30 hot 100 hits in a single week. 

My personal top 5 would be “TOXIC”, “GOOD CREDIT”, “OLYMPIAN”, “LIKE WEEZY”, and “OPM BABI”. All of these are extremely catchy and follow an addictive chorus or flow that Carti channels in these songs. Some honorable mentions that cut it really close to my top 5 since there are so many hits on this record, “BACKROOMS”, “MUNYUN”, “TRIM”, and “RADAR”. These high energy songs serve as a great bulk of the lively and hyper tracklist that Carti has served to us after a 5 year wait.

Features

The features on this album are a main highlight that Carti gives to us, collaborators from the likes of Kendrick Lamar who appears 3 times, as well as Travis Scott who appears even more with 5 features on the record. Others include The Weeknd, Jhene Aiko, Skepta, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Young Thug, and Ty Dolla $ign. The Weeknd’s feature will serve as the most chart-beneficial feature towards Carti as Abel (The Weeknd) has spent most of his career in the top 100 chasing charts for hit songs like “Blinding Lights” and “The Hills”. 

The most underrated feature is for sure the Skepta feature on “TOXIC”. The way Skepta bounces in between the beats with quippy lyrics that catch your attention, as well as easy to follow bars that will get stuck in your head for weeks. Another standout is Future on both of his tracks, proving that you don’t need to be young to rap well and fast. I compare Future to Lebron James’s longevity and greatness. 41 years of age and he is still spending the prime of his career at the top of his game with the likes of the biggest artists in the industry.

Reception and Conclusion

Contrary to a lot of what I have been saying in this review does not accurately reflect some of the critics’ standpoints on this album. Music nerd and enthusiast Anthony Fantano rated Playboi Carti’s “MUSIC” a measly light 4. In comparison to a lot of Fantano’s other reviews over Carti’s music, it can be seen as a little more generous than the last reviews, but still not rated a great album. 

I gave my reasons and standpoints over this album and the genre it’s trying to succeed in and I will stand on my decision to give this record a specific 8.75 out of 10. Not concise and cohesive enough to be a 9, but filled with bangers and classics that will be played like anthems for our young generation at countless events. Looking at this album as a compilation mixtape helps better rank it in the upper echelon of a lot of other classics in hip hop. The echoing ad-libs and screaming bars from Swamp Izzo combat Carti’s lyrics and cadence to create a unique and potent album sure to spring some life into those dance moves.