Atlanta rapper Playboi Carti released his much-anticipated album Whole Lotta Red on Christmas Day in 2020. Within 24 hours, he had already teased new music in the form of Whole Lotta Red Deluxe. It was never released. After a period of silence, he announced a different album, Narcissist, with a specific planned release date. That date came and went, with no album in sight. After another year of silence, he announced the album MUSIC in 2022. Carti finally got around to publishing songs at the end of 2023 with a series of Youtube- and Instagram Reels-hosted music videos including the fan-favorite “2024,” proudly announcing “2024 MUSIC.” Despite extensive promotions that brought the anticipation for the album to new heights throughout the year 2024, it did not end up releasing. Finally, it was (somewhat abruptly) released in March 2025 with a daunting 30-song tracklist. So, did it end up living up to the hype?
Listening to MUSIC front-to-back is a rather disorienting experience, in part due to the track sequencing. Songs bounce back and forth between moods and subgenres constantly, initially making the album feel more like a random assortment of songs than a cohesive album (perhaps fitting with the boldly simplistic title MUSIC). The outro section of “POP OUT” would have faded into the intro section of “EVIL J0RDAN,” but the songs do not occur next to each other (try queuing them together for yourself!). The flow of the album seems like an afterthought.
After listening almost exclusively to MUSIC for roughly a week, I’ve determined another possible source of the marked lack of cohesion. Carti’s solo tracks mesh very nicely together while still retaining unique identities, whereas the songs with features tightly conform to the styles of the artists featured. While it’s hard to pin Playboi Carti down to a particular sound, “TRIM,” RATHER LIE,” and “PHILLY” are absolutely nowhere in the dimension of Carti’s repertoire, but would not sound out of place whatsoever on a Future, The Weeknd, or Travis Scott album respectively. “WE NEED ALL DA VIBES” was reportedly a 5-year-old Young Thug leak that Carti tacked a very brief verse onto and released for himself, and it really does sound out of place in his discography. Fans of the artists featured on MUSIC will likely enjoy their respective songs. However, given how infrequent his releases are, it feels like a waste for his unique flair to be absent from so many tracks on his own album.
The featured verses themselves are also generally lackluster (excluding Skepta, The Weeknd, and Ty Dolla $ign, who did amazing). Travis Scott (3 features) and Lil Uzi Vert (2 features, one of which is an Uzi-only song sans-Carti) are mostly inoffensive and blend into the background. Future (2 features) gives uncharacteristically dreary and uninspired performances, and Kendrick Lamar (3 features) is an especially puzzling inclusion on MUSIC. Carti and Kendrick have basically opposite approaches to hip-hop, have very little overlapping fanbase, and have no prior history of collaborating or even interacting to my knowledge. Kendrick’s call-and-response ad-libs on “MOJO JOJO” make the song needlessly goofy (I had enjoyed the Kendrick-less version that leaked mid-2024), and his verses on “BACKD00R” and “GOOD CREDIT” are serviceable on their own but still do not integrate well with Carti’s signature sound. The heavy presence of Kendrick on MUSIC comes across as a label-driven decision to cross-sell two rappers at the peaks of their respective careers without regard for the actual quality of the product or the wants of their core fanbases.
The Carti-only tracks are the backbone of MUSIC. They tend to be more creative and well-thought-out than the collaborative ones, balancing a unifying vision with diversity and experimentation. Upon pressing the play button on the album, the listener is launched headfirst into the mechanical and distorted “POP OUT.” Carti’s raspy vocals alternate between antisocial and hypersexual content, accented with a heavy smattering of ad-libs and agonizing wails. It’s quite unlike anything I’ve heard in hip-hop thus far; it’s really interesting to hear a sound that was previously relegated to obscure corners of electronic music being showcased by one of the biggest artists today.
“OPM BABI” is also noteworthy. Its production turns the album’s characteristic attributes up to 11, with thick, fuzzy bass and an overdose of DJ tags, ad-libs, and—especially—unmixed stock gunshot sound effects. Carti also delivers my favorite vocal performance of the album on this track, switching between his various vocal registers on a dime while delivering hilarious and iconic lyrics. It’s a very weird song, but is unexpectedly addictive on repeat listens; the melodies underpinning it are actually quite solid. I predict that both “POP OUT” and “OPM BABI” will inspire countless derivatives much in the same way that Whole Lotta Red ignited the rage subgenre.
The rest of the solo tracks are also amazing. These include the metal-approximating “COCAINE NOSE,” the broodingly dark “K POP” (formerly released as “KETAMINE”) and “HBA” (formerly released as “H00DBYAIR”), the drugged-out “WALK” and “OVERLY,” the energetic “RADAR” and “CRANK,” and the melodic “I SEEEEEE YOU BABY BOI” and “LIKE WEEZY.” If the 17 solo songs were an album, it would probably be one of my favorite albums of all time.
Alas, there are 30 songs on MUSIC, and so it is not one of my favorite albums of all time. After such a long and excruciating wait, I understand the need to put out a sizable offering to satisfy fans. I understand that the overbearing features may have been the result of label politics or general clout chasing. However, I can’t help but wish that he had cut them out and focused on his own craft. There are so many unreleased songs from this era that he has either played at concerts or posted as snippets, many of which are absolutely adored by his fans; yet, they did not make it onto the album. He certainly could have released an album with 30 near-perfect tracks, and it’s a shame that he didn’t. Playboi Carti came so close to achieving the flawless new-generation hip-hop magnum opus that we’ve been waiting for; if anyone can do it, it’s him. Better luck next time, Jordan Carter, whenever that may be. 7.2/10.
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