Rapper Jordan Terrell Carter, professionally known as Playboi Carti, released his highly anticipated album “MUSIC,” on Mar. 14 along with the extended version “MUSIC – SORRY 4 DA WAIT” after being in the works for five years.
Carti began his career in 2011, when he was still going by the name “Sir Cartier” and uploading music on “SoundCloud.” In 2013, he rebranded as “Playboi Carti” and began expanding his reach, now having three studio albums under his belt, along with other songs and music where he is featured.
In 2019, Carti founded the American rap collective and record label, “Opium.” “Opium” is based in Atlanta, Georgia and currently holds other rappers such as Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely and the Homixide Gang along with a variety of producers, all of which have a similar music style. Carti, now, has 59.9 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone.
The drop of “MUSIC” has been teased since early 2024, and Carti’s fans have been at the edge of their seats since the first teaser. The album consists of 30 tracks and is collectively 77 minutes long.
The deluxe version “MUSIC – SORRY 4 DA WAIT” was released on Mar. 25, including four new songs and having the whole album total to 89 minutes. All the songs released were greatly hyped even before release due to leaked snippets. Carti is still releasing new music videos for the album.
What makes this album so special was the lead up to it, and how patient and excited his fans have been. As snippets were released and songs were leaked, fans speculated how bad or revolutionary the album could potentially be.
“I was so excited for the drop, honestly, because of all the anticipation,” sophomore Fil Fiore says. “Right when I woke up and saw the new release on Spotify, Friday morning, I put my airpods in almost immediately.”
Throughout the tracks Carti displays a wide range of vocals that capture the attention of listeners. His voice pairs evenly with his style of mumble rap which is what makes his songs so catchy. The mumble rap makes it easy to focus on the atmosphere of the backtrack and its sound. His songs are less recognized for their lyricism and more about the vibe.
Another reason fans were excited for the release were some of the featured artists on a few of the tracks. Out of the 30 tracks on “MUSIC” 12 songs are credited with features. Artists included on the album are Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, Jhené Aiko, Skepta, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Young Thug and Ty Dolla $ign.
The album is already making an insane impact, dominating various streaming charts.
One of the most popular tracks from the album right now is “EVIL J0RDAN.” It has already accumulated 73,232,388 streams on Spotify. “EVIL J0RDAN” was one of Carti’s songs where snippets of it were leaked pre-release. Another popular song is “RATHER LIE” featuring The Weeknd.
One of my favorite songs on “MUSIC” is “OLYMPIAN.” This song tested Carti’s usual boundaries of an excessive and over the top back track, and toned it down to focus on his vocals and accentuate his style of rap while still being as catchy as the classics.
One song that received a good amount of backlash was the opener to the album “POP OUT.” A lot of listeners that heard “POP OUT” as the first song on the album were quick to create the opinion that “MUSIC” as a whole may not be Carti’s best work. The rage rap paired with an overstimulating back track was not music to many ears.
Overall, the hype surrounding this drop lives up to expectations. This release already has fans joking about the next drop, optimistic for the future.