Playboi Carti has just released his highly anticipated 3rd album, MUSIC. Having pioneered the vamp and opium sound that has garnered immense popularity, Carti has a unique influence and a diehard fanbase. Additionally, 5 years of waiting led MUSIC to become one of the most anticipated albums in all of modern hip-hop. This initial hype and the fact that the album is a whopping 30 tracks, propelled first day streaming numbers to an impressive 139 million on Spotify, putting Carti at the 7th highest debut of all time. Such an accomplishment was aided by a host of features – Travis Scott, Future, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar and more.
However, as the dust has settled there are mixed opinions on this album. Personally, I thought it sounded rather rushed and unfinished. Some speculate that Carti was suddenly forced to drop or else his label would have had to refund millions worth of album pre-orders. The mixing on some tracks is so horrendous that music critic Antony Fantano questioned if ‘it was produced on a mouldy potato’. The album also has no real structure, or even an overarching concept. 30 songs make the final product too bloated, and I lost interest towards the end, only really enjoying about 1/3 of the album. Carti’s lack of creativity is highlighted best by his use of AI vocals on certain tracks, which is a lazy, unwanted addition to an already polarising album.
Yet of course, there are some welcome highlights. Mainly, while a little formulaic, most of the feature tracks are still really enjoyable, and aside from that, songs like POP OUT, EVIL J0RDAN and COCAINE NOSE are all unique additions to Carti’s solo discography. Overall, despite flashes of promise, MUSIC is disappointingly average and certainly did not warrant 5 years of mysterious hype.
6/10
