MUSIC by Playboi Carti | Album Review
After 4 long years, Playboi Carti returns with his latest album
Listen to MUSIC: Apple Music | Spotify
The impossible finally happened. Somebody or something finally convinced Playboi Carti to release his long-awaited album MUSIC. Since promoting the album as early as December 2023, Carti dropped several singles via YouTube and Instagram with no clear indication as to when the full album would release. After several (and I mean SEVERAL) false starts in the last year and a half, the album is here.
Over 30 tracks, MUSIC sees Carti swap the vampiric/punk sounds of Whole Lotta Red in favour of southern Atlanta trap music. While MUSIC boasts some favourable tracks with intriguing enough production and guest features, the whole album drags on way too long with questionable song choices and a laziness that never justified the 4+ year long wait.
Production-wise there’s a heavier emphasis on glitchier synths and trap drums on MUSIC. Producers ranging from F1lthy, Metro Boomin and Cardo craft some eerie beats for Carti and co to work with. The whole thing has a DatPiff/2010s Atlanta mixtape nuance to it, evident by the “SWAMP IZZO” tags scattered throughout the album, which further emphasizes this ATL-centric vibe Carti has going for MUSIC.
Songs like “HBA” rely on heavy basslines and string samples to envelop listeners into these new sonics. Other noteworthy examples include “K POP” and “WAKE UP F1LTHY”. The latter of which has these insane “video gamey” synths that work well with the song’s slower pace. Unfortunately, the rest of the album does very little to deviate from this Atlanta trap style, and about halfway through the album everything melds together and sounds the same. Be ready to hear the same hi hats and drums, as it gets to a point where MUSIC becomes so mind-numbingly dull.
If not dull, then more often than not MUSIC makes questionable choices in its production that had me scratching my head. Never was that more apparent in “OPM BABI” which felt like auditory brain rot, or the abysmal mixing on the opener “POP OUT” which sounds way worse than when Carti previewed the song back in 2023.
As a performer, Carti plays around with his voice a lot on MUSIC. He re-introduces us to his lower pitched vocals at various points (“EVIL J0RDAN”) and even does his best Future impression on some tracks as well (“JUMPIN”). We do get some moments where Carti taps back to his well-known baby voice, but they're spread far and few between.
The guest features on MUSIC were a major highlight and thankfully, broke up a lot of the monotony felt in the album. ATL legends Young Thug and Future make an appearance, with the latter adding some much needed energy on songs like “TRIM”. Skepta comes through on the vicious “TOXIC”, meanwhile The Weeknd brings his sultry singing to “RATHER LIE”, elevating the song even further.
The biggest contributors come from Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar. Both rappers make multiple appearances on MUSIC. Despite being two big name features, I’ll be honest and say their inclusions were okay at best, and unnecessary at worst. It’s mainly Travis who doesn’t do a whole lot with his time on tracks like “CRUSH”. Kendrick on the other hand manages to hold his own but again, his appearance is nothing ground breaking like his surprise appearance on last year’s We Don’t Trust You. I will say though you can tell Kendrick was simply having fun, whether it's from his hilarious ad libs on “MOJO JOJO” or his verse on “GOOD CREDIT”.
Even Lil Uzi Vert, the one artist fans have begged for Carti to collaborate with again, puts up a mediocre performance on MUSIC. Their verses on “JUMPIN” and “TWIN TRIM” were incredibly phoned in and uninteresting that I completely forgot about their appearance until I started writing this review.
Like almost every Playboi Carti album, lyrics take a back seat in favour of flows and vibing with the beats on MUSIC, and like most Carti albums, MUSIC ends up suffering for this. The big thing here is substance that the album is missing. If you take away the hypnotic beats, vocal performances and features, there’s very little left worth talking about. Especially when you take in the album’s bloated tracklist, it’s hard to find the very few needles in this haystack of an album.
Playboi Carti’s MUSIC does have its highs, but there are way, way too many lows on the album. The general consensus on this new album is giving me flashbacks to when Carti dropped Whole Lotta Red. It took months for fans to appreciate the album, and eventually it became the stuff of legends. Am I saying MUSIC will also go through that same process? Potentially, but based on what we’ve been given this time around, I feel like it’s not going to be as easy.
Overall, MUSIC is another Playboi Carti album, plain and simple. In the 4+ years he kept fans waiting, Carti gifted listeners with an album that was not worth the wait whatsoever. When the songs hit, they hit hard, but these moments are interspersed between too many repetitive tracks. Even if the few guest features aid in making the album listenable, MUSIC suffers from a laziness from Carti that’s been apparent in his works in the past (There’s also the speculation of A.I. usage which could severely impact this album more.).
For my final rating, I’m giving MUSIC a 4/10. As we head into the summer months when Carti will be touring with The Weeknd, I may come around to this album again. My perspective could change once hearing some of these tracks live, or re-listening to the album over the next little while, but I doubt it.
Final Rating: 4/10
Favourite Tracks: K POP, EVIL J0RDAN, TOXIC, GOOD CREDIT, HBA
