Playboi Carti’s MUSIC: A Chaotic Return That Fails to Evolve
By Nhật Huy 11.2
Five years after the genre-defining chaos of Whole Lotta Red, Playboi Carti finally returns with MUSIC – a 30-track behemoth that promises to push the boundaries of rap once again. But does it deliver on this ambitious vision, or does it collapse under the weight of its own expectations?
MUSIC is a synthesis of Carti’s evolution throughout his career: from the melodic trap cuts of Die Lit to the rebellious, hard-hitting 808s on Whole Lotta Red. These components are promptly combined into a 30-track amalgamation of both half-finished and overthought songs – with EDM beats on one track and synth-heavy pop on the next.
The album has had a rough start: the first 6 tracks failed to deliver on the Atlanta rapper’s promise of “a sound out of this Earth”, through his excessive reliance on the now oversaturated 808s beats. Carti’s best impression of fellow rapper Future’s voices alongside the star-studded feature list consisting of Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar did little to break the monotony of an already sluggish start.
The song “RATHER LIE” serves as an attempt at the tried and true method of a synth-heavy banger featuring The Weeknd; yet it unfortunately treads overly familiar ground, echoing the structure and sound of “Popular” and “Timeless” – especially with the same linear pop song structure and the incessant use of autotune.
Carti’s creativity does shine through on certain songs. The simple yet intoxicating “TWIN TRIM” is one of them, where Carti delivers a sleek verse on a catchy beat alongside his long-time collaborator and friend Lil Uzi Vert, with the two’s chemistry on point throughout. “LIKE WEEZY” also offers an odd combination of nasal vocals and a spiraling beat – together forming a weird track yes, but interesting song nonetheless.
Even with a stacked feature list, the rest of the songs on the album remained boringly simple in terms of production and songwriting. The few special exceptions came in the rather forward-thinking and futuristic production of “I SEEEEE YOU BABY BOI” and the abhorrent mixture of soundbites, bordering on comical on “OPM BABI”.
In the end, MUSIC is a paradox – ambitious yet uninspired, expansive yet empty. While Carti remains a singular presence in rap, this project feels more like a regression than a revolution. As the rap landscape continues to evolve, the question remains: Will Carti reclaim his place at the forefront, or has the genre already moved on without him?
