I’ll admit it. I can be slow when it comes to listening to a new artist. Not that I don’t like the music I hear today. I’m not one of those, “back in my time” type of guys. I’m old enough in Hip-Hop years to understand that there’s never been a consensus amongst rap delegates about what is considered good and what is considered bad. It’s totally up to opinion.
What I don’t like are some of the names I’m hearing. I am a name elitist when it comes to music.
So when I was introduced to Playboi Carti, I initially was like, “nah.” His name threw me off. So I tossed him into a bin that included the likes of Wiz Khalifa,Joey Badass and Kendrick Lamar as, “artist I refuse to listen to, because I don’t like their name.” He’s also joined Wiz, Joey and Kendrick as artist who made me feel bad for ignoring their music due to their name.
Carti released a self-titled LP recently and I took the time to listen to it. I’m glad I did. Carti has a flair about him as an artist that just works.
15-tracks long, the album boasts production from Pierre Bourne, Harry Fraud, Southside and Roark Bailey. The features on the album are limited to frequent collaborator Lil Uzi Vert, A$AP Rocky and Leven Kali. The limited amount of features allows for Playboi Carti’s personality to stand-out.
That personality shines on tracks like “Magnolia” and “Lookin”. The runaway hit off the album has been “*wokeuplikethis” featuring Lil Uzi Vert. This certainly will be the anthem for anyone who believes they have a hater or copycat lurking in the shadows.
https://youtu.be/cwqtK2wSjpY
“New Choppa” with A$AP Rocky, the dark “No .9” and “Flex” all have potential to leap off the album and find its way onto someone’s playlist.
Like most albums that feature just the artist, the sound can become redundant after a while. And while I’ll admit, when it comes to pure lyrics, he’s no Nas. But the tracks that do stand-out make the album worth listening to and his way with words will keep people hooked.
Overall, Playboi Carti is a solid project. While there are missteps here and there, he has enough really good material to help offset the flaws.
Stream Playboi Carti’s new album here