There are few things more testing than being a Playboi Carti fan. Throughout his career, the rapper has shown flashes of being truly brilliant, but his inconsistency and failure to stick to release dates has been equally frustrating. His third album ‘Music’ is one such example: initially named ‘Narcissist’ and slated for release in September 2021, it arrives following four years of name changes, broken promises and misdirection.
True to form, the whole thing is exasperating. Firstly, the length: 76 minutes and 30 tracks is too long for any album. The amount of filler here is absurd — the irritating Munyun, the turgid I Seeeeee You Baby Boi, and the anticlimactic Crush all feel like they’ve been thrown together at the last minute, and they’re not alone.
The features are irritating, too. Lil Uzi Vert and Travis Scott’s negligible contributions amount to non-events, while DJ Swamp Izzo’s insistence on yelling his name every few seconds sink the whole middle portion of the album. Then there’s the murky Reddit-fuelled matter of AI, which Carti has apparently denied using on the record in a brief note shared by DJ Akademiks.
But the most frustrating thing of all is that beneath all of this bluster and misdirection there is a truly great album waiting to be uncovered. If Carti were to cut ‘Music’ down by even a third — still leaving 20 songs — his discography would have a new highlight.
Mojo Jojo, K Pop and Cocaine Nose are all brimming with arrogant energy, while the unhinged Pop Out, the restless Crank and the Metro Boomin-produced Radar are all full throttle walls of noise that sound ready made for his live show.
Carti’s arsenal of voices and tones is on full display too, with the new deep delivery he’s been teasing recently really adding a chameleonic and versatile string to his bow. Equally, the features that do work add another tier to proceedings, particularly Kendrick Lamar’s spot on Good Credit, and Skepta’s fire-starting verse on Toxic. Jhené Aiko sounds sublime on the Ye-produced Backd00r and Future’s turn on Trim feels like the coming together of rap’s modern day Gods.
But it’s not enough. The sprawling ‘Music’ is more often unfocused, lazy and bloated, becoming the most eye-rolling chapter yet in the already infuriating life and times of Playboi Carti. Whether or not he’ll change his ways remains to be seen, but if this is how he treats what is supposed to be his magnum opus, then hope is hanging by a thread.
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