After five long years of waiting, musician Playboi Carti released his new album “MUSIC” March 14. While I don’t consider myself a fan beyond enjoying a few songs here and there, I have been watching Playboi Carti’s rollout for “MUSIC” for the better part of these five years. Why? Because Carti has shown, in my opinion, that he has absolutely no clue how to deliver an album to the world.
After his 2020 release of “Whole Lotta Red,” Playboi Carti spent months teasing the deluxe version of his album, just to never release it. By the end of 2021, the deluxe became a new album called “Narcissist.” However, that album didn’t release either, even after constant teases. By 2023, the album’s name had been to “MUSIC,” though the longer title “I AM MUSIC” appears on the album cover. The album was teased again with a release promised for 2024, and was finally released in full this year.
The question remains: Was it worth the wait? The short answer is no, but I’ll give you the longer answer. Five years is a long time between albums, and if someone takes that long to release something, they should come back with a reinvention of sorts. Playboi Carti did not come back with anything new. In fact, this album stacks up to be the same level of quality as all his other releases. I want to hammer this point in because, regardless of the argument that tells listeners, “This is just Carti, you just don’t like it,” it needs to be said. Five long years full of lies do not justify a product that’s just “acceptable.”
Most of the songs that stand out on the album are because of guest features, like “RATHER LIE,” which features angelic vocals from The Weeknd and follows a dreamy trap beat. Another standout song, “MOJO JOJO,” showcases Kendrick Lamar in a form I haven’t seen since his features on Baby Keem’s “range brothers” and “family ties.” Lamar also returns on the track “BACKD00R,” which feels like Carti’s version of “luther” off Lamar’s album “GNX.” Another positive of the album is the track “POP OUT,” which was a good way to start the album as it sets the tone for the rest of the tracks, for better or for worse.
“MUSIC” is a strange album release. On one end, it seems too monumental to not review based on the years of lore leading up to its release. On the other hand, it’s just a Playboi Carti album. For the five years of work leading up to its release, it sounds like the majority of the album was made in six months. Either way, “MUSIC” is a good example of how a rollout can make or break an artist’s image within the industry. For Carti, releasing something so familiar after building it up for so long makes me believe the album will hurt his image for quite some time moving forward.
