After an over two year buildup, Playboi Carti finally drops his highly anticipated Whole Lotta Red. Despite a MASSIVE amount of hate, the project debuted at Billboard #1 and sold 100,000 units in its first week. This blog is a completely positive environment, so you already know this is going to be a positive review. I really liked the album, but unfortunately it seems I’m in the minority with this opinion.
Personally, I’ve never seen a body of musical work receive so much criticism. It was so bad that on the night of his release, “Trash” was trending on Twitter. SOCIAL MEDIA IS DANGEROUS. Leading up to the release, I made a conscious effort to lower my expectations because of the hype it was getting. I didn’t want to be disappointed. Then seeing the all out frenzy social media was in, I assumed the worst before I listened. The overwhelmingly negative reaction had me legit scared. BUT, I went to my car, approached with an open mind, turned the volume all the way up, and listened for myself. If gun to my head, off the dome, I had to describe the album I’d say, “Rage”.
I really enjoyed the album. I enjoyed it so much so that it made me list reasons why someone potentially wouldn’t like it. Here’s what I came up with.
1. You Were Negatively Influenced By Social Media
I know for an absolute fact that there were people who didn’t even give it a chance. They saw the memes or the comments, and that formed their opinion from the jump. It’s okay. You’re a victim. Social media has the capability to manipulate how we think, and trends on social media spread like wildfires. If you think you may have suffered from this, go back and listen to it again; and this time when you listen, make sure you have the volume all the way up, and you’re in the headspace to rage.
2. You Don’t Like His New Style
This may be the most valid reason for disapproval. It is of the utmost importance to mention that Carti created a new genre of music in this album. Maybe I’m just unaware, but I have never heard rap music executed like this, for now let’s call it ‘Cartinese’. Carti took all of his unique traits that got him to where his in the first place and combined it with a Punk Rock sound. Trap music and Punk Rock is a daaangerously lit combination, and whenever concerts start again I’m truly worried for the collective health of any moshpit participants, including myself. That being said, if you’re not a fan of this new genre, I understand. However, you still have to answer to this next point.
3. You Didn’t Listen To The Entire Project
The album is split into two styles. The first 13 songs employ the new ‘Cartinese’ sound, but the last 11 were a pretty similar to his Die Lit sound. So what’s your excuse now?
But Yeah…
Whether you’re a fan of his music or not, Carti’s uniqueness is undeniable. He’s completely in his own lane musically and has pioneered many different sounds. Carti’s new sound also comes with a new style. He’s fully taken on the persona of a rockstar, and apparently a vampire. Carti only did one music video and 0 interviews, but he has played a couple of his songs live where you can observe his new flow. It seems he waited such a long time to drop so that he could build this narrative. At this point in Carti’s career seeing him or hearing about him is a rare sighting, but that just makes it newsworthy, because he’s a rockstar. As he said in “M3tamorphosis”, “I done changed my swag, metamorphosis”.
The response to this album was a massive overreaction and if you didn’t listen because of the reviews you heard, give it a chance. As a society it is very important for us to normalize this album being good; that is the only way we can ensure the litness of concerts. So the moral of this blog is, don’t let social media make decisions for you. For me, this album is great for working out because it gets my blood boiling. Just remember, the only way to truly get the effect is if you listen with the volume all the way up and you’re ready to rock out. You’re a real one if you’ve read this far, and enjoy this brief slideshow of my favorite Carti tweets leading up to the album.
Favorite Songs
- Rockstar Made
- M3tamorphosis
- Vamp Anthem
- On That Time
- Sky