Playboi Carti - Playboi Carti

Playboi Carti
Payboi Carti
2017
Spotify

It certianly is a new era for hip hop when lyrics become almost the last focus on a record but that's where we land especially with Playboi Carti. Repetition, Repetition and more Repetition is the name of the game on this debut full length record. Take the first track "Location", it has a hip hop trap beat, it has some of the ad-libs we've come to love from the genre and but on fucking steroids. Where Migos or some other trap artists use the trap ad-libs sparingly Playboi Carti makes it the focus of his music. It creates this earworm quality that is absolutely unshakable. By the time the song is over you almost know every lyric and every ad-lib so you can't help but sing along. The beats are different enough, catchy enough and short enough to just work really well. However for any old school hip hop fans this music is such a departure the sound would be almost unrecognizable. This is a lean soaked, weed smoked heavy trap music that is super specific almost to excess. Early on Lil Uzi Vert really helps things with two back to back tracks and some killer features. Lil Uzi Vert shows how trap can crossover but Playboi Carti is happy to keep it right where it is. When Carti actually raps it becomes some kind of blend with the beat, causing his words to vanish a bit but for his voice to shine through. It is almost like singing lyrics that you have no idea what they mean, but love them nonetheless because of the song they are attached to. "Half & Half" reaches new heights in repetition and almost indistinguishable lyrics but just flat out refuses to ever get into gear. It drags you to almost full stop only to spill into "New Choppa" with one of A$AP Rocky's best verses since...like forever.

By about the 100th time Carti says "other shit" on the track "Other Shit" it just becomes to much. A guy with this much vocal talent, because He clearly is on a Young Thug level of vocal control, feels like He needs to be pointed in the right direction because when He has free reign He tends to meander. The songs are fun, almost a chance to sit back and mindlessly enjoy, but if you try to dig a little deeper and discover what is really going on you are going to find an empty well. When Carti raps you feel like you are party of the party, his listeners are always included because He lets them in and allows them to participate throughout. Carti isn't trying to make a statement or change the world with this album He's looking to have a good fucking time; and you know what sometimes that is perfectly fine.

7.2 out of 10