The unsatisfying masterpiece

After a two year long wait, the cartinese community finally got what they wrote down on their Christmas list. On the 25th of December, Mister Carti came down our chimneys and delivered a 24 track and hour long record that goes by the name of “Whole Lotta Red”.

A unique adventurous sound

The project kicks right off with a raw/punk feel, featuring thumping basses, screeching guitars, hypnotic and repetitive choruses, unpredictable geeked out flows and voice tones, and animalistic/vampire adlibs. Tracks like Rockstar Made, Stop Breathing, JumpOutTheHouse, New tank and On that time are embodiments of this unique trap punk energy that no one has ever mastered before.

The energy

For the first time I can admit that this young trapper IS a rockstar. We’ve seen Scarlxrd trying to make himself seem hardcore by constantly using screamo vocals, we’ve seen Lil Peep apply emo to his music by utilizing basic, easy-going guitar beats and we’ve witnessed a bunch of other new generation trap artists trying to label themselves as rockstars by simply showcasing blatant, obvious rock esthetics. In my opinion it is not credible or completely unauthentic most of the time. But in Playboi’s case, it’s innovative and interesting to understand. He isn’t simply taking a simple element from punk rock and then integrating into his trap music. His rockstar-like presence exists throughout his entire energy. It’s like as if his energy consists in taking all traditional hip hop norms and them turning them into the exact polar opposite, in a extreme manner. We are really witnessing a rebellious genre of rap, just like the late 70’s punk era. I haven’t felt an energy this “out there” since a 2016 Danny Brown on Atrocity Exhibition. I would like to add that Carti’s beautiful androgynous photos and his mystical presence on social media complements this energy. Image and fashion is another dimension in Carti’s body of work that helps understanding his musical intentions and influences.

The King Vamp

In the style of Yeezus, the listener follows a protagonist who is a completely unlikeable anti-hero. He is on an excessive amount of drugs, he is misogynistic, he always keeps a gun on him everywhere he goes and he doesn’t like people. But at the same time, you learn to enter his trip as he brings this mystical “twilight zonesque” vibe to this character. He has wings on his feet, he flies at night, he takes his sexual partners to the moon, he has immense cars but he doesn’t even drive them: he is a lonely, multi millionaire, guetto, vampire who has everything he wants, but he is completely miserable and anxious. It was also nice to see this character help Carti to open himself up on certain songs, most notably on Stop Breathing & Die4Guy, mentioning his deceased brother and on Control giving us some insight on his feelings for Iggy Azalea (which was actually very shocking on first listen).

The disappointment:

Now this new Carti sound has had a hard time existing in the rap community. This project received mixed reviews from critics but faced most of all a huge amount of negative comments as it came out. A lot of his fans claimed that the album was not worth the wait and that it was an absolute deception. A lot of fans were expecting an atmospheric, light, stoned, spaced out Carti. Which is understandable considering this is exactly what we heard on YouTube with his unofficial leaked songs which appeared on our feeds after his last projet. Now, I was disappointed too, but for the exact opposite reasons. Instantly intrigued with this new unique punk sound that we had never heard before in his leaks, it was so exciting for me to hear this sound that was unfortunately misunderstood. My disappointment arrived towards the lower end of the project, with tracks like Sky, ILoveUIHateU, Place, New N3on, I’m not Playing etc... that kill the project off. Ok, they were nice on the first and second listen, but it quickly became easy to conquer and get over. I’d compare these songs to sleeping with a pretty person who isn’t very interesting and getting sick of seeing them after two or three times. Yes, I know... taking a breath of fresh air is absolutely NECESSARY in this project.
His hyperpop type songs like Beno, Slayer and Control did a terrific job playing that role, while keeping a new adventurous sound. Unfortunately the peaceful cuts were dominated by boring and uninspired 2018 Playboi Carti songs, probably aimed at a larger public.

The record could of been the ultimate trap album, in my opinion. If Jordan Carter cut the track list down to 15 songs and kept a cohesive sound throughout the entirety of the record it would’ve been perfect. If he took the time to develop his horrific world by offering more vampire themed lyrics, MF DOOM/Madlib samples from horror movies between tracks and Suspiria type clips, it would’ve been an absolute trap masterpiece. This is a big 8/10 for me. It’s the only trap project I have been extremely invested in as a music nerd, despite loving the genre for years.