Playboi Carti, Whole Lotta Red | Album Review 💿

Playboi Carti has intriguing moments on his sophomore LP, Whole Lotta Red, but needs to expand his arsenal where substance is concerned. 

After more than a two-year hiatus, rapper 🎙 Playboi Carti is back! The Atlanta rapper released a single in 2020, 🎵 “@MEH” which not only signaled his return, but also the potential sound of a new album.  Now with 💿 Whole Lotta Red arriving on Christmas Day 2020 – ringing in 2021, essentially – we get the total picture.  So, how does this 24-track, hour-plus-long sophomore album stack up for Carti? Ultimately, it’s a mixed bag.  There are some ‘lit’ moments and then there are some that aren’t so lit.

“Rockstar Made” 

Playboi Carti kicks off Whole Lotta Red with a bang with the wild 🎵 “Rockstar Made.”  The rapper’s energy is unquestionable.  The same could be said about his sexual appetite: “She suckin’ my dick (What?), she eat it for lunch (What? Uh) / I hit it from the back (What?), yeah, I’m beatin’ it up…”. It goes with the territory – “rockstar made!”  Things get weirder on ✅ 🎵 “Go2DaMoon” featuring 🎙 Kanye West.  The production (🎛 Outtatown and 🎛 Wheezy) definitely contributes to the quirkiness and experimental nature of the listening experience.  West delivers the unique first verse, before Carti appears for the first time on a bridge preceding the brief chorus (“Go, go to the moon”).  Carti then drops a brief verse, with little substance, in only the way he can.  Wild, “Go2DaMoon” marks one of the bright spots of Whole Lotta Red.

“I take my shirt off and all the hoes stop breathin’.” For as oddly as the album commences, listeners get a confident, enjoyable chorus out of ✅ 🎵 “Stop Breathing.” Beyond the chorus, Playboi Carti continues to be choked-full of energy on the verse – intense to the nth degree. Furthermore, we get banging production, with the hard-nosed beat leading the charge. On 🎵 “Beno!” the chorus and the sole verse are about the same length – how often does that happen.  Safe to say, the chorus isn’t, um, the catchiest you’ll ever hear.  Still, the opening line, “Spent a hundred K on my son, I bought my sister a Jeep” shines. “Beno!” features more repetition, a staple of Carti’s style, as well as drip.  

“JumpOutTheHouse”

With “Beno!” running just two-and-a-half minutes, 🎵 “JumpOutTheHouse” is even shorter – one-and-half-minutes.  Repetition is key, on both the chorus (“Jump out the house” and later, “Jump out that bitch”), and on the verse (“Racks…,” “Bags…,” and “Fit…”).  Playboi Carti remains aggressive AF, but ultimately, says little over this banging backdrop by 🎛 Richie Souf.  He steps up his game on ✅ 🎵 “M3atamorphosis,” which ranks among the crème de la crème of Whole Lotta Red.  On the chorus, he melodically asserts, confidently, “When you feel like this / Can’t nobody tell you shit.” Indeed Playboi, indeed.  On his verse, he offers some variation, but also continues to repeat lines over and over. While we hear the glorious hums of 🎙 Kid Cudi throughout, he gets his own verse, which totally contrasts the lead artist.  He also drops the outro. 🎛 F1lthy and 🎛 Gab3 outdo themselves from a production perspective.

On 🎵 “Slay3r,” Playboi Carti asserts, “I’m a rockstar, I could’ve joined Slayer.” Perhaps, but who knows what the late 🎙 Jeff Hanneman would’ve felt about a “Whole lotta mob shit.” Just saying!  But true to his rockstar status, Carti indeed “Got these bitches goin’ crazy,” as well as having “Plaques on the wall.”  Truly he does have plaques – check out his RIAA Certifications!   On 🎵 “No Sl33p,” he informs us, “When I go to sleep, I dream ‘bout murder.” Not good! He goes on to tell us he stays strapped: “I can’t go nowhere without my Drac’.” Fair enough.  The best part of the brief joint is the production by 🎛 KP Beatz and 🎛 Jonah Abraham.

“New Tank” 

✅ 🎵 “New Tank” keeps things short and sweet as well.  Playboi Carti moves beyond his lack of sleep and being strapped up, but his aggressiveness doesn’t cease – he still snaps on the beat.  He covers a variety of topics including robbing the bank, bitches and thots (“They thought I was gay”), and of course drip. 🎙 Future joins him for follow-up 🎵 “Teen X,” another sleekly produced track with aa beat that hits your right in the chest.  The substances of choice on “Teen X” – ecstasy and codeine.  Future says it best on the second verse: “I popped the X pill, drank gon’ ruin me.” Probably…

🎛 Star Boy, 🎛 Outtatown, and 🎛 Art Dealer stitch up an electrifying, bass-heavy backdrop on the brief but thrilling ✅ 🎵 “Meh” which is comprised of one verse.  It’s as unapologetic as anything else, with Carti making assertions such as “Fuck a opp,” “I got a bitch I fuck on for free,” “Rockstar shit but I’m not Machine Gun,” and “Johnny Cage, bet it up under covers.”  He follows up with 🎵 “Vamp Anthem,” which fittingly features a backdrop including a pipe organ patch – Count Dracula you know! It’s another instance where there’s one verse followed by a repetitive chorus.  Guess what he shouts on the chorus? “Vamp anthem,” of course! Also, worth noting, Carti wants to make sure we know he’s not gay once more: “I swear to God, I just play with the pussy, I don’t play with boys.”

“New N3on” 

✅ 🎵 “New N3on” gives Playboi Carti another opportunity to flex.  The production certainly continues to impress, sounding fittingly luxurious.  Carti, of course, isn’t hurting for money, material, or hoes.  “Whole lotta bags, whole lotta cash,” he raps melodically on the chorus, continuing, “Whole lotta hoes, whole lotta ass.” On 🎵 “Control,” things kick off with an intro by 🎙 DJ Akademiks where he announces the release of Whole Lotta Red.  From there, Carti gets right into things, over pulsating synths and more trunk-rattling drums.  The sound is a bit brighter overall, particularly as Carti reflects on love and at one point, matrimony (“Maybe one day I’d get on my knees and get you a diamond ring”).  Like so much of the album, it’s left of center yet simultaneously intriguing.

On 🎵 “Punk Monk,” Carti informs us, “I had every chance to sign all the young niggas.” Specific examples of those rappers: Trippie Redd, Lil Keed, and Pi’erre, where “the label tricked me.” Fair enough – “Know your gang.” Moving on, on the brief, malicious sounding 🎵 “On That Time,” we get more Draco action (“That motherfucker got a kickback on it”) and celebrate the rapper’s birthday(s) (“Every day my birthday, so she suck my dick”).  Again, nothing profound or truly notable goes down.

“King Vamp”

“When the sun goes down, it’s time to creep.” “K-I-N-G V-A-M-P,” baby! Apparently, one vamp-related song wasn’t enough with “Vamp Anthem.” Carti follows up with 🎵 “King Vamp,” which actually ends up being a full-length track.  Even so, the song structure continues to be unconventional, built on a sole verse (with ample repetition), and chorus and post-chorus sections.  Regardless, the rapper maintains aggressiveness and expressiveness. On 🎵 “Place,” one of the interesting quirks is the fact that there’s an intentional silence that makes you think there was a recording error.  If nothing else, it gets your attention.  Beyond the silence, the brief track isn’t particularly out of the ordinary.

Can you guess what 🎵 “Sky” is about? If your answer was ‘getting high,’ well you’d be correct.  No worries, there’s also lean involved, sex… you get the picture.  Nothing profound or transcendent goes down, but Carti lays well over more lit production work by 🎛 Art Dealer.  Art Dealer stays behind the boards on 🎵 “Over.”  Essentially, the record sounds like one long loop with little lyrical or thematic contrast.  This becomes a problem as Whole Lotta Red runs longer.  As far as I’m concerned, it’s one of those tracks that likely gets skipped when replaying the album.

“ILoveUIHateU” 

Ah, we hit the homestretch of Whole Lotta Red! On the 21^st track, 🎵 “ILoveUIHateU,” we get more of the same from Carti.  That encompasses drugs, sex, and truly embracing being “rockstar made” you might say.  The same can be said for the most part on 🎵 “Die4Guy,” where he asserts, “I’m a rock star, so I never can relax / We some rock stars, we the new Black Flag.” Notable, however is how Carti does recall wanting to be like his brother, who was hustling and “a damn thug.” 

On the penultimate track, 🎵 “NotPLaying,” Carti shines over a bright, busy backdrop by – you guessed it – Art Dealer once more.  Maintaining his love of one verse, he maintains his cocky, confident, and melodic approach.  After all, he’s “not playin’ no more.” He caps things off on ✅  🎵 “F33l Lik3 Dyin,” a more complete track than most.  Notably, “F33l Lik3 Dyin” samples 🎙 Bon Iver (🎵 “iMi”), which naturally gives the record a more unique sound. The sound is bright, embracing a major key as opposed to minor.  Despite the morbid title, Carti reflects on both life and perhaps most notably, love.

Final Thoughts 💭

So, how does Whole Lotta Red stack up? Playboi Carti definitely delivers an ‘adventurous’ album.  Overall, this project is a mixed bag. There are some truly intriguing moments, some of which are more left of center.  “Go2DaMoon” comes to mind, ranking among the best – the gems of this LP.  At other times, even Carti’s eccentricity and idiosyncrasies can’t save Whole Lotta Red from becoming less satisfying, with its hour-plus runtime and 24 tracks.  Often, the subject matter, which more often than not lacks substance and transcendence, bogs things down as Carti can only repeat lines about drugs and receiving pleasure from hoes so many times – just saying.  We’re glad he’s back, but he needs to expand his arsenal going forward.

✅ Gems 💎: “Go2DaMoon,” “Stop Breathing,” “M3atamorphosis,” “New Tank,” “MEH,” “New N3on” & “F33l Lik3 Dyin”

🎙 Playboi Carti • 💿 Whole Lotta Red • 🏷 AWGE / Interscope • 🗓 12.25.20

[📷: AWGE / Interscope]