Playboi Carti Review

Playboi Carti's debut tape was a long time coming. Carti burst onto the scene in 2014 after 'Broke Boi' blew up. He would continue to dominate Soundcloud with more hits like 'Don't Tell Nobody,' 'Run It,' 'Left Right,' and 'Fetti.' It seemed like the tape was right around the corner, but it never came. Instead, we watched numerous other artists drop tapes and blow up of a sound Carti started. It took some time, but three years later, Playboi Carti finally released his debut tape, and it was well worth the wait.

" Yo Pi'erre, you wanna come out here" is the first thing we hear before the beat drops on Carti's biggest single to date, 'Magnolia.' 'Magnolia' was the song he used to preview his album release announcement and it had everybody going crazy. The Pi'erre Bourne produced track is as simple as they come, "In New York, I milly rock/ Hide it in my sock" but it's the track that defines Carti's sound perfectly. Simple where the ad-libs carry most of the weight, but catchy and easy to vibe to.

The next two songs feature close friend and an affiliate of Carti and superstar in his own right, Lil Uzi Vert. 'Lookin' and 'Wokeuplikethis*' dropped on the same day, but it was 'Wokeuplikethis*' that became the radio banger. 'Wokeuplikethis' is about the generation of rappers that Carti himself birthed, " Woke up to niggas talking like me talk/ Woke up to niggas sounding like me talk." Lil Uzi would once again prove his and Carti's excellent chemistry with a masterful guest verse.

Other standout tracks are 'Let It Go,' 'New Choppa,' 'Dothatshit!,' 'No.9,' 'Kelly K,' 'Yah Mean' and 'Flex.'

On 'New Choppa' Carti gives a solid verse of his own followed up with a fire verse from the head of A$AP Mob, A$AP Rocky. He catches his groove in the middle of the verse, "Keep a chopper chop you if you try me bitch, Let's see who next on my homi' list/ Carti like, "Rocky you bodied this." Great verse from Rocky, only building the anticipation for his next album.

'Dothatshit!' is my favorite song on the album. Carti is tired of all the talking and wants to see results. He provides another catchy chorus over another excellent Pi'erre Bourne beat, which might be the best beat on the entire album. He makes sure everyone knows Carti do this shit.

'Flex' is another lowkey banger on this album. On this track, Carti raps about his flexing ways, something he obviously enjoys. " I got a bag, ice on my wrist, mama like where you get this/ I got her sad, gave her brick, and then I gave her a little kiss," Carti states on the first verse. The song features Leven Kali who sings on the beginning second verse, where he fit perfectly. Amazing feature.

'Playboi Carti' was the perfect debut for Playboi Carti. He had the perfect producer, Pi'erre Bourne, for this project, one who thoroughly understood his soundscape and it's proven in the cohesiveness of the project. Carti did everything he was supposed to do. He transcended Soundcloud and started making radio bangers like 'Magnolia' and 'Wokeuplikethis*.' He kept his fans happy by not straying away from his original sound that built his fan base. He even tested out new sounds on songs like 'Flex' and 'New Choppa, ' and they worked for him. Playboi Carti arrived at the party he started three years later and did it better than damn near everyone else in it. It's Playboy Carti's sound. And it's going to remain like that for the foreseeable future.