By Gavin Bowyer and Weston Kelly
On March 14, 2025, Playboi Carti blessed the ears of Carti fans and general rap listeners alike, releasing a masterpiece of 30+ songs, including four from the deluxe, MUSIC – SORRY 4 DA WAIT. Initially titled Narcissist upon the album’s announcement four years ago, which brought the hopes of fans to a peak, the record was not actually released. Fans reached the ultimate conclusion that he would never release the so desperately sought-after album. Falling for lie after lie, listeners patiently waited for the much-anticipated release—meanwhile, songs were being leaked and many lost hope in the reality of the album. MUSIC became akin to Santa Claus—something people know isn’t real but still choose to have hope in. While fans desperately awaited on a new release, Carti continued posting more “fit-pics” to the @opium_00pium Instagram; many jokingly stated he “does anything but work on new music.” Fortunately, after a five-year wait, the iconic artist Playboi Carti finally released his fourth album: MUSIC.
Featuring 30 songs, 34 when considering the deluxe—MUSIC – SORRY 4 DA WAIT—the album includes a diverse track mix, including massive features from artists such as the Weekend, K-Dot, and Travis Scott. Additionally, the album consisted of a variety of styles and served as an amalgamation of Playboi Carti’s multiple sounds and styles—iconic “baby voice” vocals, Atlanta Mixtape Classic style beats, Swamp Izzo’s never-ending snare rolls and adlibs— all features bringing listeners a taste of the Atlanta DJ style. While many “fans” view the album as, “Carti’s worst” or “an absolute atrocity,” I believe that these self-acclaimed fans are fake, as they don’t actually enjoy his music, aside from his biggest hits like “Sky” or “R.I.P.” Genuinely listening to the album instead of simply listening to the controversial opener “POP OUT” for 4 seconds (“POP OUT” is a banger btw), will show any fan of Playboi Carti that not only are there some outstanding tracks. In fact, almost every song hits. Although many of the songs were leaked well before the album, for example “HBA” and “EVIL JORDAN”, Carti came through and dropped 25 fresh tracks for fans enjoy. Due to all the hate MUSIC has received, we will now be ranking the songs, without need for reason, and discussing the album as a holistic masterpiece.
Weston’s Top 5 (In Order):
- “CRUSH” ft. Travis Scott
- “WE NEED ALL THE VIBES” ft. Young Thug & Ty Dolla $ign
- “EVIL JORDAN”
- “OPM BABI”
- “GOOD CREDIT” ft. Kendrick Lamar
Gavin’s Top 5 (Tentative Order):
- “KPOP”
- “CRUSH” ft. Travis Scott
- “RATHER LIE” ft. theWeeknd
- “MOJO JOJO” ft. Kendrick Lamar
- “TOXIC” ft. Skepta
AND NO, I WILL NOT BE PROVIDING EVIDENCE OR REASONING. The given rankings can be taken, either at face value, or can be dismissed; however, if you choose to dismiss MUSIC as anything but a melodic masterpiece, then never talk to me, thank you! The album has many different styles and appeals to different likes, yet are all incorporated well. Don’t get caught up on Swamp Izzo’s ad libs. Carti has used nonstandard sounds in the past, and has shown that they are an essential part of his music. Saying that this album is his worst or even calling it bad because of the new sounds disregards his typical barrier-breaking efforts.