Mar 19, 2025

Playboi Carti - MUSIC

This is kinda disorganized, just writing down thoughts as they come to me:

Something I've always felt Carti was great at was knowing exactly how long a song needs to be — like it's kinda incredible how some of the 90 second songs on here feel so fully realized and integral to the album for how short they are (and on the opposite end of the spectrum, I'm always dumbfounded that m3tamorphisis off WLR is over five minutes long cuz it never feels like it).

I like how most of the features make multiple appearances on here, it make sit feel like they're characters popping in and out of Carti World (kinda like a less extreme version of how Ghostface is basically a co-star on OB4CL) instead of just a random verse being emailed in to slap onto a song. With Kendrick especially I looooooove that you can tell they had actual studio sessions together, they legit have great chemistry and I rly like when featured artists see/f--- with the vision of the album like that and meet the album artist where they're at.

But for that reason, I have to agree with @Allis Mines that unfortunately some of the worst songs on the album are the Thug/Uzi collabs. The Thug verse is apparently from 2019 and Jumpin is obviously from Pink Tape era. Carti only has like two adlibs on Twin Trim, which I do like as a song, but it's an obvious contender for a cut. They feel pasted in and unnecessary and generally clash the most with the album's sound.

Also like @Allis Mines, Whole Lotta Red is my favorite album ever on a good day, and certainly in my top 10 every day. It's really difficult to follow that up and I'm not putting this above WLR, but to me he delivered a more-than worthy successor. Pop Out shattered my brain completely the first time I heard it (in a good way), then Pop Out outro into Crush to K Pop to new EVILJORDAN intro is one of my fave first time listens in recent memory.

There's so many flows and voices on here, so much crunchy-a---, mind-melting production, you're just constantly hearing new sounds. Like that part on the weekend joint where he keeps changing his voice like "I'm drinking that lean and I TALK LIKE THIS" is so fire lmao. The only voice I'm a lil ehhhh on is the one where he sounds too similar to future, but considering how many different ways he raps it feels more like homage than just biting.

Overall MUSIC suffers maybe a little bit from TLOP-syndrome where it's big and messy but it's also somehow cohesive at the same time and maybe that's kinda the point? (and more like if TLOP leaned a little more into Yeezus, to continue the Kanye analogy). For that reason, I do think it would have benefited from a few songs shaved off of there cuz there's a few duds as I previously mentioned, but still a remarkable hit rate for a 30 song album (even if that length is kinda disingenuous on paper cuz it's like 75 min total due to a bunch of short songs lol). He also should have put f--- on my DJ on there, don't know how that didn't make the cut but that Thug song did lol.

Also calling your album just "MUSIC" is in incredible bit and I love a good bit, 10/10 title it's so f---ing stupid/funny to do that.

Despite a few rough edges Carti continues to be an auteur in rap and pushes the genre forward with groundbreaking new sounds shout out @Wreckless . It's obviously not a sound that will jive with everyone, but it's just such fun, energetic music with so many varied flows and voices and production that makes you go "what the f---" one second and then "this is hard as f---" the next as it clicks with you all of a sudden.

Favs: Pop Out, Crush, Olympian, Crank, Like Weezy, EVILJORDAN, Cocaine Nose, like all of them lol still gotta spend more time with the back half of the album especially

Least favorites: Jumpin, We Need All Da Vibes

8.5/10

@AOTWClub @Michael Myers

 

Mar 19, 2025

Playboi Carti - MUSIC
(Yeez Yap is Back)
Well well well.... Jordan Carter finally dropped. I think it goes without saying that your opinions on this album are probably gonna reflect how you already feel about Carti beforehand. If you usually hate this type of music, this is going to the worst thing ever recorded for you. If you usually love this type of music, this might be a groundbreaking release for you. The gist of what I'm saying is that, its very unlikely that MUSIC is going to change whatever opinion you have about Carti (Unless you're @Michael Myers, in which case you need to accept that Carti is the best musician ever)

I've had a strange relationship with Carti's music. I think Self Titled is fine. Some classics on it no doubt, but its probably my least favorite of his projects. On the other hand, I think Die Lit is a great record, that takes the groundwork laid out in ST and improves it. The first 3 tracks alone are absolutely stellar. What I think truly makes Carti special though, is how he refused to stick to that sound. The leaks that came out post DL are definitely good, but I feel that continuing with that sound would've greatly limited him going forward. As such, its no surprise that I absolutely love Whole Lotta Red. For a mainstream rap album in 2020, its incredibly rough (s/o to F1LTHY), and the energy that Carti brings forth makes the experience incredible. I've been a WLR lover since day 1, and I continue to love that record to this day.

Now, we finally get to MUSIC. My first attempt at listening to this record went horrible. Let's just say that this album was not made to be listened to in a minuscule dorm room while your Chinese foreign exchange roommate is sleeping. I think that POP OUT is actually a great track. Its distorted, its loud, and its GREAT. I mentioned this in a post earlier, but I view this record in a similar way to an album like The Stooges' Funhouse (or Raw Power for that matter). At least in the current mainstream, you're never gonna hear a song like K POP or COCAINE NOSE from a non opium artist. Similar to Funhouse, the highlight of MUSIC for me is the ENERGY. The beats, Carti's multiple voices, (I swear he has to be possessed by the ghost of Desiigner or something), the overall feel. The inclusion of gun shots and SWAMP IZZO, give me heavy mixtape vibes. Like, this reminds me so much of Flockaveli at certain points.

With all this talk, you'd probably expect me to say that this album is an absolute 10, and Carti's masterpiece. That's... not the case. One of my weakest complains comes in the form of the features. I saw a post on the absolute madhouse that is r/playboicarti that summarizes my point very well I'd say.

Now, I'm not saying that having Travis Scott, Future, and The Weeknd on every album is necessarily a BAD thing. I honestly think that The Weeknd did a pretty good job. Travis and Future though? They do what you would expect Travis and Future to do. Skepta has by far my favorite feature on the entire project though. As someone who's been glazing Kendrick for the past few years, I was very mixed on his appearances. I liked him on MOJO JOJO and GOOD CREDIT, but I feel that his part on BACKDOOR was unnecessary. Uzi was eh. In contrast to Carti, I feel like Uzi's attempts to change his sound have been decent at best. I liked parts of PT but after EA2 I'd say he's washed.

Then there's my biggest issue with this record...it's really f---ing long. For the record, I LOVE long albums. Aphex Twin's 3 hour long SAWII is in my top 5, and I have Donda as one of my favorite Ye albums. I see a lot of similarities between MUSIC and Donda actually, like the strange rollout, features, aesthetics (lets just hope Carti doesn't start praising Hitler 12 years from now lmao) I think if this album was cut down to 24 songs (get it) like WLR, it could definitely challenge that record for Carti's best, at least for me. But 30 songs....Man. Someone mentioned this before, but the album really loses it steam by the 50 minute mark. Lots of these tracks are just unnecessary. Also, can he please stop using AI in order to not record his vocals? its f---ing lazy.

So yeah, Playboi Carti's MUSIC is an energetic experimental record that is heavily bogged down by having 6-8 too many songs. I'd love to see what songs other people in the club would cut. The Thug and Ty track would be one of the first for me. I might revisit this album more in the future while at the gym, since thats where I think this type of record excels at. I guess we just gotta wait for BABYBOI now lmao.
FAVORITES: POP OUT, MOJO JOJO, TOXIC, HBA
RATING: 7.5/10
@AOTWClub @Michael Myers

 

Feb 23, 2025

Halloween: The Revival Of Michael Myers



Tracklist

1. Jack & Jim - Midnight Monsters Hop
2. Jay Z ft. Dr. Dre & Rakim - The Watcher 2
3. Spineshank - Beginning of the End
4. SZA ft. The Weeknd & Travis Scott - Power is Power
5. Miley Cyrus - WTF do I Know
6. J. Balvin - Rio
7. Kesha & The Struts - Body Talks
8. Linkin Park - Cut The Bridge
9. Lil' Wayne - Hustler Musik
10. The Sounds - Something to Die For
11. Steppenwolf - It's Never Too Late
12. Nena - Irgendwie, Irgendwo, irgendwann
13. RZA, Bliss n Eso - Smoke Like A Fire
14. Becky G ft. Maluma - La Respuesta
15. Evanescence - Bring me To Life
16. Demi Lovato - Still Alive

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4WrdqkwTML1eqmI1ukMjeL?si=VqvjVzNqTpa0ms6szN-h6Q&pi=O4_ghtSzQDysL

@AOTWClub have fun!!

 

Feb 18, 2025

Into the Jank-Verse

Like how u took us into portions of different genres!

I agree w Skux that the first quarter was amazing. I honestly never heard these songs so aside from being good it also gave me 4 new tracks for my playlist! White Room was probably my favorite, a 10/10 for me. The others around 8/9.

The thing is, I'm not a fan of acoustic music generally. That said, the songs you selected are pretty cool. Simulation Swarm probably my favorite since it had a little more of an 'upbeat' sound. I give that one an 8, the others around a 7.

Out of My Hands is a 10/10 song. Absolutely love it. Rainforest is okay, not really feeling that one (6.5/10), Spoiled Brat (7/10) and the Vince song I had to get into first but as soon as the woman started I liked it a lot. Then Kendrick delivered a 10/10 verse (9/10)

Everbodydies not feeling a lot (5/10), the Charli song is dope (9/10), Search and Destroy is okay I guess and like I said I LOVE smb2l (9/10)

Average 7,8! Dope playlist!

@AOTWClub

 

Feb 15, 2025

EVERY ROO HAS ITS DAY- Ripper Roo
"Every Roo Has Its Day, Now Doggystyle Shall Help"
This one will probably be a bit short. I liked a good amount of tracks (Count Me Out, Got Me Geeked, Sexy Girl Anthem, Juna, Take Me Back to LA, Talk Talk, How )

On the other hand there were a few tracks that I didn't really vibe with. I had never heard a Glaive song before, and the two tracks on here did nothing for me. They're just not my thing. Didn't really like the 6lack track that much either.

While I did like a lot of the songs on here, the ones I didn't bring the score down a bit. I do wanna say that the tape is very cohesive though, which definitely works in its favor. I guess I should check out Charm though, since Juna is probably the best Clairo song I've heard probably ever. Big thanks to @Ripper Roo for the tape and yeah
Favorites: Count Me Out, Got Me Geeked, Juna, How
Rating: 7/10
@AOTWClub @Justin Trudeau

 

Feb 1, 2025

Justin Trudeau - The Trudeau Tape
Heading into this mixtape, I already recognized some of the songs so I was very excited going in. I'm gonna go track by track for most of this review, but I'll base the final score off of my overall enjoyment.

Ain't That A Shame - I remember JT posting about Fats Domino back during his Danny Tanner days, but this was my first time actually listening to a song of his. I thought it was pretty good, and a great intro for the project.
Runnin' With The Devil - Not too familiar with most VH outside of 1984 but I enjoyed this track quite a bit too.
Evil Woman - Holy s---. i probably mentioned this beforehand, but I've played GTA IV and absurd amount of times, so the soundtrack is basically ingrained in my memory at this point. Evil Woman might be my favorite song on the entire soundtrack (and this mixtape as a whole). Jeff Lynne is great and THE STRINGS. 10/10 track
Bad Moon Rising - Good track. Never really listened to much CCR but I liked the track
Bobcaygeon- Never heard of the artist before, but I dug it. very vibey.
Sundown- GREAT vibe. Very relaxed and an instant save
24 Hrs To Live- I checked out Ma$e's Harlem World during the summer, and this track was the standout for me. EVERYBODY kills it, but I have to say that X's verse might be my favorite. Also this might be an unpopular opinion, but Puffy's adlibs/vocals have always been a guilty pleasure of mine.
What The Beat- Great track as well. As much as I like their later collabs, the late 90s-early 2000s BME tracks have always been my favorite. m--- kills its as expected too.
Sacrifice of the Masses- Very good track. the first half kinda reminds me of the slower songs on Holy Wood, and the song's structure kinda reminds me of Fundamentally Loathsome from Mechanical Animals.
X Is Coming- Incredible track from one of the greatest albums ever. The first time I heard the r--- line I had to do a double take lmao. X is one of the best ever
Everywhere I Go- Xzibit is probably one of the most criminally underrated rappers ever. He kills it, and I like the beat as well
Cadillac's & Chevy's- I have to admit, I was not a fan of this track. It's just not for me. I can recognize that he's got some great lines, but it isn't my cup of tea.
Lisa- Similar to the last track, I didn't really dig this one either. I do think John has a great voice, but I wasn't a fan really
Draped Up- I'm a big UGK fan so this was pretty neat. Bun is really one of the best ever imo
Feel It In The Air- Decent track. Beanie has always been one of my favs from the 90's Roc-A-Fella lineup, and he does pretty well here.
Sweet Home Alabama- Absolute classic.

Overall while I did enjoy a large majority of the songs on this mixtape I feel that there's a clear divide between some the songs on the first half, and the tracks on the latter. Some absolutely incredible tracks on here though don't get me wrong. Wasn't that big a fan of tracks 12&13 which brings my score down a bit, but I enjoyed this mix for the most part. Big thanks to @Justin Trudeau for the tape!!!
FAVORITES: Evil Woman, Sundown, 24 Hrs To Live, X Is Coming, Sweet Home Alabama
RATING: 7.5/10
@AOTWClub @Justin Trudeau

 

Dec 29, 2024

Ab-Soul: Soul Burger
Mmmmmmmm Burger

I have to admit that I really hadn't listened to much Ab-Soul prior to this record. Off the top of my head I can name the 3 verses from him that I remember listening to: Kendrick's The Heart Part 3, Ab Soul's Outro from S80, and his feature on Danny Brown's Really Doe. I've always thought that his verses were great, but I never checked out a full album from him. Out of the 4 Black Hippy members, I've mostly listened to Kendrick with a bit of Q. I had planned to listen to an album from both Soul and Jay Rock at some point, so big thanks to @Allis Mines for the pick. I guess Jay Rock will have to wait in the meantime though.

I actually really liked Soul Burger. I expected some great lyrics and that's what I got. I think Soul's delivery was also a big highlight. I liked most of the features especially JID, Ty Dolla $ign, and Vince Staples. This is a bit of a sidenote, but I haven't really been able to get into Doechii that much. I don't hate her verses or anything, but similar to her feature on CHROMAKOPIA, I just wasn't really vibing with her verse that much. Maybe her mixtape will change my mind, but who knows.

As for the actual songs, I have to acknowledge that I wasn't a fan of the first half of 9 Mile. For a sec I thought that maybe I wouldn't like this record, but the second half won me over. Really enjoyed Paiday, California Dream, and B.U.C.K.O Jr. I also have to give props to Crazier and Go Pro. I think that Squeeze 1st 2 was a pretty good homage to the old Jay track (Hoping to select a Hov album sometime in the future, unless MM beats me to it) and yeah. While I can't say that this album is a perfect masterpiece or anything, I did enjoy it quite a bit. I'll probably revisit it in the future, and I might check out some of Soul's other work. So yeah, those are my thoughts on Soul Burger. Mmmmmmmm
Favorite Songs: Paiday, California Dream, B.U.C.K.O. JR., Go Pro
Rating: 7/10
@AOTWClub @Justin Trudeau