Playboi Carti dropped his highly anticipated album, MUSIC, on March 14, 2025. The long-awaited album marks a new era in Carti’s music, while still integrating elements of his old sound. MUSIC contains 30 songs, with a total run time of 1 hour and 16 minutes, making it Carti’s longest album yet. Alongside the abundance of songs, Carti’s album also features major artists such as Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Future, and Kendrick Lamar.
But does longer mean better? Not exactly.
“Pop Out,” Playboi Carti’s opening song, was, quite frankly, disappointing. After the 4-and-a-half-year wait, the intro to MUSIC is weak in comparison to Carti’s previous projects. Unlike his previous opening tracks, “Location” and “Long Time,” “Pop Out” strays away from the traditional slow-placed trap style, and instead plays into the mumbling and “rage rap” style, similar to “Rockstar Made,” Carti’s opening track on Whole Lotta Red. Despite the explosive energy and attention-grabbing aspects of the song, it fails to deliver a strong introduction to the album; not only does the song lack a clear enunciation of lyrics, it’s also very repetitive. However, if this is Carti’s way of setting the tone for the album, the message seems to be: expect the unexpected.
Thankfully, the album doesn’t dwell on disappointment for long. By the time MUSIC reaches tracks five and six, the album begins to provide more clarity and variety in sound. Track five, “Mojo Jojo,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, introduces listeners to a new style of Lamar’s music, one that strays away from his spoken-word poetry style music and that focuses on his lyrics rather than heavy 808s or ad libs, while still sticking to his familiar rapping cadence.
Following this, “Philly,” featuring Travis Scott, provided variety in the album by introducing the first feature-heavy song on the album. The song follows a typical Travis Scott-type beat while still utilizing Carti’s personal sound.
Other artists featured on MUSIC include The Weeknd, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, and Young Thug. Out of all the features, The Weeknd is the most notable, with the song “Rather Lie.” Not only has this song blown up on social media platforms, like TikTok, but it also provides, once again, a new sound to the album with its upbeat vibe.
The features on this album are not only strong and captivating, but also strategic. Carti adapts his features or his style to the other artists’ “sound,” allowing his features to shine rather than making them seem like simply an addition to his songs. In this sense, Carti knows what he is doing. The features he picks out are for a reason – it’s for what they provide as a stand-alone, not just how they make Carti himself sound. Travis Scott and Future provide their usual atmospheric flair, while Uzi serves as an homage to the previous era of Carti and Uzi. Kendrick’s appearance is perhaps the most surprising — not because it’s good (it is), but because it proves Carti’s influence reaches even into the most lyrically elite circles of hip hop.
However, out of all the features, the most present (and overlooked) is Playboi Carti himself. Throughout the majority of the songs, Carti uses different pitches and sounds of his voice to almost feature himself. In songs like “Fine Sh*t” and “Wake up f1lthy,” the use of his own voice without sound effects is very prevalent. These songs, along with others, tend to rely on his voice rather than being heavy in sound effects. I think that listeners tend to forget the importance of versatility in an artist, so when Carti presents variety in the sound he creates himself, alongside various features, his own voice becomes forgotten. The subtle yet creative idea of using his voice as a feature not only provides, once again, variety to listeners but also shows how Carti’s visions for this album really feel like they’ve been made into a reality.
Still, 30 songs are a lot, and not all of them are a 10/10 hit. There’s bulkage here, and it’s hard to ignore. Songs like “Opm Babi” and “Walk” aren’t bad; however, they feel almost boring in comparison to the stronger songs, while some of the other weaker songs (towards the end of the album) tend to blur together in a haze of repetitive flows and over-processed beats.
But here’s the thing: MUSIC isn’t meant to be easily digestible. It’s no secret that Playboi Carti has never been one to seek mass approval or stay inside the box. That’s what makes MUSIC a great album; although it’s not perfect, it’s authentic. Carti is an artist who thrives in chaos, who weaponizes aesthetics as much as sound, and most importantly, stays true to himself. MUSIC is more than just an album, it’s an experience — one that challenges how rap is supposed to sound in 2025.
Is MUSIC perfect? No. Is it expressive? Absolutely.
In a genre that often rewards conformity, Carti continues to be a wildcard. MUSIC may not be the album we expected, and it certainly isn’t the easiest listen, but it’s bold, brash, and even a brilliant statement from one of rap’s most unpredictable voices.
Love it or hate it, Carti’s not following anyone’s rules but his own – and maybe that’s the whole point.
