By Cody Englander, Copy Editor

[Interscope Records; 2025]

Rating: 4/10

Key Tracks: “Good Credit,” “Rather Lie,” “HBA”

Playboi Carti’s long awaited release of his new album, simply titled MUSIC, was one fans have been waiting on for nearly 3 and a half years. Now that it’s out, does it scratch the same punk-inspired hip-hop? 

Carti is not at all unfamiliar with controversy. After his last album was met initially with harsh criticism on its 2020 Christmas Day release, he’s been careful with recent releases. This makes the MUSIC release all that much harder to comprehend. 

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Throughout the 30-song tracklist, it’s hard to shake how much this album feels more like a mixtape than anything else, in part because DJ Swamp Izzo announces himself through his producer tag constantly. Starting the album with “POP OUT” is difficult because it’s not listenable. As impressive as F1LTHY is of his own production, it’s a difficult listen because of how much is happening on the track. 

Carti’s biggest improvement throughout is his vocals. He’s conjured a mysterious atmosphere in his personal life which has bled into his music and his deeper voice allows him to have range he hasn’t had on any previous project. 

Unfortunately, 30 songs is too much here. There’s a clear reason, as more songs means more streaming numbers. On a song like “EVIL J0RDAN,” the first minute comes straight out of a TikTok edit. The production takes turns with the vocals on which will be the interesting and better part of certain tracks. There are diamonds throughout the record, but the poorer and rougher aspects don’t make for much of a pleasant trip to find them.

The first track that is recommendable by any means is “RATHER LIE,” guest starring The Weeknd. Fitting Playboi Carti on a trap beat with The Weeknd is confusingly good, having a surprising mixture of angelic synths with traditional trap bass and drums. 

In another trip nearly halfway down the album, “GOOD CREDIT” is the third song featuring Kendrick Lamar, and is the 15th song on the album. The introduction begins by sampling a popular online video, mentioning “Good Credit.” The song transitions to a Cardo Got Wings beat, allowing for Carti to vent to a rage beat. Right as a beat switch hits, Lamar takes over like a better version of Carti, with mysterious laughs and even mentioning straight up “Carti my evil twin.” 

These would be the two best and most standout tracks because they give other artists compliments to Carti. There is a struggle for power: between both artists to artists and Carti to listeners. 

The expectation for the listener to sit through a series of mostly middling tracks to find the best ones makes every listen after the first more and more tedious. It’s a task to get through this. At one point it’s like listening to a costume party next door while you do homework. The vibes and aesthetic are there, you’re glad people are having fun, but it ends much later than you want it to. 

I won’t say this is a disappointment as far as Playboi Carti albums go. There’s a clear audience for this. It’s not as inspired as his earlier works, but he clearly has ideas and is developing a personal brand alongside his music. At times, it feels as if that brand has become more important than the music. 

There isn’t much to revisit from this. While the album is never lazy, constant overproduction saps energy from an album the length of a feature film. 

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