Five long years.

I waited five long years for Playboi Carti to drop his new album. What can you do in five years? Start a multi-million dollar business? Yes. Get a master’s degree? Yes. As a matter of fact, you could probably start a family in that timeframe, too.

What did Playboi Carti do? He dropped “MUSIC,” an almost 77-minute-long album of pure “mid” — except for a few good songs.

The album, released on Mar. 15, was Jordan Terrell Carter’s, famously known as “Playboi Carti,” third studio album. Featuring 30 songs and features with popular names, like Travis Scott, Future, and Lil Uzi Vert, the album had a lot of anticipation and high expectations, probably due to the numerous delays in the album’s creation.

The problem is Playboi Carti didn’t live up to these expectations.

When listening to the first song, “Pop Out,” I couldn’t help but think of playwright Oscar Wilde’s quote,“You never get the chance to make a second first impression.”  Starting off with the beat, it sounds like a bass-boosted version of someone scratching their nails on a chalkboard (linked here if you are fortunate enough to not know this sound), mixed with a little bit of clanking metal. Compared to previous beats in Playboi Carti’s songs, like “ILoveUIHateU,” his style has definitely changed, featuring more aggressive, less subtle beats, a change not many fans love.

Playboi Carti’s lyricism, along with his beats, were what made him a star, although their quality is slowly deteriorating. 

This album might have been more enjoyable if it didn’t make listeners feel like they were in an active warzone. The constant use of abrupt adlibs completely ruined the flow and “vibe” of many tracks. It was disappointing, as Playboi Carti’s ad-libs are usually one of the most defining elements in his unique style of (Trap). You couldn’t go through half the songs without hearing an arsenal of gunshots or “SWAMP IZZO” blaring into your ears. Songs like “OPM BABI” perfectly represent this, with what felt like a gunshot in every other bar, and around 12 gunshots total.

It doesn’t just stop there; songs that were previously released on other platforms such as Instagram and Youtube, had major changes when published on the album. Fan-favorite singles like “Mojo-Jojo” and “EVIL J0RDAN” that were leaked prior to the album were changed, and not for the better. 

In “EVIL J0RDAN,” the song opens up with a slowed version of “Popular” by The WEEKND.

This introduction was popularized earlier on TikTok with many editors utilizing the sound for a dramatic build-up. The fact that Playboi Carti used a fan-made “edit-style” intro was enjoyable the first time I listened to it, but it got repetitive, lowering its overall score.

Because of the long wait for the album, many expected at least a little bit of versatility to be introduced into the rollout. It would have been nice to see a more introspective side of Playboi Carti. Many fans hoped to see songs like “24 Songs,” which is one of his most praised leaks. This could have brought the album more balance to even out this heavy “experimental” sound that is displayed throughout the album. 

Admittedly, the album isn’t entirely terrible, although it isn’t as good as many fans anticipated it would be. With five years to complete and perfect the album, Playboi Carti was not able to deliver to his fans, ultimately leading to many listeners being unhappy. Despite the album’s 30-song length, it failed to showcase Playboi Carti’s catchy lyrics, his most notable feature, as well as his signature catchy beats, two of his strengths that led to his immense popularity, earning him a score of around 5/10, leaving many fans wondering if will he forfeit his title as the “King of Trap Music” or fade away from the Hip-Hop game forever.

A notion that will hopefully be answered before 2030.