Complex Original

Every Playboi Carti album has been highly anticipated. Since he first emerged with “Broke Boi” in 2015 and resurfaced with ASAP Mob a few months later, Carti has been one of the most fascinating and talked-about rappers in hip-hop.

From those bright, bouncy early tracks, Carti has evolved—moving from gritty underground bangers to space-age, futuristic rage music, and now, to commercial anthems. As a rapper, he’s an acquired taste, often relying on energy and improvisational vocal yelps and inflections rather than metaphors or conventional flows. His ear for production is eccentric, prioritizing loudness and idiosyncratic noises and textures.

Despite this, Carti has built one of the most impressive catalogs in modern rap. Ten years and four projects in—one mixtape and three studio albums—he's delivered nothing but bangers. In an era dominated by singles, viral hits, and leaked tracks, Carti has remained focused on the album format, even when those albums often feature untamed and chaotic structures.

Thanks to his blend of quality, genuine innovation, and underground success, Carti has spent most of his career as a cult star rather than a mainstream one. That all changed with the release ofMUSIC, his third solo album and by far the most successful of his career. Part of the hype stemmed from the long wait—it took nearly four years—unofficially dubbed the I Am Music era. But now that the album is out and the reception has been warm, it’s clear that with a stadium tour on the horizon, it’s only up from here.