Leaks, postponements, lies and controversy have plagued this long awaited album’s release. Due to the cult success of his previous album, “Whole Lotta Red’s” released and the cancelation of the albums deluxe, people have been begging for new music from Playboy Carti.
Optimism soared when on Dec. 14 Carti released a single titled “2024.” There were rumors the long awaited album titled “Narcissist,” which was leaked in 2021, would be released on New Year’s Day. The album was postponed from that date.
Postponals and rumors continued through 2025 until finally on March 9, Carti announced that the album was finished and would be released March 14. It finally seemed like an album was on the way, but apparently the four year wait was not enough time as the album was postponed another three hours on the night of the 14th.
Even before the music is heard all the lies about the release and time spent waiting leaves a sour taste in the mouth about the album.
The album features primarily messy trap “rage” beats which feature loud sporadic synths and loud trap drums. All the beats feel safe and really don’t expand on any sound or experiment in any way on anything new. They really are just a lower derivative of the beats off of “Whole Lotta Red” and songs from other people on his label “Opium”.
There are a few songs like “Rather Lie” and “Crush” that feature some fun moments and hype beats but they all just get drowned out in all the other mess of the album.
The parts of the production that are most compelling are the slower synth parts or when they go more simplistic to a regular trap beat. The chorus on crush is also a nice addition that helps to actually expand on the rage trap sound that seems diluted in this rap era.
What’s most upsetting about the production though, is the producer tags and snare rolls that seem thrown in at random.
The snare rolls were mixed horrendously and were too loud in the master and sound like they were added in the three hours that the album was delayed. They also all sound the exact same from song to song as if they used the same snare in each one.
The producer tags, with Swamp Izzo being the most violent offender, happen way too often in each song. One tag is already enough but multiple with some of them in the middle of verse is downright criminal. It seems like Carti just added these so he didn’t have to write a verse in some parts of the music.
OPM Baby‘s spam of Swamp Izzo’s tag sounds like someone accidentally laid down on a soundboard in the middle of a song. OPM Baby among other songs also feature these corny stock sounding gun shot effects that are cringe and add nothing to the album.
With this grating and frequently annoying production, Carti would have to do some heavy lifting with his vocal performance or lyrics. He does neither of these well.
Carti’s lyrics are one note about girls, drugs and money and he does not even talk about those topics in a creative manner. That’s when we are lucky enough to get lyrics–some verses are just him cycling through his different ad-libs he has compiled over the years and shows just how lazy his writing is. The four-year hiatus in no way led to an increase in his writing ability.
His vocal performance with all his different “voices” and vocal effects is nothing new. The voice seems to be used as a gimmick and is not really a show of talent; occasionally, his attempt at new voices just sounds like he’s contorting his voice in an uncomfortable manner that is even more uncomfortable to listen to.
One of the only saving graces of this album are the features. Pretty much all the artists featured give a compelling performance especially Lil Uzi Vert, The Weeknd, Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar. The fan favorite song “Rather Lie” is completely carried by The Weeknd which is one of the main reasons for its success.
This album could not have failed to live up to the hype and wait any less. Messy and boring beats, nonexistent lyrics and annoying sound bits make this 30-track album a drag and one hard to revisit anytime soon.
