Whole Lotta Red / Playboi Carti / December 25, 2020
- Joshua Yoo
- Dec 26, 2020
- 1 min read
With the nature of its rollout and preceding two-year period of avid anticipation, ‘Whole Lotta Red’ was bound to be a polarizing release, and subsequent reception of this project may not differ much in this regard. But underneath the layers of pre-conceived judgment and unsubstantiated praise, Playboi Carti’s distinctive artistic style still manages to be potent, even through more eccentric experimentation.
Carti has always been commended for maximizing simplicity in his music, and to a lesser extent, a similar appraisal can be applied here. Lyrical ingenuity still remains mostly absent on this record, but while certain moments do suffer accordingly (“JumpOutTheHouse”), the case still stands that more often than not it doesn’t pose as a negative. Both the robust, textured production (“New N3on”) and dynamic vocal inflections (“Slay3r”) carry notable weight, and all combined, Carti often curates a sound that is consistent, genuinely simple, and plain fun (“Beno!”).
Within the unjustifiably long 24-track runtime however, certain elements of his voice and mixing weaken the compelling aspects of his sound. His attempts at varying vocal intonation don’t always pan out, such as the strained delivery on “No Sl33p.” Tracks such as “Meh” and “Teen X” also feature questionable harmonies and melodic writing choices.
There are plenty of factors that listeners can choose and use to dismiss ‘Whole Lotta Red’ understandably. But for any of those appreciative of Carti’s previous discography, it would be hard not to see the overall appeal of this record.
Best Track(s): Beno!, F33l Lik3 Dyin, New N3on, Slay3r, Place, Not PLaying, Sky
Lowlight(s): JumpOutTheHouse, No Sl33p, Teen X, Meh, Stop Breathing
SCORE: 6/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYkkE6gkAWA
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