Tag: Playboi Carti

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Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Playboi Carti – Whole Lotta Red

On Whole Lotta Red, Playboi Carti found a new sound, which results in his boldest album to date.

It has been more than two years since Whole Lotta Red was supposed to drop, but due to complications like Playboi Carti’s fans leaking songs online on platforms like Soundcloud and YouTube, it ended up being released only last month. Some of the leaked songs even ended up on the album. Carti added the word “new” in front in the title of the leaked songs like “New Tank” and “New N3on,” the latter being one of the most popular leaked tracks.

Lyrically, Carti does not say much — as usual, he uses a lot of repetition. For example, on the first track “Rockstar Made,” he says the words “never too much” 44 times. Fortunately for him, it does not affect the record since he is not known for his lyrical capabilities. He compensates with his weird yet ear-pleasing voice, his unmatched energy and infectious beats.

With this album, Carti embarks on a new sound. He hops on a lot of aggressive beats with some punk and electronic elements on top of the usual trap drums, 808s and loud bass, especially on the first half of the record. Instrumentals on songs like “Stop Breathing,” “On That Time” and “JumpOutTheHouse” are some of the wildest he has ever hopped on.

To accompany these beats, Carti sings and raps with some of the rawest inflections he’s ever had in his voice, almost shouting at times. On the track “Teen X” featuring Future, he even raps in a baby voice, surprisingly creating one of the best tracks on the record. The combination of such eclectic beats and insane vocal inflections leaves the listener with some pure bangers and some high energy tracks to mosh to.

On the second half of the record, Carti slows down a bit and raps over some more familiar beats that could have been on Die Lit. Some of the songs on the second half like “Control,” “King Vamp,” “Sky” and “Over” all sound similar, which left me wondering if most of these songs could have been left out of the album since the record is already 24 tracks long. To have a 24-track album is a lot and if some of your songs sound alike, although it is good for streaming revenue, it affects the quality of the record in a negative way. The album could have easily been 16 to 18 tracks and it would have been just fine.

Whole Lotta Red contains a lot of high energy songs which are, for the most part,enjoyable. Although the album could have been shorter, it is still a good project and a fun listen.

 

Trial track: Vamp Anthem

Score: 7/10

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Music

The top 10 songs of 2017

The Concordian music staff reflects on the year’s best offerings

Last year was marked by triumph, defeat and outpours of optimism, and artists across the globe relayed this the best way they know how—through song. Here are the best tracks of 2017.

  1. “Love Galore” – SZA (ft. Travis Scott)

After spending half a year in our collective psyche, SZA’s sultry collaboration with Travis Scott secured a tight spot in the canon of timeless breakup songs. In the span of three minutes, the duo swap bitter kiss-offs and dissect past relationships while maintaining remarkably complex emotional maturity.

 

 

  1. “Magnolia” – Playboi Carti

Named after the infamous housing project in New Orleans, “Magnolia” is a stunning crystallization of Playboi Carti’s best assets—his natural ebb and flow on the mic and his critical sense of next-generation sounds.

 

 

  1. “The Bus Song” – Jay Som

“The Bus Song” not only introduces Jay Som’s excellent Everybody Works, it’s also a staggering reflection on love, friendship and the gratifying solace of trudging from desolate street to crowded bus stop, only to repeat the cycle on a daily basis.

 

 

  1. “DNA.” – Kendrick Lamar

“DNA” is a hip-hop masterpiece. Kendrick Lamar takes aim at a culture of misrepresentation and the long-standing effects that have perpetuated such divides. With mesmerizing production coming from Mike WiLL Made-It, “DNA.” is a disarming reminder that Lamar has plenty left to contribute to the zeitgeist, and then some.

 

  1. “The Story of O.J.” – Jay-Z

With a Nina Simone sample as its main hook, “The Story of O.J.” tackles traditions of racial discrimination and the diaspora of African culture in America, past and present, all delivered with some of Jay-Z’s sharpest writing in years.

 

 

  1. “123” – Girlpool

Girlpool’s sound hovers in its own innocuous space, where high school fantasies and dreamlike imagery act as a guiding beacon. On “123,” the duo peer through the looking glass with a sense of hyper-curiosity that reminds you of how powerless you really feel in this world we call home.

 

 

  1. “LMK” – Kelela

Kelela’s “LMK” is a nocturnal blow-burner that asserts the singer’s dominance as one of R&B’s most interesting forces. The singer pairs lavish R&B with pop accessibility and complements it with a backdrop of earth-rumbling bass, ornate synths and unwavering confidence.

 

 

  1. “tonite” – LCD Soundsystem

After laying dormant for six years, LCD Soundsystem’s core sound remains very much untouched. But that’s exactly where “tonite” draws its energy. Perhaps the year’s most proper return to form, the track pumps with the flashy tongue-in-cheek irony and existential musings LCD is known for. And after nearly two decades, they still sound as fresh as ever.

 

 

  1. “Bank Account” – 21 Savage

One of 21 Savage’s best standout tracks, “Bank Account,” continues the sinister trap persona the Atlanta rapper cultivated on his first few mixtapes. The nonchalant cadence of 21’s flow lurks with a cold and natural prowess, imitating the feeling of being watched without even knowing it.

 

 

  1.  “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe) – Power Trip

Power Trip’s “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)” embraces a platonic passion for heavy metal reverie. The track is a sneering plea for the arrival of judgement day, where the only means of escape rests at the feet of the reaper’s axe.

Categories
Music Quickspins

Playboi Carti Ft. Lil Uzi Vert – “Woke Up Like This”

Playboi Carti Ft. Lil Uzi Vert – “Woke Up Like This”

Playboi Carti collaborated with Lil Uzi Vert in his new single, “Woke Up Like This.” Carti, the young Atlanta rapper, has managed to stay under the radar for the past couple of months, but he has finally bestowed a club banger upon us.The song has nearly three million plays on Soundcloud and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Not only does this track bring together two of today’s most talked-about underground rappers, but it also hints towards rumours of the much-anticipated release of Carti’s debut album. The track emphasizes the usual ad-libs and repetitive lyrics one would expect from these two artists. However, it seems to blend seamlessly into a piece of trap magic. Lil Uzi Vert complements Carti’s rhythmic flows perfectly. The content of the track is nothing special, but allows the listener to “catch a feel” of living in the drug-induced culture influencing a majority of today’s most popular rap artists.

Track Rating: 8/10

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