Straight Fire or Hot Garbage?

The long awaited album Whole Lotta Red from Playboi Carti, one of the most unique rappers in the game, has finally made its arrival. Did it reach up to expectations or is it some hot garbage? Below I’ve laid out my take and ranking on each of the songs off the album. I wrote my opinion on each of the songs as I first listened so these rankings and opinions can definitely change based off the replay-ability of each song.

1. Rockstar Made – The beat on this opening track actually goes really hard. Carti is kind of just spitting out nonsense but I could see myself working out to this song. His vocals towards the end of the song are different from the baby voice Carti that he’s become known for. Ranking: 7/10
2. Go2DaMoon (feat Kayne West) – The beat isn’t too bad on this song either but I don’t know if I’m really digging Kayne’s flow. Carti’s voice doesn’t really match the beat at all either and though that can sound good this doesn’t. Ranking: 3/10
3. Stop Breathing – Gotta love the breathing adlibs on this one haha. The beat is pretty hard and is similar to “Rockstar Made” in its hypeness. Sometimes Carti’s voice is just too much though. Makes it hard to take serious. Don’t know if this one will make any playlists. Ranking: 6/10
4. Beno – This song has one of the beats to vibe to. It’s pretty decent and has a certain catchy-ness to it. Ranking: 7/10
5. JumpOutTheHouse – This song is just a little too much changing of adlibs for me. Maybe if there was an actual verse in here it would be better. Ranking: 3/10
6. M3tamorphosis (feat Kid Cudi) – Kid Cudi – Cudi’s verse and hums on this song are crazy nice and easily outshine Carti on the track. They almost make Carti repeating metamorphosis 20 times in a row worth the wait. The song is actually kind of nice I really wanted to like it though it is mad long. Ranking: 5/10
7. Slay3r – This is a more upbeat song compared to the previous ones. It is kind of fun and catchy. Easily my favorite song so far. Ranking: 8.5/10
8. No Sl33p – Playboi Carti brings back the murder vibes over this 8-bit retro type beat. Have to laugh a little at those “bop bop bop” ad libs in track but its not bad. Ranking: 6/10
9. New Tank – This song flows nicely from “No Sl33p” giving the same vibe but a little bit harder and raw. Ranking: 6.5/10
10. Teen X (feat. Future) – Not really digging Carti’s voice on this one tbh. Could be better on the beat. Future’s verse is kinda poop just like this song. It’s weirdly kind of catchy so I’ll give it that. Ranking 4/10
11. Meh – Like the pitch switches in the beat of the song. Carti’s rapping is pretty decent. Ranking: 5/10
12. Vamp Anthem – The beat on this one is too nice. It is reminiscent of a Bowser-themed Mario soundtrack. Carti’s rapping isn’t too bad either Ranking: 8.5/10
13. New N3on – This song is decent but a bit of a drop off from “Vamp Anthem”. It’s more of a chiller song that’s just kind of there. Ranking: 5.5/10.
14. Control – Intro to this track is pretty long. We get some love song Carti to come out. “Girl I’ve been losing control… Bitch I’m not a stalker but I’ve been watching you” is funny. The song is pretty good. Ranking: 7.5/10
15. Punk Monk – Love the beat on this one. Carti’s verse isn’t the best but isn’t the worst. Ranking: 4/10
16. On That Time – Carti’s verse and the beat are pretty hard. This is another song to listen to when I’m working out and want to get hype. Ranking: 7/10
17. King Vamp – “King Vamp” is a banger to me. This is another one of the songs where the beat is way too nice and Carti flows pretty well over this one. The sections where he repeats “K-I-N-G V-A-M-P” is kind of annoying though. Ranking: 7.5/10
18. Place – This song brings out a more chill ambience than a lot of other songs on the album and is that classic Carti. Carti’s vocals are pretty smooth on this one. Definitely a song I’ll go to when I’m just kicking it. There was a weird beat pause in the beginning that had me thinking my headphones broke. Ranking: 8.5/10
19. Sky – The latter half of this album seems to be going for a more melodic atmosphere than the beginning. Nothing too crazy about this one but it’s good. Like the beat, like the chorus, and like Carti’s verse. Ranking: 8.5/10
20. Over – On this one Carti flows extremely well over the electronic beat. More melodic fire to me. Ranking: 8.5/10
21. ILoveUIHateU – I’m actually really liking the later half of this album. This is another one that Carti flows well over and is catchy. Ranking: 8.5/10
22. Die4Guy – Like the beat and Carti’s voice is decent. Nothing too stand out about this one but it’s not bad. Ranking: 6/10
23. Not Playing – This is another one that kind of just blends in with the rest for me. Wouldn’t skip if I was listening the album through but nothing special. Ranking: 5/10
24. F33l Lik3 Dyin- The outro track has a smooth instrumental, love the chorus samples in this. Carti’s vocals are pretty decent as well, I like those longer auto-tune stretches to expand his vocal range and put more emphasis on certain words. It definitely feels like an outro track and is pretty much the opposite of how he started the album. Ranking: 7/10

Conclusion

My first reaction to Whole Lotta Red is that I really loved some of the electronic trap beats produced here and Playboi Carti is coming in with a unique style as always. It seems like it starts off with more harder and angrier beats and moves into a more melodic and chill atmosphere by the end of it. It’s overall not a bad album by any means but could be better.

Overall, I don’t think there was any way Playboi Carti could have reached the level anticipated by a lot of people, but this was still a decent album with that unique Carti touch. It’s not something I think I’ll be able to listen all the way through again without skipping a couple songs but there’s definitely a couple bangers in here and I can see myself going back to the second part of the album when I’m in that chillin type of mood. I know a lot of people were probably expecting the song Pissy Pamper to be on here since it blew up on SoundCloud, but I guess we’ll have to wait to see if it ends up on the deluxe edition.

Final Verdict: 6.5/10

What are your thoughts? Is it hot or not? Leave a comment down below!

Thanks for Reading!