Playboi Carti is regarded as one of the most influential artists in the last 6 years. He is one of the most innovative artists, dropping hit albums like his self-titled mixtape, Die Lit, and Whole Lotta Red. Carti has added a melodic and alternative style to Atlanta Trap Hip Hop. His music is often described as mumble rap. The reason is that his music is repetitive and puts too much focus on vocals. Instead, Carti’s music focuses on flow and is often very catchy. In terms of imagery, Carti displays a Satanic aesthetic because of his influence from vampire movies.
Playboi Carti, aka Jordan Carter, was born on September 13, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia. He originally had dreams of going pro in basketball but quit due to bad habits and disputes with the coach. Due to the loss of basketball, Carti began to pursue music and often missed classes. As a teenager, Carti was heavily influenced by fashion and was a trendsetter for multiple fashion styles. In 2011, he began to drop songs on SoundCloud under the name Sir Cartier. He then changed his name to Playboi Carti in 2013. Later in 2014, producer Ethereal caught wind of Carti’s music and helped him join Awful Records. Ethereal helped Carti develop his sound and he then decided to move to New York to pursue music full-time. While in New York, Carti met Asap Bari, who introduced him to Asap Rocky. Asap Rocky, being a successful artist on the rap scene, saw Carti’s potential, and took him to Texas with him.
In 2015, Carti began dropping singles on SoundCloud like Broke Boi and Fetti. His music began gaining popularity and he collaborated with other artists like Yung Bans, UnoTheActivist, Lil Yachty, and Thouxanbandfauni. After going on tour with other breakthrough artists, Lil Uzi Vert and Asap Ferg, he signed a deal with Interscope Records. In 2017, he dropped his debut self-titled album, Playboi Carti. This album was successful and peaked at No.12 on The Billboard Hot 200. His 2 most successful singles on the album were Magnolia, which peaked at 29 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Wokeuplikethis which peaked at 76 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 2017, Carti was listed in XXL Freshmen for best upcoming rappers. In 2018, Carti dropped arguably one of the most iconic albums in the last 10 years, Die Lit. It sold over 5,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number 3 on The US Billboard Hot 200. The songs on Die Lit ranged from hype mosh pit songs like R.I.P, and soothing melodic songs like Long Time. In 2018 he began working on his third album, Whole Lotta Red, which he dropped on Christmas Day. Vince Ingunez-Howell ’25 says, “ Carti’s music is very innovative and he was doing things in music that were ahead of his time.” In summary, Carti is an innovative genius who influenced the rap game with his unique style.
