Playboi Carti Is For The Children

Where the conversation goes wrong when talking about Carti's 'MUSIC.'

Author

Jayson Rodriguez
April 03, 2025

Welcome to 56th issue of Backseat Freestyle. This is my weekly hip-hop newsletter I send out every Friday(ish) focusing on one big thing that happened over the past seven days. I also include links (15-25 of them) to what I’ve been listening to, reading and watching. You can check out the archive, here, and read more about me, here. If you’re already a BF subscriber, thank you for your continued support. If you’re arriving to this issue by way of a forward, LinkedIn or social media, please subscribe below. And please share this newsletter with your circle so that they can enjoy it, too; personal referrals go a long way toward my goals for growth. With that said, let’s get into it….

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Front Seat

This is what’s driving hip-hop this week….

FOR HIP-HOP HEADS OF A CERTAIN AGE, Playboi Carti is a complicated talent to figure out. He warbles his rhymes in unpredictable patterns. And what rhymes you do get, can feel incomplete at best or incoherent at worst. Add to that, the EQ levels of his music sit the production on top of his vocals in a way that makes for a noisy listen. But, if you pull in closer, you’ll hear the stylings of an artist that’s culled together a pastiche of Lil Wayne’s drug-fueled messianic boasts from the Da Drought mixtape era combined with the fearlessness of Young Thug’s vision during his Jeffery run. So, why is there so much conversation happening about what Carti isn’t? (A sample: It’s not for me! I’m not outside like that! The beats are cool!) Well, he isn’t a lyrical miracle rapper in the traditional sense of skill evaluation. We’ve long moved past that requisite, however, as we’re fully within the vibe era of hip-hop. But Carti is also a post vibe act in a way—MUSIC, his latest album after a five-year hiatus, is a smattering of his feelings, displaced and randomized in pieces across 30 tracks (34 if you clock the deluxe), leaving younger fans more willing to navigate the pill-induced scavenger hunt to find the emotional core. To discuss what Carti did or didn’t do plus the wider scope of lyricism, I called up Mickey Factz, who I met long ago when he was tapped as XXL Freshman in 2009. He’s the founder of Pendulum Ink, a school for lyricism that’s designed to “make rappers better.” (I think it makes listeners better too.) Mickey surprised me recently when he wrote a series of tweets downplaying lyricism, but it was in an effort to highlight what he feels are more important ingredients, such as songwriting, versatility and sharing your story. We touched on all of these in the scope of the new Carti LP (teaser: we both like the album). Have a listen.

Back Seat

Respect my mind or die from lead shower.

Some of the other conversations we reference during our talk or ones I found useful, informative or entertaining:

Joe Budden Reviews Playboi Carti Album: “If you are tuning in for the world’s shortest Playboi Carti album review, you are in the right fucking place.”

Open Eagle Mike: it’s ok to have questions about this (Carti album) 

The Bigger Picture: Is the Carti album good? 

NYT PopCast: Is Playboi Carti Rap’s Next—or Last—Superstar? 

RapLife Review: “I don’t think anyone is questioning hip-hop on this, I think it’s a question on whether you like it or not.”

Trunk (Music)

Music, news, reads, podcasts and videos that I’m checking for this week.

Playboi Carti’s MUSIC album, to me, has a lot of heat on it, but the sequencing is chaotic to the point of whiplash. He’s created a clear vision that allows for his guests to get in there and deliver some of their best verses in recent memory (Travis Scott) or fold into the proceedings in a way that highlights their versatility (Kendrick). DJ Swamp Izzo is a gift that holds the whole thing together. Standouts include “Cocaine Nose,” “South Atlanta Baby” and “Mojo Dojo.” [Listen]

YG might never get the credit that Kendrick receives, but the 4Hunnid rapper at times rivals his more celebrated peer as an anthropological voice who chronicles Compton with a shrewd observational style. His latest, “2004,” is twisted tale where YG recalls being sexually assaulted as a youth. [Listen]

Saba and No ID’s From The Private Collection… project is another strong collaboration/joint LP that follows this year in the footsteps of works by Ransom/Dave East, 38 Spesh/Elcamino and 2 Chainz/Larry June (with The Alchemist). [Listen] Related: William Ketchum talks to Saba about how the project came to be. [Read]

PlaqueBoyMax’s London EP is quality listen overall, but the the Skepta original “Less Is More” truly anchors the ambitious offering. [Listen]

Wale is in top form on “Blanco,” a forlorn rumination of a young man who seemingly finds himself at a crossroads. [Listen]

Nemzzz shows a lot of potential on his new mixtape, Rent’s Due, but he also shows there’s still a long road in front of him in terms of his development. [Listen] Not this Nems, who is in a similar boat. [LIsten]

Rob49’s consistency is leveling up; “WTHelly” is proof. [LIsten]

Body James with yet another new album, Hommage, [Listen]—following yet another just recently released album, with Chuck Strangers. [Listen]

Young Thug’s first performance since he was released from prison will take place this June at Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash Festival in Chicago. [Info]

RIP to Voletta Wallace. Prior to her death, she and the team overseeing Biggie’s estate finalized a deal for his catalog to be sold to Primary Wave. [Info]

Chance The Rapper vs. Pat The Manger is likely heading to trial. [Info]

Billboard takes a look back at “The State of the Hot 100’s Top 10 for 2024” and declares Hip-Hop Back on Top. [Read] Related: Hits asks “Is A Hip-Hop Renaissance In The Offing?” [Read]

For RollingStone’s latest Future of Music package, Timbaland talks about being all in on A.I., to the point where he compares his future with the app he uses to what Quincy Jones did later in his career with Thriller. [Read]

There was a time in New York when the SlowBucks’ snail logo was ubiquitous. Here, Johnny Shipes and his GoodTalk crew sit with the Queens duo to discuss their origins and what they’re doing now. [Listen]

I’m a fan, I'm a fan, I’m a fan. My Delaware kinfolk been blowing up. Now, she’s launched her new iHeart-backed podcast: The Latest With Loren LoRosa. [Listen]

The sum of Will Smith’s promo run is better than the parts (and the album, natch), but his appearance on Million Dollaz Worth of Game is a highlight because after the interview the camera keeps rolling to capture the impromptu hang between Gillie, Wallo, Will and Charlie Mack. [Listen] 

I don’t know if Drake is trying to troll Kendrick or not with the “Nokia” video but the homage to the snake game from the old school mobile at the 0:45 mark was pretty cool. [Watch]

Great video for a really good song (“Just Us”) and more importantly…the continuation of a nice string of loosies for Jack Harlow. [Watch]

This is a compliment: Armani White is such a TikTok/Instagram rapper. His “Cut The Lights” visual has all the ingredients to catch attention, from bright lights to quick cuts and an earworm chorus to a beat/flow that won’t stand still. [Watch]

OK, Lil Tecca over a Pharrell type beat? “Dark Thoughts” is a bit more jiggy (can’t think of a more appropriate word) for Tecca. But, I like it. [Watch]

I like when videos to remixes are stripped down and the only gas is the starpower of the artists. Job well done here by Luh Tyler and Wiz Khalifa on “Florida Boy.” [Watch] Related: I created a YouTube playlist called Heard It All Before to track new records I hear this year and what track they sample; like “Florida Boy” and the Gucci Mane banger he lifted. [Watch]

Speaking of Heard It All Before…Anycia borrows from a Khia classic for her GloRilla and KARRAHBOOO-assited “Never Need.” [Watch]

BigXthaPlug’s “Therapy Session” is like a scene between Easy Rawlins and Joppy in “Devil in a Blue Dress.”  [Watch]

Big Sean is so Detroit he could host a radio show on WZUP. The hometown hero appears on a pair of records from Detroit’s finest, including Icewear Vezzo’s “Worth Something” also featuring Peezy and he teamed up with G.T. for “FTW.” [Watch] [Watch]

 Cordae’s Tiny Desk appearance was touching for his nod to his mother and having her (also a performer) join her son in song. Another DC urea native, IDK, got in on the act with NPR too. [Watch] [Watch]

Fresh off of inking a deal with Warner Records, AZ Chike chopped it on with Nessa on Hot 97 to talk about how “Peekaboo” changed his life, the advice his got from ScHoolboy Q and whether or not he’s been firing off on the East Coast. [Watch]

Key Glock has been one of my favorite artists over the last few years and he’s wearing his success more comfortably as you can see in this interview with Angela Yee where he talks about his admiration for 2Pac and his memorable moment on A Safe Place. [Watch]

DaBaby can get on my nerves with his actions, as I wrote about it here, but (even if its begrudgingly) I will give credit where credit is due: he blazed Justin Credible’s Freestyle Series appearance. [Watch]

Backseat Freestyle is written and produced by me, Jayson Rodriguez, independently via my company, Smarty Art. If you have any comments, feedback or questions, feel free to email me: [email protected].If you would like to discuss sponsoring an issue of the newsletter, contact: [email protected] and check out the rates, here. And follow me elsewhere:

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