In April 2017, ATL rapper Playboi Carti released his self-titled debut mixtape. The mixtape featured the hit single "Magnolia", along with the Lil Uzi Vert-assisted banger "wokeuplikethis*". Carti first got his breakthrough in 2015, with the singles "Broke Boi" and "Fetti" with Maxo Kream & Da$h getting a lot of buzz. The next year, he became an affiliate of the A$AP Mob after signing to the AWGE label, and appeared on the two volumes of the Cozy Tapes series.
Fast forward to 2018, and "Magnolia" was one of the biggest hits from last year, and fans are now waiting for his long-awaited debut ALBUM. It had been speculated by fans that he'd drop on May 11, after a number of songs started to leak. But the news came to a surprise for the rest of the mainstream audiences, when A$AP Rocky revealed Carti's album title and cover.
Die Lit serves as the 21 year-old rapper's debut album, following up his self-titled mixtape from last year. Mostly continuing the chemistry between Carti and producer/rapper Pi'erre Bourne (other producers also contribute including Maaly Raw and Don Cannon), the album is slightly longer, featuring 19 tracks with guest appearances from Skepta, Bryson Tiller, Chief Keef, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Young Thug and more. Apart from "Magnolia", "wokeuplikethis*" and maybe "What", most of the songs I heard from Carti wasn't really hitting for me (probably because trap isn't my go-to music most of the time), and his contributions on the Cozy Tapes from A$AP Mob were annoying, pointless trash. I'll give him props for his hooks on "Walk on Water" and "Frat Rules" though. So getting to this album, I was expecting a little better after hearing my Twitter timeline gas the album up (someone even said it was top 8 AOTY so far, ha!). However, it was... meh.
However, first of all, I gotta give it up to Pi'erre Bourne, cos that guy is actually real talented, seriously. Carti is a shit rapper but the chemistry between him & Pi'erre works so well, especially with his flow and sometimes melodic styles. "Choppa Won't Miss" and "Home (KOD)" were key moments on the album, in terms of production. I can even add "Right Now". But other than that, I don't even know why I had expectations for a trap rapper that isn't even lyrical or has big substance in his music. Die Lit was mid for me. Yeah, trap music isn't my cup of tea, but even in that genre, there are times a rapper has delivered (Modern example: Travis Scott's Days Before Rodeo and Future's Monster). For an album with 19 tracks, only like 6 or 7 tracks connected, especially during first listen. As for the rest... forgettable mediocre bullshit. "Love Hurts" was a disappointing single from Carti & Travis, I expected it to bang harder than that, but it just ended up being a trash forgettable joint on the album. "R.I.P." had a decent beat but I didn't enjoy Carti on it. Only the line "Fuck that mumblin' shit, Fuck that mumblin' shit/Bought that crib for my mama off that mumblin' shit" caught my ear (not that it was a mindblowing bar or anything). So far, "Shoota" is the weakest joint from Carti & Uzi, especially after "Lookin" and "wokeuplikethis*", but it's whatever though. And "Pull Up" was average.
But enough complaining, let's get onto the good moments. Carti happens to complement most of Pi'erre's beats so well, and most of the time he doesn't even rap about shit. "Choppa Won't Miss" is my favourite song on that album, from when it leaked a few days before release and even now when on the album. The hook is catchy as hell, and I enjoyed both Carti and Young Thug's verses, especially Thug. He killed that shit, man! The intro "Long Time" started off the album pretty well, reflecting on how things have gone for him since he blew up and dropped his mixtape. Well, that was just the hook, his verse is pretty generic but the flow is nice and the beat is so great! "Right Now" is another catchy joint, and Pi'erre makes an appearance, contributing a little verse. Both of them don't only work well together as a rapper/producer combo but also together as just rappers as well. Not only is the beat is nice, but the verses are pretty enjoyable. "Home (KOD)" and "Foreign" are some other solid cuts on the album, And Carti came through with a great flow, which makes for a very catchy and memorable listen on those songs.
The features, they're OK. Some do their thing, some others were mid. Skepta happens to provide a decent contribution on "Lean 4 Real" with his flow. Pi'erre Bourne works so well with Carti as a rapper, and "Right Now" is good evidence of that. Travis Scott's contribution on "Love Hurts" was disappointing. Chief Keef on "Mileage" made for a pretty good vibe. And maybe it's my bias against Nicki, but I wasn't feeling her on "Poke It Out"; her delivery came across as very annoying and the bars didn't make it any better for me. Yes, Carti isn't any better but his style managed to get me vibing to his verse more. It could've worked better as a solo Carti song.
Overall, for the most part, Die Lit manages to succeed at what it's supposed to be: a compilation of bangers with catchy deliveries and banging production. However, for my ears, it's not that great. Just like its predecessor, it falls flat here and there, but you're able to at least find something to vibe to. It's not supposed to be a deep, lyrical album and that's OK. But most of the tracks really don't engage me enough to go back to the album too much. The main thing I can say is... nothing really, ha. It is what it is. Check the album for yourself!
Recommended Tracks: "Choppa Won't Miss", "Right Now", "Long Time (Intro)", "Home (KOD)", "Lean 4 Real", "Foreign"
