Ever since hearing Magnolia by Playboi Carti I was hooked to his music. What was it that drove me to this Atlanta rapper? It has to be the energy and fun nature that he exudes in his music. Not known for his lyrics but more for his ad-lib and trap style, Playboi is an artist to go to for high energy and catchy hooks. It was interesting to see if his career would expand beyond the hit Magnolia.

A lot of the new young mumble rappers get much flack for their non lyrical and simplistic take on rap music. What they lack in lyrical content they make up for in energy and Playboi Carti is an example of this. With Die Lit, Playboi shows he has lasting power.

My introduction to the album came with tracks Choppa Won’t Miss and the Travis Scott assisted track Love Hurts. The first is an anthem with Playboi ad-libs that are funny and catchy. The beat is a hypnotic syrupy banger that flows incredibly well with  Playboi and Young Thug over it. Young Thug comes in and does his thing and adds style and flavor to this can’t miss track. The second is a bass heavy track produced by Pi’erre Bourne that delights anyone with a great speaker system.

The album packs 19 tracks in under one hour and does this well. The album moves fast and takes you on a lit ride. Most of the tracks come in under the 3 minute mark and sometimes leaves you wanting more.

Skepta the grime king is brought on to inject the grittiness of London rap into Lean 4 Real the third track off the album. This lean and pill popping track is an intense in your face banger that takes a hold of you. That is what this album does best. It feeds it’s listener catchy, loud, bass heavy, leaned-out music that can’t be ignored. In the album’s intro Long Time, Playboi raps about himself finally achieving some kind of success. There is a a grateful nature to the track but it is also lined with a reckless nature as he states “No cap and gown, I ain’t go to class, I’d rather die before I come in last“. That recklessness and F U attitude is why I like him!

Now that album was released in early May and followed a strong album from J Cole and was released before A$AP Rocky’s Testing, Drake’s Scorpion, and the G.O.O.D. Music June releases. In my opinion it has held up well against those albums. Standout tracks include R.I.P Fredo (Notice Me), Shoota, Choppa Won’t Miss, FlatBed Freestyle, and Lean 4 Real. The album features Nicki Minaj, Skepta, Travis Scott, Chief Keef, Bryson Tiller, Young Thug, and Lil Uzi Vert.