The year is 2020. You are snuggled up on a chilly Christmas eve night, hot cocoa in hand, the tree glistening with the twinkling lights and glistening ornaments. The clock reads 11:59. Tick-Tock. With all the shining lights and cozy feelings around you, you only think about one thing. In the next minute, your life will change forever. The clock strikes 12. It’s here. You have sweat running down your forehead. You open up Spotify. You go to the search bar. P, L, A, Y. as you click on the first artist listed, you see it. Whole Lotta Red. 

Before I get into the meat of the album, a little background. Whole Lotta Red is the third studio album from rapper Playboi Carti. The long-awaited album finally released at midnight on Christmas day.  The album suffered many delays and even on announced release days, the album was nowhere to be found. This was over a year-long process of patient waiting from fans. Many teasers were released for this album as well. A video was posted from Carti’s official Tik-Tok account that showed him in the studio with Kid Cudi working on the song titled, “Kid Cudi”, which was a long-awaited song after being leaked in the summer of 2019. This song never ended up being on the album and is still yet to be released. Kid Cudi is instead featured on another song on the album which I will get into later. Now to get into some of the songs, starting with…

Rockstar Made 7.5/10

Starting with the first track on the album, Rockstar Made. This is the track that you hear when you first click play on this album. The lead-off track caused some unrest among Carti fans and casual rap fans alike. The sound was completely different from anything he had. It has a harsh synthesized melody over a strong beat. The track starts the theme on this album of repetition. On almost every track the chorus is a repeated phrase over and over. These tones on the track are what really turned away many fans on the immediate release of the album. It sounded completely different from the supposed leaks before the album’s official release. 

Go2DaMoon (Feat. Kanye West) 3/10

Now to the second track on the album, Go2DaMoon. This track has the first of only 3 features on the album, although it is not a great one. This track was produced and featured with Kanye West, the production was very good as the beat is actually become very iconic on the internet and generally does sound good. Kanye West’s feature though does not compare. It is a very sloppy and lazy verse with poor lyrics and a choppy flow. Featuring this verse on the front half of the track ends up ruining what I see as a very good, although very short verse from Carti. 

Stop Breathing 10/10

Introducing the third track, Stop Breathing. This track encapsulates exactly what this album is and what it should be. It starts immediately with a thundering bass and then immediately gets into the repetition aspect of the track. The entirety of the track is loud and mean and that’s exactly what this album is known for. And it’s exactly what makes it great. You could throw this song on in the car, at a party, or even just for casual listening. Seeing this song live makes it especially good for me. 

Beno! 6/10

For the fourth track, Beno!, it is a more futuristic-sounding track with a very spacy beat behind it. Its not all great and I consider it to be one of the more boring and forgettable tracks on the album. That doesn’t make it all bad but it is a bit disappointing after just hearing the track prior to it. This track just doesn’t hold much to itself. 

JumpOutTheHouse 7/10

The fifth track, JumpOutTheHouse, is not a track you would expect to see with a rating as high as a 7 after your first listen. JumpOutTheHouse really takes the repetition element and runs with it as the track really is just the title phrase looped over and over with the occasional side phrase thrown in there. As said before, it would not seem to be good after hearing this, but in reality, it makes for a fun listen and it can actually be a very good song in the whole scheme of the album. I really appreciate what it does for Whole Lotta Red, being a short track but a good breakup in the album. 

M3tamorphosis (Feat. Kid Cudi) 8/10

The sixth track, M3tamorphosis, is a five-minute track that features rapper Kid Cudi. the track was a bit of a fake-out for what fans were expecting. Prior to the release, Carti posted a video of him in the studio with Kid Cudi, working on the leaked track titled, “Kid Cudi” so when this album was released, fans thought the track just had a name change, but it ended up being a completely different song. Nonetheless, M3tamorphosis is a very good track that I feel really stands out from the rest of the songs on the album. While it still holds a blaring beat with electronic backing, it is set up differently. The hums from Kid Cudi really make the track amazing to me. And while most of the tracks of this album are around 2 minutes, a five-minute track is a nice change. 

New Tank 10/10

I’m skipping a few songs down the album as a few are just not good or bad enough to get a full review, but the ninth track off this album New Tank, goes back to the hardcore beat and backing. Similar to Stop Breathing, it falls into the category of “aggressive”, but that’s exactly what I like to see out of Carti on this album. New Tank also features what are some of the best lyrics on the entire album. 

Teen X (Feat. Future) 8/10

The tenth track, Teen X, holds the last real feature on the album with Future being on the latter part of the song. Teen X comes in with an immediate looping electronic beat that sounds almost psychedelic and hypnotic. I was not a big fan of this track on my initial listen but it has grown on me significantly. The looping instrumental works very well for the track and the lyrics placed on it. 

Vamp Anthem 8/10

Possibly the most notable track off the album, the twelfth track, Vamp Anthem, uses the classic vampire organ sound and samples it to be a trap beat that when released, really set the tone for the album. The whole theme around Carti at the time of this release was vampires, even going as far to refer to his fans as Vamps. This song, while not having the best lyrics in the world, is so addicting to listen to with how different the sample makes the song. This is one that will go down as an all-time trap song for many people. 

New N3on 11/10

The Thirteenth track off the album, and the absolute best, New N3on, utilizes the perfect beat and electronic, twinkling, and sparkling backing sound I’ve maybe ever heard. This track, although not directly following the theme, is easily the best on the album. About halfway through the track, there is a build-up leading to an absolutely beautiful display of how gorgeous trap music can be. The music almost sounds like windchimes on a blustery day. I love this song with everything I have and it is severely underrated by Carti fans and casual fans alike. 

Control 9/10

The fourteenth track, Control, is probably one of the more complete tracks on the album. It almost acts as a monologue track with lots of spoken word lyrics instead of rhyming. It once again utilizes electronics in the backing and it makes for a very well-rounded track. It isn’t all similar to the rest of the tracks but it’s a nice change. Just overall good. 

On That Time 10/10

The sixteenth track, On That Time, Is the third and final of the trilogy of aggressive songs, following Stop Breathing and New Tank. This track is loud and angry the second you start it. Heavy bass and roaring instrumental with seemingly an electric guitar riff center this track and makes for the most intense listen of the entire album. All the way through it’s loud and nasty. It’s the absolute perfect song for the entire theme of the album. 

Sky 9/10

The nineteenth track, Sky, is the most popular song off the album on the internet and social media. It’s the track anyone would know and it’s because it’s built to have mass appeal. While it still uses the electronic and winding beats found on the album, it’s much softer than previously and falls more like a standard trap beat. This allows it to be more widely accepted as a good song, and appeal more to the common listener. This does not make it bad by any means. Popular songs are popular for a reason, they are really good at what they do and are fun to listen to. This song allows itself to be a good intro to Caerti’s music and I would definitely recommend 

ILoveUIHateU 10/10

The twenty-first track from Whole Lotta Red, ILoveUIHateU, uses a high pitched whining sound as a leader for the track and continues throughout the rest. This track has some great lyrics rather than some of the nonsense that can be found on a lot of the other tracks on the album. Seeing this track get performed live was amazing. The entire arena went quiet when the intro played. The intro has a certain echoing feature on it that made it radiate throughout the entire arena. Now, whenever I listen to the song I get brought back to that night and how exciting it was to hear it.

F33l Lik3 Dyin 8/10

The twenty-fourth and final track on Whole Lotta Red, F33l Lik3 Dyin, starts with a sample of a woman talking and a very quiet, somber, tune playing in the background. It then leads into an insane drop into the main instrumental. This song also has a bit of an echoing quality in it and is a very casual and almost sad song. The only reason this song is not a 10/10, is that almost halfway through the track, Carti hits us with some of the worst cascading vocals that I have ever heard. Hearing it makes me physically cringe. Once you get past that little rough patch the rest of the song is very beautiful, in a way very specific to Carti. 

So, after a long look at the album, do you think you will give it a listen? Carti’s Christmas project, although not entirely holly-jolly sounding, makes for a special time in my life as it was my first concert and one of the best experiences of my life. I would 100% recommend seeing him live if you get the chance. Now go forth and spread the word of Carti.