After a 1540–day wait, rapper Jordan Carter, professionally known as Playboi Carti,  released his third album, “MUSIC,” which holds 30 tracks, on March 14.

I had low hopes going into the album, and they sank even lower when I heard the first song, “POP OUT.” I can only describe this track as an assault on the ears of those listening. It sounds like an industrial storm of noise with Playboi Carti rapping. The beat is one of the harshest I’ve ever heard and my least favorite on the album. My hopes were raised after hearing the rest of the songs on the album, starting with the track “CRUSH.”

The production of “MUSIC,” primarily handled by Kanye West, F1lthy, and DJ Swamp Izzo, greatly confuses me. At times, the production sounds almost ethereal, such as in the songs “CRUSH” and “RATHER LIE.” At other times, the beats were downright excessive and annoying. Throughout the album, and especially in the track “EVIL J0RDAN,” an out-of-place shotgun blast sound effect can be heard much too often. On the song “OPM BABI,” DJ Swamp Izzo’s producer tag sounds off too many times and is accompanied by even more shotgun blasts. I’m baffled by the fact that it took five years to create “MUSIC,” and there is still such a contrast in the quality of production on the album.

“MUSIC” shifts from Playboi Carti’s use of his signature “baby voice,” characterized by its higher pitch, to a much deeper and raspier tone. He still employs his higher pitch in some tracks and a host of other tones, but his new, raspy voice is most prominent. The rapper’s voices are not the only varied element of this album, though. “MUSIC” encompasses various hip-hop subgenres, including trap, industrial, rage, and EDM. Impressively, each of the 30 tracks are distinct sounding despite the high number of songs. Most listeners should be able to find at least one song they like on this album.

Listeners who wanted a return to Playboi Carti’s older musical style, as heard in his self-titled mixtape and his first studio album “Die Lit,” will be disappointed by this release. On one hand, “MUSIC” is a messy, much-too-long album full of incomplete-sounding songs that almost reminds me of the raw sound of a mixtape. On the other hand, “MUSIC” is also a bold, genre-bending, high-energy opus that represents the rapper’s growth as an artist. Although the album may not be what fans were looking for, “MUSIC” is loud, chaotic, and exhilarating – everything listeners should come to expect from Playboi Carti from now on.

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