On Dec. 8, 2023, Atlanta rapper Playboi Carti, real name Jordan Carter, surprise dropped the song “DIFFERENT DAY.” It was the first song he had released since his controversial and acclaimed 2020 album “Whole Lotta Red.” During the long wait of almost three years, there was near radio silence from Carti, with only a couple features here and there.
During this drought, Carter teased new music a couple of times, first with a post on X in 2020 announcing that a deluxe for “Whole Lotta Red” was on the way. The next year, in an Instagram post, he seemingly announced that he had a new album, releasing on Sept. 13, 2021, named “Narcissist.” Both of these projects were never dropped, and Playboi Carti fans eagerly anticipated new music.
Before the end of 2023, Carter surprise released two more singles: “2024” and “H00DBYAIR,” on Dec. 10 and Dec. 19, respectively. With these releases, he officially announced his forthcoming album titled “I AM MUSIC,” even proclaiming in “2024” “2024, music,” confirming that his long-awaited album would be released the following year. Throughout the winter and spring of 2024, Carter released three more singles: “BACKR00MS” featuring Travis Scott, “EVILJ0RDAN” and “KETAMINE.” All six new singles featured Carter experimenting with a deeper voice and a dirtier and more “Atlanta” style, with DJing and adlibs provided by fellow Atlanta native DJ Swamp Izzo. This return to his roots was in stark contrast to his style on “Whole Lotta Red,” which featured raw vocals, a higher voice, rage and punk-inspired beats, which were less present in the newer songs.
Over the summer and early fall, Carter was mostly silent, only previewing a couple of snippets of new music. This all changed with the release of the lead single for “I AM MUSIC,” “All Red,” on Sept. 13, 2024, along with the official cover art being posted and merchandise bundles, including physical copies of the album, going on sale. These merchandise bundles were said to be shipped out no later than six months after they went on sale (Mar. 13, 2025), or else they would be refunded.
Carter again went silent, for most of the fall, but released “PLAY THIS” on his Instagram account on Nov. 21. He also performed at ComplexCon on Nov. 16 in Las Vegas and Rolling Loud on Dec. 15 in Miami. In both of these performances, he played new songs like “OMERTA,” “CRUSH” featuring Travis Scott and “COCAINE NOSE,” and also posted teasers for these songs to his Instagram account. These newly previewed songs did not stop Carter from once again lying to his fans, as 2024 ended with no “music,” causing #IAMLIAR to trend on X. During the late part of 2024 and early part of 2025, Carter seemed only focused on posting pictures of his outfits and his cars, causing #IAMFITPIC to trend.
On Feb. 18, 2025, billboards popped up around the U.S. reading “I AM MUSIC MF.” These billboards were in collaboration with Spotify, as their logo was in the corner, and they posted about them on their social media accounts. In the following days, other billboards popped up with the same font and white background, with messages like “IMSOYVL” (a rumored song title) and “SORRY 4 DA WAIT,” in reference to the over four-year wait for the “I AM MUSIC.”
Finally, as the Mar. 13 deadline closes in for refunds being sent out, Carter posted “MY ALBUM DONE” on his Instagram story on the morning of Mar 9. This would be perfect timing, with the deadline for refunds becoming closer and closer every day. Carter has never operated with logic though, and has repeatedly lied to his fans, leaving them with one question: will Carti ever drop?
