Playboi Carti's I AM MUSIC (or just Music? Who knows?) is finally upon us, and he is well-aware of what that anticipation means. Moreover, he recently shared a short instrumental snippet on Instagram along with a graphic that reads "IM NOT PLAYING." As such, the Atlanta rage pioneer is probably very aware that he has been playing for the better part of three years now when it comes to his next album. In addition to reposting Tyler, The Creator DMs, old Young Thug tweets, and Pharrell cosigns, this is adding to some more prolific activity from him that fans are very happy to see. After all, Carti is usually radio-silent, and a lot of what we hear or see of him is through so many other means that aren't himself.
Furthermore, let's talk about this snippet, which might be part of this January drop for Playboi Carti. It's nothing too special, to be honest: heavy and simple bass, a creepy and slightly Halloween-ish synth melody, a compressed snare, and rattling hi-hats. If anything, it's like a fusion of the tempo and drum pattern that dominated Die Lit with the goth aesthetics of Whole Lotta Red. As such, we can't really take a guess at what previous style this new release will imitate, but we hope that it's none of the above and that Carti comes through with something new.
Playboi Carti Is "Not Playing" With This New Snippet: Listen
In addition to this new hype for I AM MUSIC, this follows previous promises and timeline changes in his career. For example, when Playboi Carti and the rest of Opium had to reschedule their European tour dates, he said that his album was coming soon, which we now have at least some confirmation of thanks to DJ Akademiks. It's actually funny that there are a lot of similarities between this and WLR: a winter/Christmastime drop, DJ Akademiks with the inside scoop, and it doesn't look like his aesthetics have changed all that much since then. We'd guess that the newest thing about this new release is that the "FE!N" MC will use more of the deep and warbly delivery he debuted on that song.
Meanwhile, as fans, we all have to be ready for this whole thing to fall apart at any second– and to be cognizant of his alleged abhorrent behavior. After all, with so many teases, apparent delays, and unfulfilled promises, fans are too hardened to let their guard down. So let's hold out a healthy balance of skepticism and hope until we see something on our preferred DSPs. For more news and the latest updates on Playboi Carti, stick around on HNHH.
