Playboi Carti Explains How MF Doom Influenced Him

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Playboi Carti says he doesn't have to "sound like MF DOOM to be inspired by him."

It's been nearly three months since Playboi Carti's third studio album, Whole Lotta Red. Fans were less than thrilled about the final product, largely because they've been waiting years for the 24-song tracklist project. Apparently, a deluxe is on the way with little to no updates on exactly when fans can expect it.

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The album arrived just a week before the tragic news of MF DOOM's passing. Fans, including many artists that DOOM influenced, shared an outpouring amount of tributes to the late rapper. Carti was among those, which led a few people to debate whether the Atlanta rapper was actually a fan of the masked villain. In a recent interview with Inked Magazine, the rapper explained that his shout-out to DOOM on "Stop Breathing" needed to be broken down to his engineer.

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"I had to tell my boy, my best friend, my engineer. He’s the person recording the song, and he didn’t know who MF DOOM was,” Carti said. “I’m like, you don’t know MF DOOM? You don’t know who this dude is? I had to play songs for him, because he didn’t know who he inspired. The mask! I’m anonymous myself, but he’s king of that."


About The Author
Aron A.
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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