After five years of silence, Playboi Carti roared back in early 2025 with MUSIC, an album that didn’t just meet expectations it shattered them. Within twenty-four hours, the project became the most-streamed release of the year and secured the seventh-largest opening day in Spotify’s history, with nearly 140 million streams. That kind of reception cements Carti as more than a cult hero: he’s now one of hip-hop’s dominant cultural figures.

The guest list alone signals the album’s ambition. Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Lil Uzi Vert, and Future each step into Carti’s fractured sonic world, but none steal the show. Instead, Carti bends their contributions into his own chaotic framework, layering distorted beats, fractured ad-libs, and bursts of melody. His vocal delivery remains polarizing alternating between whispers, shouts, and airy refrains but it continues to push rap into strange, compelling territory.

For all its commercial muscle, MUSIC has not avoided controversy. A handful of tracks drew suspicion for possible AI involvement, with critics pointing to uncanny production quirks. Carti himself quickly denied the claims, emphasizing his creative control. Ironically, the speculation only heightened the album’s aura, underscoring how his art often feels a step ahead of what listeners think is possible.

What makes MUSIC fascinating isn’t just its success, but its contradictions. It’s messy yet monumental, futuristic yet deeply rooted in rap tradition. Songs collapse into fragments only to rebuild themselves into anthems. The features glitter, but the gravitational pull remains Carti’s unpredictable voice.

Whole Lotta Red proved he could divide audiences. MUSIC proves he can unite them at least in sheer numbers while still maintaining the raw, disorienting energy that built his legend. Whether one finds it genius or chaos, it is undeniably one of the defining releases of 2025.