Whole Lotta Red

 In defence of Whole Lotta Red: An analysis on Cartis most experimental album.

Overlooked by the masses at first, now two years later described as Cartis best album to date.Whole lotta red was an extremely anticipated album by fans and this hype allowed Carti to receive a whole lotta mixed opinions.When first dropped in December WLR received a lot of attention; mostly negative opinions towards Cartis new sound. But why so much hate? 

WLR is an album that incorporates a lot of punk and rock inspired beats which is definitely the opposite of what fans were ready to hear.Introduced into the new era of Carti with first song ‘Rockstar Made’ this song definitely sets up listeners for what they're about to experience. A song that encapsulates the whole aura of the album almost ‘Rockstar made’ is Carti showing a new version of himself, a version that is in its own lane. Carti 2.0. 

Laced with new sounds and legendary samples like “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” Carti shows that he’s evolved into a more refined and raw artist.Allowing himself to revamp his new voice and cultivate his sound this album illustrates that artistic change is not something that will be foreign to Carti in the future. From ‘Metamorphosis’ to ‘Sky’ these songs show great promise for Carti as he's clearly demonstrating the talent of transformation without losing the originality that comes from his past self. Carti continues to use his “baby voice” and utilise the unheard of rap style that made him gain so much popularity to begin with. ‘Teen X’ is a great example of Carti showing appreciation for his unique voice whilst still developing it , this song shares Carti in a new light with Carti bringing in another rapper (Future) to create an auto tuned masterpiece that creates a whole new genre of hyper-rap. 

Paying tribute to his more familiar sound with songs such as ‘Place’ and ‘ILoveUIHateU” these songs definitely sound a lot more like Old Carti with nostalgic beats and repetitive hooks. Carti is not trying to be predictable though, still continuing to shift the albums narrative. WLR is an emo-rap alien baby that was created to push Carti out of his comfort zone and allow his fans to move on out of the past with him. Carti checks multiple genres boxes with this album and shows that making fun of yourself to push yourself truly works. With this paradoxical self-conflicting album Carti makes people listen, even if they don't want to.The difference in his sound and the creation of a goth-y unique take on rap that allows a mix of old horror samples and new hyper-pop beats truly highlights the reward of taking musical risks. Whole Lotta Red is a demonstration of the benefits of trying out new things. Carti took a risk with this album, a body of work that will soon become a timeless classic.

The self proclaimed vamp , now two years later after the albums release only hears how well the album is doing. But two years ago this attention wasn't always as positive. 25th December 2020, many fans came online to stop opening gifts and spending time with family to talk about the long awaited album , a lot of people had a lot to say on their distaste with Carti’s new sound.Was it really Carti’s new sound that was “Trash” or did the internet just find it very easy to jump on the hate train. Real fans came online to defend the artist and talk about how this would be one of the most talked about albums in due time. A few months later this manifestation was true, with everyone on the internet praising the artist on his new album and hyping up the new album. Even trending almost 5 songs on the album at a time from the album. Fans creating trends to songs like ‘Sky’ and ‘Place’ and rebranding the artists album from “overhyped trash” to “an avante garde futuristic masterpiece” overnight.This is just another example of the effects of following trends and the internet quickly changing its perspective on topics and things within a second. The fast paced movement of the internet constantly keeps people on their toes, Carti being an example of yet another artist to be transported along the hate to praise pipeline.

Whole Lotta Red is an album that is original and distinct, with that being said it was always going to take time for the album to be well received. As Carti has shown through this album, change is necessary for growth , especially in the artistic sense.

Fatima :)