On Wednesday (September 13), influential Atlanta trap rapper Playboi Carti turned 27 years old. And though he has not put out any new solo music since his Christmas 2020 album Whole Lotta Red, he decided to give his fans a few gifts for his special day.
Videos by American Songwriter
In the middle of the day Wednesday, Carti’s record label Opium posted an open invite for a 21+ event in Atlanta celebrating Carti’s birthday. Soon after this, Carti would post a few Instagram stories himself, uploading behind-the-scenes photos of the event site where he would be rumored to perform.
Once nightfall came, many of Carti’s most loyal fans congregated at the designated area, which appeared to be a large warehouse. There, a stage was set up for the prolific rapper to give an intimate performance.
[RELATED: Playboi Carti Delays North American Leg of Antagonist Tour]
During his set, Carti would end up playing a litany of unreleased songs, which included collaborations with Lil Uzi Vert, Travis Scott, and his Opium-signed duo Homixide Gang. In most of the clips that surfaced online from the event, it appears that the songs see Carti employ his new low-pitched, grumbling rap voice, which he debuted for the first time on “FE!N,” a fan-favorite track from Travis Scott’s July album UTOPIA.
Though the videos taken last night don’t have the best sound quality, fans will likely get a chance to hear one of the new songs more clearly tonight.
Before Carti’s quasi-birthday party Wednesday, he called into the V-103 radio station in Atlanta to speak with host DJ Swamp Izzo. While on the phone with Carti, Izzo explained how he wanted to preview one of Carti’s songs on the radio. And, even though he only played a short snippet of the track at the time, he did confirm that he will be playing the full version during his segment today at 9 p.m. ET.
At the moment, fans expect that these songs will land on Cart’s long-awaited, forthcoming album Music, which he first announced in April 2022. However, as Carti is planning to hit the road with all of his Opium signees in November for the Antagonist Tour, it’s unclear if the album will drop before or after the tour begins. But, judging by the liveliness of the crowd at last night’s show in Atlanta, it’s clear that Carti fans would prefer for the Music to come sooner than later.
Photo by Joseph Okpako/WireImage
