Intro to Playboi Carti and Die Lit
Playboi Carti first emerged in the early 2010s Atlanta underground scene, gaining traction for his unique vocal style and melodic delivery. While he released various mixtapes and eps like his self-titled project in 2017, it wasn’t until 2018’s Die Lit that Carti truly broke through to mainstream success.
Die Lit acted as his proper debut studio album, released on May 11, 2018 via Interscope Records and AWGE. It was supported by lead single "Shoota" featuring Lil Uzi Vert. Production on the album was primarily handled by Pi’erre Bourne, with additional production from Southside, Tay Keith, Wheezy and others. This all-star team helped provide the backdrop for Carti’s evolution from SoundCloud phenom to one of trap music’s most influential new voices.
Die Lit showcased Carti’s talent for catchy ad-libs, unconventional flows and vocal experimentation. Songs like "R.I.P." and "Mileage" highlighted his signature style, while features from Young Thug, Travis Scott and others added star power. The album’s title pointed to Carti’s wild rockstar lifestyle, with its head-turning cover art featuring the rapper passed out surrounded by cash, jewelry and controlled substances. Overall, Die Lit marked the thrilling emergence of Playboi Carti’s creative vision.
Die Lit Album Art & Title Meaning
The album cover art for Die Lit is striking, with its bold colors and minimalist design. It features Playboi Carti’s face in profile, his eyes closed and mouth agape as if caught mid-song. The background is an eye-catching combination of bright yellow and baby blue gradating vertically behind him.
These loud, vibrant colors match the exuberant energy and youthful feel of Carti’s music. They grab your attention in an instant. Carti’s face is centered on the cover, highlighting him as the star. His signature birthmark is visible on his left cheek. The text for the title is large and bold in white, overlapping Carti’s face to tie together the artwork.
The album name "Die Lit" is an embodiment of Carti’s free-spirited ethos and the turn up lifestyle portrayed across the album’s lyrics. To "die lit" means to live life to the fullest, recklessly enjoying yourself without any cares or inhibitions. It evokes a sense of invincibility and feeling "lit" or turnt up to the extreme.
Carti spoke on the meaning in an interview, stating: "Die Lit means to just go crazy…Have fun, live life with no regrets." It’s this seize the day, party hard mentality that the music encapsulates. The album title and cover art visually introduce us to the wild, neon-soaked world of Die Lit before the music even starts.
Die Lit Production & Features
Die Lit showcases some of the top producers in trap music, featuring beats from Pi’erre Bourne, Wheezy, Mexikodro, Maaly Raw, Richie Souf, and more. Many of the beats on Die Lit exemplify the hazy, atmospheric trap production that Pi’erre Bourne popularized.
Tracks like "R.I.P." and "Mileage" highlight Pi’erre Bourne’s talents, with ethereal melodies and hard-hitting 808s. Meanwhile, Wheezy brings bouncy, uptempo beats on songs like "Pull Up" and "Love Hurts."
Other top producers like Mexikodro, Richie Souf, F1lthy, and Maaly Raw each add their own flavor to the production as well. Their top-notch beats allow Carti’s vocals to float over each track.
In addition to the stellar production, Die Lit features several high-profile collaborations. The album has features from Nicki Minaj, Lil Uzi Vert, Young Thug, and Travis Scott.
Nicki Minaj adds a scene-stealing verse on the track "Poke It Out," while Travis Scott joins Carti on the catchy banger "Love Hurts." Lil Uzi Vert also shows up for a memorable guest spot on "Shoota." With these features from rap heavyweights, Die Lit reflects Carti’s growing clout and connections in the industry.
The chemistry between Carti and the producers, along with the big-name features, make Die Lit a compelling showcase of Carti’s talents and his relationships within hip-hop. The production carries his unique style, while the features add extra star power to the project.
Lyrical Themes & Carti’s Delivery
The lyrics on Die Lit showcase Playboi Carti’s distinct style, with the majority of songs revolving around common trap themes like flexing designer clothes and jewelry, partying, women, and his lavish lifestyle. However, Carti approaches these in his own unique way, often using cryptic, repetitive phrases rather than full verses and narratives. There’s an air of mystery around many of the lyrics, as Carti opts for visceral ad-libs and vocal melodies over dense, complex bars.
Some standout motifs across Die Lit include:
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Flexing wealth and fashion – Constant references to expensive brands like Raf Simons, Balenciaga, Gucci, Prada. Carti brags about his jewelry, cars, and globetrotting lifestyle.
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Women/relationships – Sexual and romantic innuendos feature heavily. However, the lyrics give little insight into real relationships. Women are portrayed as status symbols.
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Partying and drug use – Carti makes many nods to drinking, smoking, popping pills, etc. as part of his wild lifestyle.
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Vampiric/gothic imagery – Several tracks feature vampire and gothic horror references that add a dark edge to Carti’s hedonistic lyrics.
The most distinctive aspect of Playboi Carti’s rapping style is his slurred, mumbled delivery and ad-libs. He frequently strays into more sung, melodic vocal lines rather than traditional hip-hop flows. At times, Carti seems to use his voice more like an instrument than for precise lyrics. There are no dense multisyllabic rhyme schemes here – instead we get repetitive, hypnotic phrases drowned in echoing ad-libs like "What?" "Yeah" and "Bih!"
Carti’s vocal experimentation and disregard for conventions make his rapping incredibly distinctive. The lyrics almost fade into the beat – it’s more about vibe and emotion. By focusing on catchy hooks and vocal chants over complex bars, Carti carved out a unique lane in the rap game that has pushed hip-hop in a new melodic direction.
Die Lit Full Album Review
The album kicks off with the atmospheric "Long Time Intro" featuring ethereal vocals from Pi’erre Bourne, setting the tone for the project. This leads into "R.I.P.," one of the standout tracks. Its menacing, minimalist beat from Pi’erre Bourne complements Carti’s laidback braggadocious lyrics and infectious ad-libs.
"Lean 4 Real" slows things down over a hypnotic loop, with Carti flexing about his rockstar lifestyle in his trademark mumbled delivery. "Old Money" picks up the energy again with booming 808s as Carti reflects on his come-up and current fame.
"Love Hurts" featuring Travis Scott is another highlight, with both rappers playing off each other well over a spacey, melodic beat. Scott’s auto-tuned harmonizing contrasts nicely with Carti’s mumbled verses.
"Shoota" featuring Lil Uzi Vert stands out with its catchy hook and verses from Carti and Uzi showcasing their chemistry. Uzi’s verse is a particular highlight, delivered in his signature hyper-fast animated flow.
"Right Now" features Pi’erre Bourne with an infectious tag-team hook and verses from Carti and Bourne. Carti reflects more on his newfound fame and success in his characteristically sparse lyrical style.
Overall, Die Lit showcases Carti’s talent for crafting minimalist, atmospheric trap beats with hypnotic flows and repetitive infectious hooks. His laidback mumbled delivery lets the production shine while his charismatic presence pulls the tracks together into a cohesive whole.
Die Lit Album Tracklist with Lyrics
Die Lit contains 19 tracks with appearances from Nicki Minaj, Skepta, Lil Uzi Vert, Young Thug and more. Below is the full tracklist in order along with links to view the complete lyrics for each song. This allows readers to follow along and read the lyrics as they listen to the album.
- Long Time Intro
- R.I.P.
- Lean 4 Real
- Old Money
- Love Hurts (feat. Travis Scott)
- Shoota (feat. Lil Uzi Vert)
- Right Now (feat. Pi’erre Bourne)
- Poke It Out (feat. Nicki Minaj)
- Home (KOD)
- Fell in Luv
- Foreign
- Pull Up
- Mileage (feat. Chief Keef)
- FlatBed Freestyle
- No Time (feat. Gunna)
- Middle of the Summer
- Choppa Won’t Miss (feat. Young Thug)
- R.I.P. Fredo (feat. Young Nudy)
- Top
Streaming & Listening Options
Die Lit is available to stream in full across all major music platforms. Listeners can experience the album from start to finish by clicking the embed below to stream the full Die Lit playlist on YouTube:
In addition to YouTube, Die Lit can be streamed via:
Die Lit is also available for purchase digitally or physically on CD and vinyl formats through major retailers like Amazon and Carti’s official webstore. Fans can own a physical copy of the album to support Playboi Carti and enjoy liner notes, artwork, and high-quality audio.
Critical Reception of Die Lit
Die Lit received widespread critical acclaim upon its release in May 2018. Many major music publications praised the album as a defining moment in Playboi Carti’s career.
Pitchfork gave Die Lit a score of 8.5 out of 10, applauding Carti’s evolution as an artist. They wrote, "He’s made an avant-pop masterpiece, a brilliant document of the current moment in hip-hop." Rolling Stone also rated it highly with a 4 out of 5 star review, calling it "the most fun record of the year." Other positive reviews came from Complex, XXL, DJBooth, and HotNewHipHop.
Critics highlighted Die Lit as a major progression from Carti’s earlier mixtape work. While maintaining his signature style, Die Lit showed Carti exploring more melody and vocal experimentation. Publications saw it as a breakthrough for establishing him in the mainstream and transcending the SoundCloud rap label.
In the years since, Die Lit has been credited with helping to popularize and cement the trap, mumble rap, and SoundCloud rap subgenres. Carti’s leaked demos had already built a cult following, but Die Lit made him a full-blown star. The album’s hazy production, infectious ad-libs, and lyrical style went on to inspire many of today’s Generation Z rappers.
Fan Reactions
Die Lit was hugely popular among Playboi Carti fans and helped launch him further into the mainstream. Several songs immediately went viral and sparked memes on social media.
The track "R.I.P." was an instant hit, with fans latching onto Carti’s baby voice chorus and unique ad-libs. Lines like "In New York I Milly Rock" and "I don’t speak Spanish, I don’t speak English" were quoted everywhere online. Fans also created memes with the song "Shoota" and its catchy hook.
Beyond the viral songs, Die Lit as a whole helped grow Carti’s popularity. It debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and built anticipation for Carti as a live performer. His baby voice flow and laidback delivery made him stand out from other rappers. Die Lit cemented his signature style and elevated his status in trap music.
After the album drop, Carti embarked on a massive tour throughout 2018 and 2019. He performed hits from Die Lit to huge crowds, showcasing his growth from a SoundCloud rapper to a festival headliner. Two years after its release, songs from the project were still being discovered and shared online by newfound fans. Die Lit ultimately launched Playboi Carti’s career to new heights.
Die Lit’s Legacy
Die Lit cemented Playboi Carti as one of the most influential rappers of his generation. The album showcased Carti’s unique vocal style and landed him mainstream success. It impacted hip-hop culture and the evolution of mumble rap.
The album produced several career-defining songs for Carti. Tracks like "Long Time" and "R.I.P." became anthems, solidifying his baby voice flow. "Shoota" featured Carti’s first collaboration with Lil Uzi Vert, kicking off their joint legacy. Songs like "Lean 4 Real" and "Love Hurts" highlighted his melodic rap style.
Die Lit expanded Carti’s fanbase exponentially. It debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and gained critical acclaim. He went from SoundCloud rapper to global star. Die Lit made ad-libs and mumbled flows popular in rap. Carti’s punk rockstar persona shined through.
The production quality was top-notch. Pi’erre Bourne’s beats perfectly complimented Carti’s style. Carti’s lyricism wasn’t complex, but his flows and delivery stood out. The album captured a youthful, rebellious energy.
In conclusion, Die Lit was a breakthrough moment for Playboi Carti. The album influenced a generation of rappers with its leaked songs and memes. Carti emerged as one of the most unpredictable, unique voices in hip-hop. Die Lit set the stage for his continued success and evolution as an artist. Its legacy as a trap classic is undeniable.