Why Young Playboi Carti’s Career was Iconic

My sophomore year of high school was one of discovery for music. That was when Spinrilla, LiveMixtapes, and Soundcloud was popping. If you’re wondering, no I was not using Apple music. I was in high school playing basketball. Working a job wasn’t even a thought for me.

The Initial Discovery

The first ever Playboi Carti song I listened to was Ohh featuring Juice Da Savage. It was one of those songs that made me say, “Oh yeah, this is a hit.” 

So then, I kept discovering more of his music. Eventually I came across the song Broke Boi and I’ll tell you, he became my favorite artist after that.

Carti also released other fire tracks I was bumping, like “Beef” featuring Ethereal, “Pump Fake”, “What” featuring UnoTheActivist, and “Money Counter.”  

The rest was history after that, at least for a while, before he changed his sound and image. However, many people are enjoying Playboi Carti’s new wave.

Carti’s Influence on My Upbringing and My True Thoughts

Playboi Carti just had a catalog of fire that I listened to almost every day. Whether I was walking to school, heading to early morning basketball practices, or walking from home from school, eight times out of ten Carti was playing in my headphones.

The image, the influence, how Carti rapped about what he was rapping about and how he expressed himself during his early underground career was iconic, period. 

His music and appeal was so unique that it went beyond just music. True Playboi Carti fans could recognize this easily. The swag, the aura and the fashion he came on the scene with really set him apart. The distinct style also aligned perfectly with his music, and I believe this is one of the reasons why he had such a big influence on me.

Playboi Carti had a profound influence on the music scene as an underground rapper, as his sound was different from the rest, even the mainstream artists. I didn’t really listen to mainstream anyway. Underground music was my thing. I just listened to what I thought sounded good, not what everyone else was listening to.

In that same SoundCloud era between 2013 and 2016 when Carti was gaining notoriety, other artists also had buzz, like Lil Uzi Vert, UnoTheActivist, and Thouxanbanfauni. These were artists that also had influence and distinct sounds as well.

But I believe Playboi Carti was one of those artists who expressed themselves authentically and made it look effortlessly cool. Besides my appreciation of the WWE during my upbringing, the early music career of Playboi Carti was one of the coolest things I have ever experienced.

By: Lemuel Mbuinga

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Photo Courtesy:

https://www.audiotool.com/track/playboi_carti_x_mexiko_dro_type_beat