The rapper Playboi Carti called a genius: “One of the best things that could ever happen to me”
Playboi Carti has remained one of the most influential rappers since songs like ‘Magnolia’ and ‘Wokeuplikethis’ were released in 2017. The Atlanta rapper has dropped many acclaimed projects over the past decade, including Playboi Carti, Die Lit and Whole Lotta Red, and he looks set to continue his legacy with I Am Music.
Carti, a member of A$AP Mob, signed to A$AP Rocky’s AWGE label in 2015 in a joint venture with Interscope Records. During an interview with Numéro Berlin in 2023, Carti called Rocky a “genius” and credited him with changing his life.
“Me and A$AP Rocky was one of the best things that could ever happen to me in my life,” he admitted. “He was very genuine and everything was very organic and he’s a genius and it’s kind of hard to not pick up great things being around great people, you know?”
He continued, “I feel like the rooms that you surround yourself with most definitely can alter whatever is going to happen in your career. You put yourself in a room with people who are not being positive or not this and not that, then that’s the type of energy you don’t have. Put yourself in a room with the energy you need.”
Carti has worked teamed up with Rocky on songs such as ‘New Choppa’ from his self-titled mixtape and ‘RAF’ and ‘Frat Rules’ from A$AP Mob’s Cozy Tapes Vol. 2: Too Cozy project. They also teamed up with Lana Del Rey on ‘Summer Bummer’ from 2017’s Lust for Life album.
Speaking to Billboard in 2024, Rocky was asked if Carti was “the future of rap,” to which he gave him high praise. He also claimed he knew the direction hip-hop was going, which is why he signed him in the first place.
“That’s where rap is,” he said. “I knew that’s what it was going to be. What do people expect? We not just signing people to be signing people. We want to be the best of the best and that’s all it is, and his shit speaks for itself.
“Statistically, what I’m saying is right. Sonically, theoretically, what I’m saying is right,” he continues. “Because there’s a Pharrell that comes with [each] generation. There’s a Jay-Z that comes with [each] generation. There’s a Kanye West that comes with [each] generation. There’s a 50 Cent that comes with [each] generation.”
He added, “The people that’s been most influential in the past 10 years, nine times out of 10 comes out of our camp. If not, we rubbed off on them or they picked up some type of influence. That sounds cocky, and I didn’t want to go there with it, but I swear it’s true. Behind the scenes. On the scene. I promise you.”
With I Am Music releasing on March 14th, Rocky will be hoping Carti breaks boundaries once again with his new subgenre, “burnt music.” Five years after Whole Lotta Red entered the world, fans still haven’t lost any appetite for new music from Sir Cartier.