Jordan Terrell Carter (born September 13, 1995), known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American artist from Atlanta, Georgia.
Carti began his musical journey in 2011 under the name Sir Cartier — a twist on his last name, but also a reflection of his growing interest in fashion and luxury brands. He changed his stage name to Playboi Carti in May 2013 and joined Awful Records. Most of Carti's early production came from Awful’s Ethereal, who helped him build a local following. Carti frequently collaborated with his cousin and fellow Zone 3 rapper UnoTheActivist on songs like “Whole Thang” and “Every Since.”
After graduating from North Springs High School in 2014, Carti moved to New York, where he connected with A$AP Rocky and later affiliated with Rocky’s creative agency, AWGE. A month later, Carti released the singles “Broke Boi” and “Fetti,” which quickly went viral in the underground rap scene. On September 10, 2016, Rocky announced at a show that Carti had signed with Interscope Records.
Under Interscope and AWGE, Carti released his long-awaited debut commercial mixtape, Playboi Carti, on April 14, 2017. The tape featured two of his biggest singles, “Magnolia” and “wokeuplikethis*,” which launched him into the mainstream.
After months of growing attention from his debut, Carti released his first studio album, Die Lit, on May 11, 2018. The album featured popular tracks like “Love Hurts,” “Shoota,” and “Poke It Out.” Die Lit served as a reminder of the power of simplicity, with effortless vibes and hypnotic flows that made for catchy, unpretentious songs. On certain tracks, notably “FlatBed Freestyle,” Carti experimented with different vocal inflections and leaned into his Atlanta accent.
In 2019, Carti founded his own label, Opium, based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Two and a half years later, Carti announced his highly anticipated second studio album, Whole Lotta Red, which dropped on Christmas Day 2020. The project marked a break from everything he had done before. With a raw, aggressive, and distorted sound, WLR drew clear influences from punk, metal, and gothic aesthetics — both in production and in Carti’s vocal delivery. Sometimes screamed, sometimes whispered, always abrasive. The album was initially met with mixed reactions from critics, fans, and the broader rap scene, but over time it achieved cult status and is now considered one of the most influential projects of the decade.
The WLR era went far beyond the music. Carti adopted a darker, more theatrical persona, with vampire-inspired visuals, alternative fashion, and underground culture influences. His live performances mirrored this transformation — strobe lights, distorted screams, and a ritual-like atmosphere. It was during this phase that Carti began building the visual and sonic universe that would later define the Opium identity.
On March 14, 2025, Carti released his third studio album, MUSIC. The album arrived after more than four years of silence since Whole Lotta Red. During that time, Carti remained relevant more through mystery than music — releasing very little, rarely giving interviews, and making scattered appearances in features or fashion shows, while keeping alive a gothic, industrial, and punk aesthetic developed in WLR.
During this period, through Opium, Carti focused on expanding that identity by introducing new Atlanta-based artists such as Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely, and Homixide Gang — all with strong visual and sonic appeal that fit the chaotic, futuristic vision Carti had been shaping since WLR. His shows became known for distorted screams and an intense punk visual language.
MUSIC arrived as a natural evolution of all this — still experimental, but more polished, with dense production, almost cryptic lyrics, and a vocal approach once again distinct from his previous work. The album confirmed that Carti is more than just a hype artist — he’s building a world of his own, whether musically, aesthetically, or culturally.
Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.
…shrink me down again