On Sunday March 16, Hollywood Park saw thousands of black-clad fans swarming towards the GoPuff Stage to see Playboi Carti headline Rolling Loud Day 2. After dropping his long awaited (and heavily postponed) fourth album “MUSIC”, Carti has become a household name for many Hip Hop fans. Let’s take a look at the artist and what his performance meant to Rolling Loud fans.
Playboi Carti & Opium
In the past few years, Atlanta rapper Playboi Carti has gone from an underground trap artist to a streaming giant. The rapper saw mainstream success in the past few years with hits like “FE!N” with Travis Scott surpassing over one billion streams on Spotify and songs like “SKY” becoming a near iconic TikTok sound (“wake up, it’s the first of the month). He was notably featured on The Weeknd’s single “TIMELESS”, which debuted at Number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Known for his elusive “king vamp” persona, Carti, real name Jordan Terell Carter, made the initial announcement of the album over two years ago. This would be the follow up to his third album, 2020’s “Whole Lotta Red”, which also came with heavy delays that had fans questioning if the album actually existed.
A controversial and at times polarizing figure, Carter represents what many Hip Hop heads have deemed “new school” rap, with less political messaging in lyrics and the onset of “mumble rap”. Throughout much of his career, the legitimacy of the new space he occupied in music was heavily discussed, with many critics going far enough to call Carti’s work “not music” (hence the somewhat ironic title of his new album).
He has maintained relevancy despite not dropping his own music in over five years, mainly through features on other high profile artists songs (Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Metro Boomin, Trippie Red, and Latto to name a few). His first biggest hit remains his feature on Travis Scott’s chart topping “FE!N” off of his 2023 “UTOPIA” album.
“This was my first Platinum record,” Carti said to the Rolling Loud audience before launching into a crowd-moving performance of the song.
His concerts are somewhat notorious for the intensity of his crowds, with fans pushing up to the front and moshing to match the hype of his biggest tracks. He has also become notorious for his inconsistent releases as well as his unique, often high pitched vocal performance. With only four albums (and dozens of unreleased tracks leaked online), Carti has emerged as a fan favorite out of the Atlanta trap scene. He also founded record label and Hip Hop collective Opium, which has amassed a loyal fanbase of its own.
Opium is known for its unique style, with artists like Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely following in Playboi Carti’s footsteps of mixing trap with rage-filled, punk energy. The artists combine aesthetics of different subcultures to create their own unique take on Hip Hop counterculture. They are known for their fashion, which involves a lot of influence from alternative subcultures, combining textures like leather and fishnet with streetwear essentials like loose fits, hats, and bulletproof vests.
Fans also attempt to match their style, hence the variations of Black outfits fans could be seen wearing Day 2. The style’s wide range of influences including 80’s goth fashion, streetwear and punk, gave fans plenty opportunities to experiment with the edgy style. As you moved through the crowd of huge Rick Owens-inspired platforms and metal chains, it was clear who was here to see Playboi Carti. Some extreme fans even painted their faces white, nodding to Playboi Carti’s iconic heavy-metal inspired look.
The Day 2 crowd turnout seemed significantly larger, with a new surge of fans making their way in during the second half of the day.
“I’m literally just here for Carti,” said Anthony Cejas, frequent festival attendee when asked about who he came to see. “I might also catch the Ken Carson set.”
“MUSIC” Leaks & Controversy
Playboi Carti dropped his fourth album, titled simply “MUSIC” on the Friday before Rolling Loud weekend. This was a surprise to fans, as he had been teasing the drop for over four years at that point. This was a promise to fans, as similar to “Whole Lotta Red”, there were questions if the album even existed.
Carti had been teasing the album since 2021 under a different name, and by 2025 been delayed multiple times, pushing it over a year behind its initial release date. Several of the tracks on “MUSIC” had also been leaked, meaning some tracks had been floating around for months before he officially put out the final mix. There was much discussion online about what previously leaked tracks would be included or not.
When the album finally dropped, it quickly rose to the top of the charts. At one hour and 16 minutes, the album is 30 songs with plenty of features from frequent collaborator Travis Scott and more unexpected additions from west coast giant Kendrick Lamar, the album is his longest and arguably most accomplished album in his career.
The album is fast paced and intense, matching the fun, spontaneous energy with dark aesthetics that the artist has come to represent. The hard hitting 808’s and synth beats were reminiscent of much of his previous work, however there was a lot more variation. His iconic high pitched, sometimes unintelligible “baby boy” voice was used more sparingly in favor of his naturally deeper voice. Fans likened much of his vocal performance to that of frequent collaborator Future and Lil’ Wayne, which he is open in his taking inspiration from.
While the album had mixed critical reaction, it debuted number one on the Apple Music streaming charts, with several tracks writing in the top 20. This is his most critically successful album by far, reaching milestones previous rappers haven’t been able to.
All in all, the album was a huge success for Carti despite its multiple delays, and fans seemed to connect with it. There was an air of anticipation all throughout the festival leading to his appearance.
Rolling Loud Set
With performances by other Opium superstars Destroy Lonely and Ken Carson preluding, the fans were quite literally scrambling to see their favorite artists. Ken Carson’s performance set the stage for the final performance of the festival, Playboi Carti.
As soon as Carti appeared on stage to the beat of album opener “POP OUT” fans went wild. The crowd descended into organized chaos, with fans clearing the crowd back to form mosh pits. The rage quite literally couldn’t be contained as the music has to be paused to get the crowd back in line.
The massive mosh pits and waves of movement forced a temporary halt while organizers and fire marshals worked to restore order. Music was paused while Twitch streamer Kai Cenat made an unexpected appearance to try to calm down the crowd.
“Guys, ten people have passed out in the crowd,” the twenty-three-year old streamer said. “Relax.”
Screens also urged the crowd to back up as organizers threw packs of water and tried to clear crowds in the paths for people trying to make their way out of the crowd. When Kai Cenat’s PSA didn’t seem to work, festival organizer Tariq Cherif stepped in to calm the crowd, assuring them the show wouldn’t be cut short by Los Angeles’ curfew laws.
“I will pay all the fees,” Cheriff promised to the audience.
The concert resumed with Carti performing more songs from I AM MUSIC as fans raged on. The show also had plenty of surprises, with R&B superstar The Weeknd making an appearance to perform “Rather Lie” off of the album and their hit “TIMELESS.”
Carti surpassed expectations with an over hour and a half of performance. After five years and a set that started around an hour late, the Atlanta rapper proved his appearance and the album were worth the wait. He also surprised fans by including some his older classics like “Location” and “Sky”, and taking the time to engage with the audience.
As the set went on late into the night, we could hear Carti’s calls to continue the music and “f*ck the budget”, demonstrating his commitment to giving the fans the performance they deserved. Tariq Cheriff could also be seen onstage dancing and singing along with Carti, celebrating another successful year of the festival.
Carti ended the concert with a performance of the song “Long Time”, the intro to his 2018 album “Die Lit”. “Die Lit” was the first album to bring Carti mainstream success, with some of his most well known hits including “R.I.P.” and “FlatBed Fresstyle.” This was the album that carved out the unique lane for his musical aesthetic, allowing him to grow into the genre bending artist we know today.
The fans sang along to the anthem-like lyrics of “Long Time”, declaring “I ain’t felt like this in a long time. I ain’t have shit in a long time.” Moments like this highlighted the impact Carti has had on his fans, with thousands of people of all ages coming to see his set.
“I really liked the album,” San Diego State student and festival attendee Anaya Young said. “I feel like Carti is one of those artists you have to hear the songs live to really see what songs you like, so seeing him right after the album came out was really nice.”
As the lyrics echoed “just to get like this it took a long time”, there was a sense of celebration in the air. After years of radio silence, Opium fans immediately made his album number one on streaming worldwide and brought that same energy for his first performance of the album.
Even Carti himself appeared to get emotional as he performed the song to the massive crowd. As he ended his by waving and blowing kisses to his audience, it felt as if he was expressing true gratitude to his fans for all their support through the long wait. The night was truly memorable, bringing together.
