After four years of no officially released music, beloved rapper Playboi Carti released one new single ‘All Red’ and was featured on The Weeked’s new single, ‘Timeless’. Playboi Carti is an Atlanta rapper that has released three albums in the past and is the owner and founder of the rap collective/record label Opium.

Playboi Carti is known for his mysteriousness and not releasing anything to the public, so it was a shock that Playboi Carti posted on his social media accounts. That shock caused fans to investigate the pictures he posted and they found hidden teasers to the release date of ‘All Red,’ which was September 13th 2024 and then the release of ‘Timeless’ on September 27th.

‘All Red’ reached top spots on the 2024 music charts around the world such as hitting spot 32 on UK’s new singles chart and 18 on Australia’s new singles charts.

In my opinion, ‘All Red’ was a disappointment. The vocals on ‘All Red’ sounded nothing like Playboi Carti, especially after he moved from his “baby face” sound to a more deeper voice. The mediocre vocals, at best, sounded as if it was Future on the track. Even though the vocals were lacking, the production by Producer Filthy was top tier and the best part of the single, in my opinion. ‘All Red’ feels like a song I have listened to before, Carti doesn’t give anything new or ground breaking.

In other Playboi Carti albums/singles he gives a new sound like Whole Lotta Red combining rap elements with ideas of punk and trap to create a rage rap album. But All Red sounds like an AI generated “opium” song. All Red sounds like a song that I have listened to a million times already.

When comparing ‘All Red’ and ‘Timeless,’ the difference is clear. Carti’s use of varying pitches in his verse on ‘Timeless’ was great and the blending of The Weeknd’s voice and Carti’s rapping style creates a unique and superb Yin and Yang feeling. Even though it is The Weeknd’s song, I do wish it had more Carti. The only bad part was in the unreleased version of ‘Timeless’ it did have Playboi Carti’s signature adlibs, but in the released version had very little of them. Carti’s vocals were vastly different from the deep voice that he has been using in the past four years and on ‘All Red’. The reinduction to Carti’s lighter voice is a good reminder and showcases what his next album could be. A classic beat on Playboi Carti and the Weeknd’s verses are when the drums stop, it makes the listener feel like they are floating. At the end of the song, the inclusion of the synths to close the song out created a perfect conclusion to this perfect collaboration.

While the two singles are both good songs, they show how vastly different Playboi Carti’s sound can be. One is a harsh “rage rap” sound on ‘All Red’; ‘Timeless’ showcasing how much gentler his vocals can be. But if I had to pick between the two, I’d pick Timeless, since Carti’s vocals sound like a new era of Carti is evolving. Perhaps foreshadowing the release of a new album.