Maps of Music

Die Lit (2018)

Where the lyrics of Die Lit take you, and where it was really made.

Carti made the album in his hometown of Atlanta and then dropped it with no warning, as a surprise release.

Key places

Recorded in Atlanta (2018)

Recording site DARP Studios (Atlanta) — Carti recorded much of Die Lit in his hometown of Atlanta between December 2017 and March 2018. The point marks the city, not a specific studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Die Lit: debut studio album by American rapper Playboi Carti
• Surprise-released 11 May 2018 through AWGE and Interscope Records
• Premiered on Tidal before appearing on other streaming platforms
• Trap and mumble rap album incorporating elements of cloud rap
• Fragmented production driven by synthesizers and 808 drums
• Ad-lib-heavy delivery that puts mood and feeling ahead of lyrical complexity
• Lyrical themes: hedonism, drugs, wealth, sex, relationships, and women
• Pi'erre Bourne produced fifteen of the nineteen tracks
• Guest appearances: Skepta, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Nicki Minaj, Young Thug, Bryson Tiller, Chief Keef, Gunna, Red Coldhearted, Young Nudy

Background

• Followed the debut commercial mixtape Playboi Carti, released April 2017 with the hit Magnolia
• Work on the album began in December 2017, teased with a video captioned Album Mode
• Bourne served as executive producer
• Carti sought to reconnect with the creative energy of his early days
• Worked in a stripped-back setting and relied on instinct rather than overthinking
• Often recorded five or six tracks in one sitting with Bourne
• Promotional single Love Hurts with Travis Scott came out 2 May 2018, exclusively on SoundCloud
• Supported by a North American tour from 24 July to 17 August 2018

Recording

• Carti recorded much of the album in Atlanta
• Recording ran from December 2017 to March 2018
• In March 2018 Bourne teased on Twitter that the project was finalized
• Several tracks leaked online a week before release, including an alternate demo of Shoota with an extra Lil Uzi Vert verse

Cover

• Photographed by Nick Walker
• Carti is shown diving into a crowd, based on a reference photo of an old punk rock show
• The cover drew online speculation about two people in the crowd

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Artist

Formation

• Jordan Terrell Carter, known as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper born in Atlanta, Georgia.
• He began his career in 2011 as Sir Cartier, self-releasing tracks on SoundCloud, and rebranded as Playboi Carti by 2013.
• He signed with Awful Records in 2014 and with ASAP Rocky's AWGE imprint, a joint venture with Interscope Records, in 2016.

Career

• His self-titled mixtape (2017) debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200.
• His debut album Die Lit (2018) debuted at number three on the Billboard 200.
• Whole Lotta Red (2020) became his first number-one album on the Billboard 200.
• Carter's "Carnival" with Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign (2024) became his first number-one Billboard Hot 100 single.
• His third album Music (2025) became his second consecutive Billboard 200 number-one.
• He founded the label and collective Opium in 2019.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critics gave Die Lit generally positive reviews
• Reviewers praised its appeal and production, though some felt it lacked impact
• Pitchfork's Evan Rytlewski highlighted the strength of Pi'erre Bourne's production and Carti's embrace of repetition and minimalism
• Rytlewski also singled out Skepta's sharp enunciation on Lean 4 Real as a striking contrast to Carti's style
• Metacritic gave a weighted average score of 71 out of 100 from 7 critic scores
• AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung compared the style to Rae Sremmurd and Migos and said the big-bass trap anthems offered little in substance or lasting impact
• HipHopDX's Riley Wallace acknowledged Carti's growing artistry but said the project was unlikely to win over skeptics
• Exclaim!'s A. Harmony called the album fun enough but said it has the lifespan of a mayfly
• Critics were mixed on the guest appearances, with Nicki Minaj's Poke It Out verse and Bryson Tiller's Fell in Luv contribution often praised
• HotNewHipHop's Maxwell Cavaseno said Minaj's verse eventually veered into her worst stylistic impulses

Reappraisal

• Die Lit has been cited as an early influence on the rage microgenre of trap in the early 2020s
• HotNewHipHop's Gabriel Bras Nevares called the album the foundation for rage
• Complex's Will Schube described it in 2025 as one of the most influential rap records of the past decade
• Schube credited the album with shaping the sound and aesthetic of the contemporary underground scene
• In 2025 Rolling Stone ranked Die Lit at number 144 on its list of the 250 greatest albums of the 21st century so far

Records

• Debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200
• First-week total of 61,000 album-equivalent units, including 5,000 pure album sales
• RIAA certified Gold on 31 July 2019 for sales and streams above 500,000 units in the United States
• As of January 2021, 1.1 million album-equivalent units and 1.67 billion on-demand streams

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The cover photo shows a crowd where many fans mistakenly thought a bearded man was Foo Fighters lead vocalist Dave Grohl, which fueled online speculation.
• Mileage contains a sample of It's Yours by T La Rock and Jazzy Jay.
• Die Lit appeared on several year-end lists by various critics as one of the best albums of the year.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

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