Die Lit is the debut studio album by American rapper Playboi Carti, released through AWGE and Interscope Records on May 11, 2018.
The album was Carti's first release following his rise to mainstream fame, assisted by the success of his debut self-titled mixtape, released in April 2017. Production was primarily done by Pi'erre Bourne, although several other record producers including Don Cannon, Maaly Raw, IndigoChildRick and Art Dealer also feature. The album also features a wide range of guest artists including Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Nicki Minaj, Chief Keef and Young Thug.
The album debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200, and was later certified Gold in July 2019. It was also generally praised by critics and fans, and has since been widely considered a modern cornerstone of the trap genre for its atmospheric and energetic production, psychedelic tone, and minimalist lyrics.
Tracklist:
- Long Time
- R.I.P.
- Lean 4 Real (ft. Skepta)
- Old Money
- Love Hurts (ft. Travis Scott)
- Shoota (ft. Lil Uzi Vert)
- Right Now (ft. Pi’erre Bourne)
- Poke It Out ft. Nicki Minaj
- Home (KOD)
- Fell In Luv (ft. Bryson Tiller)
- Foreign
- Pull Up
- Mileage (ft. Chief Keef)
- Flatbed Freestyle
- No Time (ft. Gunna)
- Middle of the Summer (ft. Red Coldhearted)
- Choppa Won’t Miss (ft. Young Thug)
- R.I.P. Fredo (Notice Me) (ft. Young Nudy)
- Top
Tropes:
- Alternative Hip Hop: Features far more experimental production than the average Trap album.
- Broken Record: The hooks of “Lean 4 Real”, “Old Money”, “Right Now”, “Home (KOD)”, “Pull Up”, “Choppa Won’t Miss”, and “Top” are all one or two phrases repeated over and over again.
- The only songs that completely avert this are “RIP” and “Shoota”.
- Call-Back: “Choppa Won’t Miss” is basically a big call-back to “Magnolia”, both lyrically and instrumentally.
- The “Pierre, you wanna come out here?” tag returns on “Old Money”, “Poke It Out”, and “Choppa Won’t Miss”.
- Drugs Are Good: “Lean 4 Real”, obviously.
- Lyrical Dissonance: “Choppa Won’t Miss” and “Notice Me” are both songs about murder, with happy sounding beats. More egregious in the case of “Choppa Won’t Miss”, which has a similar beat to “Magnolia”.
- Non-Appearing Title: “RIP”, “Love Hurts”, “Flatbed Freestyle”, “Middle of the Summer” and “RIP Fredo” (though the second half of the title, Notice Me, does appear).
- Rhyming with Itself: A particularly egregious example on “RIP”, where Carti rhymes “bitch” with “bitch” multiple times.
- Sex, Drugs and Hip Hop: A main lyrical theme of the album, particularly on "R.I.P." and "Flatbed Freestyle".
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Spiritual Successor: “Choppa Won’t Miss” to “Magnolia”. - Spoken Word in Music: There’s a short spoken word part in “Long Time”.
- Take That, Critics!: "R.I.P." features a somewhat unsubtle diss towards those who criticize Carti as a mumble rapper, saying that he still made enough money off his music to buy his mom a new house.
