The rumblings about Playboi Carti's Whole Lotta Red album have increased in recent weeks. In fact, he announced the pre-order for the long-awaited effort on Tuesday (Dec. 22), but is WLR actually going to arrive on Christmas Day (Dec. 25) like Carti promised?
Fans of the Atlanta rapper have been patiently waiting for the release of Whole Lotta Red. Actually, their antennas have been raised since he first teased the LP in 2019. However, since that point, there have been quite a few pump fakes that have resulted in Carti's supporters not being confident in WLR's arrival.
It appears that Playboi Carti is putting his best foot forward to reassure his fans that his sophomore album will be coming on its announced release date. He's even dropped merchandise, including shirts and keychains, in support of Whole Lotta Red.
Aside from the album release date announcement and Carti's merch, there were also reports of who will appear on the project as well as rumors that Kanye West and Matthew Williams, the creative director of Givenchy, will be executive producing the effort. And while Kanye and Williams' role on Carti's album hasn't been confirmed, the director of the French fashion house working on the LP isn't farfetched as he and Carti already have a relationship. Back in September, Playboi Carti shared images from a Givenchy photo shoot, which were for the brand's campaign.
Fans have been doing a whole lot of waiting on this album. Likely since Playboi Carti released his debut Die Lit in 2018, and hopefully their patience hasn't been in vain. In the meantime, XXL has broken down everything there is to know about Whole Lotta Red below.
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Playboi Carti Teases New Album
Back in July of 2019, Playboi Carti informed his fans at a show at The Eagle's Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wis. that his Whole Lotta Red album would be dropping in 60 days.
"I'm trying to drop that shit in the next 60 days," he said at the time. "I ain't gon' lie. It feel like we worked too hard for this moment. So, I'ma do this shit with no features."
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Playboi Carti Confirms Sound of Whole Lotta Red
About a year after Playboi Carti initially announced Whole Lotta Red, the Atlanta rapper appeared in GQ's Man of the Year issue in November and shared some small details on the album's sound.
Carti said that his sophomore effort will be "alternative" and "psyched-out."
When asked if the album will drop before the year ends, he replied, "We'll see."
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Playboi Carti Announces He’s Turned in His Album
Fans got on step closer to receiving WLR on Nov. 23 when Playboi Carti revealed that he turned in the album. He posted a carousel of images, one of which appeared to be the makings of a music studio with a microphone and large speakers.
He captioned the photos, "<3 Album.TuRneD iN ."
Carti later jumped on his Instagram Live and teased new music.
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Rumors Circulate Online About Features on Whole Lotta Red
Around Dec. 15, Lil Uzi Vert said on his Instagram Live that he will appear on Playboi Carti's Whole Lotta Red. Uzi said that he's on track No. 3 and the hook of song No. 16.
Carti later said that both Kid Cudi and Travis Scott are on the album as well. In a selfie he shared of himself and Cudder, Carti wrote, "fL3w 2 bro ! toLD hiM hiS mUSic iS WORLd nEEdED . V3ry good GUY bEAUtiFUL sPirit . HE wILL bE oN THis ALBuM . L0v3 hiM. W3 ALL do."
As for La Flame, Carti tweeted on Dec. 19, "@trvisXX . w0w aMaZinG . L0ve THis V3RSE . rEd rEd rEd !"
Carti also played a snippet of his leaked track "Pissy Pamper" with Kid Cudi in the background. The song, which first surfaced online in 2019, originally had Young Nudy, but it appears that Nudy may not be on the official track.
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Playboi Carti Confirms Album Release Date
On Dec. 22, Playboi Carti officially announced Whole Lotta Red's release date. In a tweet sharing the pre-order link for the album, Carti unveiled the project's cover artwork as well, which was done by himself and Art Dealer.
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Playboi Carti Releases Album Merch
ronnieradke via Instagram The same day that Playboi Carti announced the official release date of his album, he dropped accompanying merch. However, he received backlash from fans who said the pieces were satanic.
He was also called out by Ronnie Radke, the frontman of the rock band Falling in Reverse, who accused Carti of using the band's name on his merch t-shirts without their permission.
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Unofficial Whole Lotta Red Tracklist Surfaces Online
While unconfirmed, a supposed Whole Lotta Red tracklist began circulating online on Dec. 22 as well. The listing says that Future, Kid Cudi and Kanye West are reportedly on the album.