NEWS
Could it be? Playboi Carti has been keeping fans on the ropes for most of the 2020s. He has flirted with the idea of dropping his legendary I AM MUSIC album over and over again, and then changed his mind. There have been too many snippets to count, and too many rumored release dates to recount. But it all changed on March 12. At least, it seems like things changed. Playboi Carti spent the entire day teasing a big announcement, and he made good on it. The rapper has finally, definitively confirmed a release date for I AM MUSIC.
For a rollout that has been predicated on rumors and speculation, Playboi Carti's announcement was somewhat anticlimactic. No big explanation, just one word. The rapper hopped on Twitter and simply wrote: "FRIDAY." There you have it. Playboi Carti's I AM MUSIC, the album that never was, and some thought never would be, will drop March 14. He followed up the tweet announcement with a video on Instagram. The video showed a man walking the street and shouting out the crucial details over car horns and traffic.
"New Carti album," he shouted at the top of his lungs. "This Friday!" The social media announcements prove that all the clues leading up to the Friday announcement were legit. Playboi Carti teamed up with Spotify to release a video teaser with the album's title. Then, while fans were still unpacking what it could mean, billboards starting popping up. Multiple billboards showed up in Times Square in New York, all with the phrase: "streets ready." These two points would have been enough to fuel the Playboi Carti fanbase for weeks, but it didn't stop there. The rapper then cleared his Instagram account, all but confirming the new era of Carti was finally here.
I AM MUSIC was first teased in 2020. The rapper confirmed he had new music on the way, which he elaborated on during a 2022 interview with XXL. He told the outlet that he planned to rap about all the events that have taken place in his life since the release of Whole Lotta Red. "Love. Sex. Drugs. Changes in my life," Carti explained. "I've been rapping about going to rehab. I want to go to rehab because I think I’m bipolar... want everybody to feel free. I want this album to make everyone feel free." Well, once I AM MUSIC is out, fans will definitely feel a similar sense of freedom.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso honored Shyne with a key to the city during a ceremony held at the East Flatbush Young Men’s Mentorship Expo on Saturday. The recognition highlighted both his influence in hip hop and his contributions as a public figure and advocate. Reynoso also declared April 25, 2026 as “Shyne Day” in Brooklyn.
“Shyne embodies what is possible when a community believes in its young people, and the magic that can happen when young people are given the resources they need to thrive. East Flatbush raised Shyne, and it only made sense to present him with the Key to Brooklyn as we team up to deliver hope and opportunity to dozens of young men today,” Reynoso said at the event, as caught by BK Reader.
Shyne also addressed the crowd. “This is the community that raised me, and it’s important for me to pass that love forward,” he said. “There couldn’t be a better way to celebrate this milestone than coming back home and pouring into the next generation.” He also revealed that everyone in attendance would receive complimentary tickets to his 25th anniversary concert on May 2 at the Kings Theatre.
The show will mark 25 years since the release of his self titled debut studio album, which arrived on September 26, 2000. Even while Shyne was incarcerated at the time, the project debuted and reached number five on the Billboard 200 chart. It moved close to 160,000 units in its opening week.
Earlier this week, Shyne posted a video of himself standing outside the Kings Theatre on Instagram while promoting the upcoming performance. "Can’t wait to see you this Saturday, May 2 @kingsbklyn as we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Shyne Album…..the celebration will continue @crownhilltheatre where I will meet, take pictures and party with you, my loyal supporters, who’ve made Shyne a Rap Legend," he captioned the post. Fans filled the comments with fire emojis in response.
