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.
NEWS
Panic! At The Disco are preparing to release a special deluxe anniversary edition of A Fever You Can't Sweat Out.
The I Write Sins Not Tragedies icons marked the 20th anniversary of their groundbreaking 2005 debut album during their performance at When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas over the weekend, and have now confirmed the new edition.
On January 23, the group — originally formed by Brendon Urie, Spencer Smith, Ryan Ross and Brent Wilson — will unveil a limited edition box set that features a remastered version of the record.
The package, priced at £164.99 and available for pre-order, includes 11 unreleased demos and a vinyl pressing of 2006’s Live In Denver. The full live set has also been uploaded to YouTube.
On the band’s UK store, they shared a message:
“To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Panic! At The Disco’s seminal debut album, this limited edition box set brings together a comprehensive time capsule celebrating the record's impact.
This release includes the original album remastered for the first time ever, 11 unreleased demos, plus the legendary 2006 Live In Denver performance — never before released on vinyl or CD.
The box set also includes a 12-page zine with never before seen photos from the era, a sticker set, a door hanger, and a paper doll set.”
By 2023, the band had essentially become a solo project for Urie. Their final show was held in Manchester, UK, where the frontman said: “Sometimes a journey must end for a new one to begin.
“We’ve been trying to keep it to ourselves, though some of you may have heard… Sarah and I are expecting a baby very soon!
The prospect of being a father and getting to watch my wife become a mother is both humbling and exciting. I look forward to this next adventure.”
Panic! returned to the stage at WWWY over the weekend, performing A Fever You Can't Sweat Out in full alongside fan favorites like This Is Gospel and Nine in the Afternoon.
To end the night, they performed I Write Sins Not Tragedies once again, as Smith reunited with Urie for the emotional closing moment.
