On March 14, Playboi Carti released his long-awaited third album, MUSIC. The album featured a long line of collaborators, including Lil Uzi Vert and three different appearances from Kendrick Lamar. However, one big name was conspicuously absent from the tracklist: Kanye West. West co-produced the song “BACKD00R,” a track that featured Lamar and Jhene Aiko. He did not rap on the album, which he attributed to Carti's fear of including him after his latest string of hateful activity on X.
Following a back-and-forth that included Iggy Azalea (the mother of Carti’s son) asking West not to name-drop her and Carti’s young son and Carti telling Ye to “STFU” in an X post that’s since garnered over 750,000 likes, it seems that a once-productive relationship is no more. But, how did we get here? How did their creative partnership, which resulted in several hit singles and platinum records, turn so sour, so quickly? Let’s take a look at their history and what led to such an explosive fallout.
After Playboi Carti relocated to New York City in 2016, he signed with AWGE and joined A$AP Mob. Joining A$AP Mob and working with de facto collective leader A$AP Rocky proved to be his way into more mainstream music circles, as he was still an aspiring artist with a cult following before that meeting. The following year, Kanye West, who Carti called a “fashion inspiration” in a Vogue Magazine interview shortly after releasing his self-titled debut mixtape, cast him as a model for his popular Yeezy clothing brand, marking the first time the two ever crossed paths.
On December 25, 2020, Playboi Carti released Whole Lotta Red, his second album. Carti experienced viral success ahead of the album’s release, with the unreleased track “Pissy Pamper” dominating TikTok in 2019 and 2020. He also appeared on the song “Pain 1993,” a collaboration with Drake. Carti had expectations to deliver on, and one of the men who helped him meet those expectations was Kanye West.
West, who was deep into his short-lived rebrand as a Christian rapper, was the executive producer of Whole Lotta Red. In a conversation with Kid Cudi for Interview Magazine, Carti called West “the OG.” He showed his appreciation for West and how he operated. “Being able to talk to somebody who understands what I’m saying, I got that from his whole camp. I felt that energy from everybody he deals with.” Carti also called him the “ultimate big bro.”
Whole Lotta Red divided fans initially, with the new aesthetic being much different from his self-titled mixtape and Die Lit. Despite that, fans quickly latched onto “Go2DaMoon,” the track with West. Despite his growing list of controversies, as well as the potential hypocrisy of being a self-professed “Christian rapper” and having such a large role in the creation of a Playboi Carti album, West was among the most celebrated hip-hop artists of the 21st century. His co-signs mattered. Whole Lotta Red is still a divisive release, but nearly five years later, it’s a foundational recording in the rage subgenre of trap music.
In 2021, Kanye West released Donda, his tenth album. The song “Off The Grid,” featuring contributions from Playboi Carti and Fivio Foreign, immediately became a fan favorite. Fans and critics called it one of the best hip-hop songs of 2021. The track also experienced success numbers-wise, peaking at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and going platinum.
To open 2024, West and Carti reunited for several more songs, which appeared on West and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures collaborative albums. Of the several songs they made, “CARNIVAL,” from Vultures 1, was the topic of most discussions. West received most of the criticism for calling himself “Ye Kelly” and making references to Bill Cosby, Diddy, and Jesus. Carti received praise for his verse and energy on the track, one of the highlights on an album met with an otherwise lukewarm response. “CARNIVAL” became far and away the biggest hit of the Ye-Carti partnership. It was West’s fifth #1 single on the Hot 100 and Carti’s first. It’s also been certified double platinum. Even as West’s already precarious public image continued to deteriorate, he and Carti continued to find success musically.
NEWS
Oliver Tree’s team has provided a new update following the singer’s death in a helicopter crash on June 14, confirming that a new artist grant will soon be established in his memory to help creatives secure funding, a plan he had detailed in his will before his passing.
Accompanying a collection of photos highlighting Tree’s performances, travels and creative work through the years, a post shared Sunday (June 21) on his Instagram account revealed that the musician’s remains have been brought back to California, the state he called home and where he will be laid to rest. “His legacy will live on through his foundation/endowment named ‘Dr. Oliver Tree’s Extremely Epic Grant For Baby Geniuses’ coming soon,” the caption reads. “This is something that Oliver had put together before his passing.”
“We will make sure his wish comes to fruition so that more joy, love and art can be spread into the world, that was his final wish,” the statement continued, adding that “the constant love, support and positivity” shown by fans throughout the past week has helped his “family, friends and collaborators make it through these extremely difficult times.”
Tree was among six people who lost their lives in a helicopter collision in Rio de Janeiro. The musician was in Brazil for his The World’s First Tour run and had performed what would ultimately be his final concert on June 6 in São Paulo. The other victims of the crash were identified as passengers Lucas Vignale, Gaspar Prim and Lucas Brito Chaves, along with pilots Alexandre Souza and Charles Marsillac.
Just months before his death, Tree discussed his plans to direct his fortune and future earnings from his music toward a grant program for artists during an appearance on the Zach Sang Show. “I take no credit for anything I’ve ever done,” he said during the April interview. “Furthermore, I don’t believe that any of the wealth or things that get made from it is mine. So when I die … my will is set up so that when I pass, my family, nobody is going to get a penny.”
“If I have a wife or kids or anything, they’re not getting a penny,” he added at the time, explaining that the initiative would focus on helping artists create work rather than funding education. “I’ll get my kids through college, that’s the agreement, but there’s not gonna be a silver spoon. All the money is going to go back to artists.”
