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
Massive Attack have been using their latest live show to challenge American data analytics and software company Palantir, with the band describing the firm's ambitions as "terrifying".
The pioneering trip hop group have woven criticism of the controversial surveillance technology company into their new stage production. During their upcoming performance at Primavera Sound, they plan to deploy "custom-made facial recognition software" capable of "scanning a 75,000-person crowd" and projecting audience members onto giant screens with tongue in cheek labels such as "11 weeks no time off, burnout" and "unfinished books", according to Novara Media.
Speaking with the publication, the visual concept takes direct aim at Palantir, the company established two decades ago by billionaire Peter Thiel. Backed financially by the CIA, the firm counts the US and Israeli militaries, ICE, the FBI and the NHS among its clients.
After unveiling the production in Helsinki, Robert Del Naja told Novara Media that he wanted audiences to better understand how Palantir's reach has expanded from supplying "kill chain tech" reportedly used in Gaza to now having access to the medical records of people across Britain.
"We really need a much wider debate on the suitability of a company like this having such capture of our societal infrastructure," he said. He explained that the criticism is embedded throughout Massive Attack's two hour performance and was developed alongside long time collaborator Adam Curtis and London art collective United Visual Artists.
"One visual element represents how a Palantir Gotham monitoring and ‘decision chain’ interface might look," Del Naja explained. "Using facial recognition technology, it lands on groups and individuals – implying a consequential outcome for a given target."
Novara Media also detailed how Palantir's software can connect information from multiple databases. The outlet reported that ICE allegedly combines the platform with body camera footage, social media data and information gathered through Israeli developed hacking software Paragon to identify protesters involved in resistance to immigration raids.
The publication further claimed that Palantir contributes to Maven, a software platform used by the US military, which has recently faced criticism after being linked to the bombing of a girls' school in Iran.
"I find their declarations, objectives and moral framing pretty terrifying," Del Naja said. "To enable AI systems to map police records, satellite tracked locations, health records and personal financial transactions and place all of that information – for the first time – into the hands of a company with an overt political agenda and social objectives of its own is a huge, potentially irreversible and dangerous overreach."
Another moment in Massive Attack's current live production appears during the closing section of "Girl I Love You", when a quote from Peter Thiel is projected on screen reading: "I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible".
Last year, Massive Attack introduced the satirical "facial recognition" sequence during their concerts and quickly rejected suggestions that genuine data recognition systems were being used on audiences.
"No Massive Attack live show has ever recorded or stored personal data," the group stated. "Only government departments, relevant authorities & approved contractors can access public databases in the UK, & doing so in multiple cities/countries would be impossible."
The band also pointed to the growing use of facial recognition technology across Britain, arguing that authorities are "overreaching almost all other western democracies with their use of public facial recognition … while there is no specific legislation regulating police use of these systems."
The statement arrived shortly after Massive Attack welcomed Kneecap onto the stage during their major show at the OVO Wembley Arena, introducing them as a group "who refused to be silenced for their solidarity with the Palestinian people."
Massive Attack have consistently spoken out in support of Palestine and a range of other progressive causes. More recently, they pledged to boycott Spotify following reports that CEO Daniel Ek had invested heavily "in a company producing military munition drones and AI technology integrated into fighter aircraft."
During their headline appearance at London's LIDO Festival last summer, the band were joined by actor and activist Khalid Abdalla along with Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def. Earlier this year, Del Naja also criticised what he described as a "draconian government" after being arrested while protesting the ban on Palestine Action.
The musician was one of hundreds of demonstrators who gathered in Trafalgar Square on April 11 to oppose the Palestine Action ban. He carried a placard stating "I Oppose Genocide, I Support Palestine Action".
Police removed him from the protest and arrested him on suspicion of expressing support for a proscribed organisation. He later responded with an extensive statement posted to Instagram.
Back in February, the band revealed a small run of European dates for the summer. The tour began on May 27 at Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki before continuing to Dalhalla in Rättvik on May 30.
The Bristol trip hop pioneers have not released new material since the 2020 EP "Eutopia". Their most recent studio album remains 2010's "Heligoland".
Speaking with NME in 2024, Robert Del Naja revealed that the band had "some new music which we've been sitting on for four years". He later shared in November that he hoped to finally release some of that material in 2026.
