Most frequent collaboratorJordan Jenks · 17 tracks
GenresHip HopTrapRage
Complete Artist
99%
Authorship
Holds writing credit on 72 of 73 tracks
Does Playboi Carti write his own songs?
Yes, but not by sitting down with a pen. Almost all of his raps are freestyled, a method he took directly from Lil Wayne, so a song gets built at the microphone out of ad-libs, cadence and repeated catchphrases rather than written verses. Critics have described the rapping itself as spare and repetitive, focused on flow and catchy phrases, and Briana Younger of Pitchfork wrote that his music is less about lyricism and more about atmosphere, adding that whatever he lacks in substance he makes up in sheer audacity. The New York Times has described his style as emphasising performance and persona over conventional rapping skills. That authorship is recognised formally outside his own catalogue too: he was credited as a featured artist and songwriter on Kanye West's Donda, which carried an Album of the Year nomination at the Grammy Awards (2022), and on "Carnival", nominated for Best Rap Song at the Grammy Awards (2025).
By the Numbers
3
Studio Albums
73
Tracks Credited
99%
Self-Written
15
Years Active
212
Collaborators
Authorship Breakdown 72 / 73 self-written
Who wrote the songs?
Across all 73 tracks: how many Playboi Carti wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.
Playboi Carti has a writing credit99%
99%
1%
Sole author0tracks0%
Co-written72tracks99%
Outside writers1tracks1%
Role Fingerprint how they contribute
Playboi Carti's roles across the catalogue
Share of all 73 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.
Lyricist (words)99%
Composer (music)99%
Producer1%
Performer99%
Authorship Over Time writing credit per album
Playboi Carti's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.
avg 99%
100%
100%
97%
2018Die Lit
2020Whole Lotta Red
2025Music
Early · 100% written
Late · 97% written
Authorship by Decade track-weighted
100%
2010s
Die Lit
98%
2020s
Whole Lotta Red, Music
Authorship Spectrum pure performer to complete author
Where Playboi Carti sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.
Playboi Carti
Other artists on the site
Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.
Written by Playboi Carti, The Weeknd, Mark Williams, Raul Cubina, F1lthy, Jarrod Morgan, Ramzoid, BBYKOBE, Devon Chisolm, Jordan Terrell Carter, Abel Tesfaye, Richard Ortiz, Julien Lopes, Kobe Hood
Co-wrote
Backd00r
Music
Written by Playboi Carti, Kendrick Lamar, Mark Williams, Raul Cubina, Keanu Beats, Jarrod Morgan, Nagra, Rameshni, Blak Twang, Beverley Knight, Victor Redwood-Sawyerr, Jordan Terrell Carter, Kendrick Duckworth, Keanu Torres, Jugraj Nagra, Darius Rameshni, Antony Olabode
Co-wrote
None of the signature songs above fall in this category.
Discography 3 albums
The four mixtapes, including the 2017 self-titled one that carries "Magnolia" and "wokeuplikethis*", and the EP sit outside the studio catalogue and are not listed. Music - Sorry 4 Da Wait is a deluxe edition of Music with four extra songs rather than a separate album, so it is not listed on its own.
Bubble size = tracks worked on together. Showing the 150 most frequent of 193. F F1lthy · MW Mark Williams · RC Raul Cubina · O Ojivolta
The Authorship Story
Data Insight
Carti is credited on 72 of 73 tracks and writes alone on none of them. Every song here is a co-write, the standard shape for trap, where the producers who build the beat take a writing share. No single collaborator anchors the catalogue: Jordan Jenks is the most frequent outside name at 17 tracks, then F1lthy and Richard Ortiz at 14 each, with the rest of the room rotating album to album. Music (2025) is the widest at 30 tracks, and the only record with a song carrying no Carti credit at all.
Quick Facts
Chart recordAll 30 songs on Music debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at once, the first time a rapper had done it and the third time for any artist, after Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen.
First Hot 100 number oneIt arrived as a guest spot rather than a solo release: "Carnival" by Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign with Rich the Kid, in 2024.
Runs OpiumHe founded the Atlanta label and rap collective in 2019, and its roster holds Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely, ASAP Nast and the duo HXG.
ASAP Mob memberHe signed to ASAP Rocky's AWGE imprint, a joint venture with Interscope, in 2016 and appears on both Cozy Tapes volumes.
Opening day on SpotifyMusic took 134 million streams in its first day, the seventh-most streamed album in a single day.
Started as Sir CartierHe self-released his earliest mixtapes under that name before rebranding as Playboi Carti by 2013.
Creative Fingerprint
Almost all of his raps are freestyled, an approach he took from Lil Wayne, so the writing happens at the microphone in ad-libs, cadence and repeated catchphrases rather than on the page, and the records get their shape from the producers he builds them with: Pi'erre Bourne on Die Lit, and the Opium-affiliated KP Beatz, Lil 88 and F1lthy across Whole Lotta Red.
The Story
Playboi Carti is an American rapper, born Jordan Terrell Carter in Atlanta. He came up through SoundCloud and the Awful and AWGE camps before Die Lit reached number three on the Billboard 200 in 2018. Whole Lotta Red and Music both entered at number one, and his clipped, ad-lib-driven delivery made him one of the most imitated voices in the rage strain of trap.
Awards & Recognition
Best New Hip-Hop Artist nomination at the BET Hip Hop Awards (2017)
Best Mixtape nomination at the BET Hip Hop Awards, for Playboi Carti (2017)
Best New Hip-Hop Artist nomination at the iHeartRadio Music Awards (2018)
Album of the Year nomination at the Grammy Awards, for Kanye West's Donda as featured artist and songwriter (2022)
Best Hip Hop nomination at the MTV Video Music Awards, for "Fein" with Travis Scott (2024)
Best Rap Song nomination at the Grammy Awards, for "Carnival" as featured artist and songwriter (2025)
Favorite R&B Song nomination at the American Music Awards, for "Timeless" with the Weeknd (2025)
Best Collaboration and Video of the Year nominations at the BET Awards, for "Timeless" with the Weeknd (2025)
Album of the Year and Best Hip-Hop Album nominations at the American Music Awards, for Music (2026)
Best Male Hip-Hop Artist nomination at the American Music Awards (2026)
Best Hip-Hop Song nomination at the American Music Awards, for "Rather Lie" with the Weeknd (2026)
Frequently Asked Questions Playboi Carti
Does Playboi Carti write his own songs?
Yes, but not by sitting down with a pen. Almost all of his raps are freestyled, a method he took directly from Lil Wayne, so a song gets built at the microphone out of ad-libs, cadence and repeated catchphrases rather than written verses. Critics have described the rapping itself as spare and repetitive, focused on flow and catchy phrases, and Briana Younger of Pitchfork wrote that his music is less about lyricism and more about atmosphere, adding that whatever he lacks in substance he makes up in sheer audacity. The New York Times has described his style as emphasising performance and persona over conventional rapping skills. That authorship is recognised formally outside his own catalogue too: he was credited as a featured artist and songwriter on Kanye West's Donda, which carried an Album of the Year nomination at the Grammy Awards (2022), and on "Carnival", nominated for Best Rap Song at the Grammy Awards (2025).
Who produces Playboi Carti's records?
Die Lit was built with Pi'erre Bourne, who he started working with in late 2017. Whole Lotta Red leaned on producers affiliated with his own label, Opium, including KP Beatz, Lil 88 and F1lthy, all of whom worked extensively on that album.
What is his "baby voice"?
It is the vocal technique he is best known for, a high-pitched delivery with unclear pronunciation. He has used it on "Almeda" with Solange, "Earfquake" with Tyler, the Creator, and "Pissy Pamper" with Young Nudy and Pi'erre Bourne.
Has his voice changed across the albums?
After Whole Lotta Red he started experimenting with metal-inspired vocalisations. The coarse "deep voice" first turned up on "Mr Miyagi" with Kanye West and Future, then on Travis Scott's "Fein", on "Type Shit" with Future, Metro Boomin and Scott, on Camila Cabello's "I Luv It", and later across Music.
Who does he work with most often?
Lil Uzi Vert, Travis Scott, Kanye West, the Weeknd, Future and ASAP Rocky recur across his singles and guest spots. Pi'erre Bourne is his longest-running producer relationship, and his Opium signees Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely appear on both sides of the arrangement, with Carti guesting on their records and executive producing Ken Carson's album X in 2022.
What is Opium?
It is the record label and rap collective he founded in 2019, based in Atlanta. The roster holds Carti himself, Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely, ASAP Nast and the duo HXG, and its sound is built on the Atlanta rage rap scene with an influence from 70s and 80s punk rock.
How many studio albums has he released?
Three: Die Lit (2018), Whole Lotta Red (2020) and Music (2025). Alongside those sit four mixtapes and one EP.
Why is the 2017 self-titled release not counted as an album?
It is catalogued as a mixtape rather than a studio album, though it was his commercial breakthrough. It peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 200 and produced "Magnolia", which reached number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Wokeuplikethis" featuring Lil Uzi Vert.
What is rage, and what did he have to do with it?
Rage is a microgenre of hip-hop he is credited with pioneering, and his music is generally described as atmospheric and avant-garde, weighted toward mood and persona over traditional lyricism. Opium artists work in that lane, and Whole Lotta Red pushed his own version of it further by folding punk and metal into his trap roots.
How did Music perform when it came out?
It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 298,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, his second consecutive chart-topping album. All 30 of its songs entered the Billboard Hot 100 in the same week.
Playboi Carti
