Playboi Carti

Jordan Terrell Carter, known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter.

An influential figure among his generation, he has contributed to the progression of rage and trap music.

Musically, the label shares a similar sound characterized by dark, gritty production and avant-garde synths, reminiscent of the 1970s and 80s punk rock era.

Due to this distinction, both Carter and his label have garnered a cult following.

Jordan Terrell Carter was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 13; sources are divided between the birth years of 1995 and 1996.

Birth year citations:

Before rap, Carter wanted to become an NBA star to try and make something of himself.

In an interview with The Fader, he said, "I was a young AI and didn't go to practice. That was the time I was really ducking school and it was all hoop and no rap. I would smoke before practice, get on the court and drop 30."

He stopped playing basketball after a disagreement with his coach.

He then dedicated his time to music.

Carter skipped high school classes regularly to work on his music or go to his job at H&M, which led to Carter barely graduating high school.

In an interview with The Fader, he said, "I was in class with freshmen finishing work, and if I finished the nine assignments before this time I could graduate."

He was so close to not graduating that no one showed up to his graduation, because they didn't know it was actually going to take place.

Carter developed a unique fashion sense from an early age, shopping in thrift stores.

He told Vogue that he was teased for being an early adopter of new styles, such as colored skinny jeans.

Carti began rapping at an early age under the name Sir Cartier in 2011.

He began uploading songs on SoundCloud in 2011.

He changed it to Playboi Carti in 2013.

He first signed with the local underground record label Awful Records in 2014, and later signed with ASAP Mob's record label AWGE, in a joint venture with Interscope Records two years later.

In 2014, after meeting producer Ethereal, he joined Awful Records.

Carti credits Ethereal with helping him find his sound.

Once Carti chose to pursue music full-time, he made the decision to move to New York City with some family.

While in New York City, Carti stayed at his drug dealer's house, and members of ASAP Mob frequented the house.

Carti ran into ASAP Bari, who introduced him to ASAP Rocky.

Carti decided to go to Texas with ASAP Rocky.

He began to attract attention in 2015 with his singles "Broke Boi" and "Fetti" featuring Dash and Maxo Kream, both of which were published to SoundCloud.

Around this time, Carti frequently collaborated with artists in Atlanta's underground rap scene, including UnoTheActivist, Thouxanbanfauni, Yung Bans, Lil Yachty, Ethereal, and producers MexikoDro, and Icytwat.

He began to tour with ASAP Ferg and Lil Uzi Vert, and he signed a deal with Interscope Records.

In 2016, he was featured on the ASAP Mob's single "Telephone Calls" from their album Cozy Tapes Vol. 1: Friends.

The same year, Carti signed to the ASAP Mob's AWGE imprint.

Carter gained mainstream attention following the release of his eponymous debut mixtape (2017), which peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard 200 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-charting singles "Magnolia" and "Wokeuplikethis" (featuring Lil Uzi Vert).

Carti released his eponymous debut mixtape in April 2017.

The release gained attention from various music publications, including XXL, Pitchfork, Spin, HotNewHipHop, and PopMatters, and reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200.

The mixtape spawned two successful singles: "Magnolia", which reached number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Wokeuplikethis" featuring Lil Uzi Vert, which reached number 76.

Accompanying the mixtape's release, Carti embarked on a tour with Gucci Mane and Dreezy.

In June 2017, Playboi Carti was named as one of the ten of XXL's "2017 Freshman Class", along side with rappers like XXXTentacion, A Boogie wit da Hoodie and Ugly God.

Carter's debut studio album, Die Lit (2018) reached further success on the Billboard 200, peaking at number three.

Aside from his solo career, Carter founded the record label and creative agency Opium in 2019, through which he has signed aesthetically-similar fellow Georgia-based rappers Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely, as well as the group Homixide Gang.

Following a two-year hiatus, his second studio album, Whole Lotta Red (2020) debuted atop the chart and was met with critical acclaim; it was listed as among the greatest albums of that year by Rolling Stone and The Washington Post.

Carter is scheduled to release his third studio album in 2024.