A Great Chaos | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 13, 2023 | |||
Recorded | 2022–2023 | |||
Studio | Aundre Records | |||
Genre | Trap, rage, cloud rap | |||
Length | 46:56 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
Ken Carson chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from A Great Chaos | ||||
| ||||
Singles from A Great Chaos (Deluxe) | ||||
|
A Great Chaos is the third studio album by American rapper Ken Carson. It was released through Opium and Interscope Records on October 13,2023. [1] The album is a follow-up to Carson's second studio album, X (2022);it consists of 18 tracks and features guest appearances from Destroy Lonely and Lil Uzi Vert. [2] The album's production was handled by various producers,including Carson himself,F1lthy,Lil 88,Star Boy,Outtatown and TM88,among others.
The album was supported by the release of the single:"I Need U",which was released on Valentine's Day. [3] A Great Chaos received mostly positive reviews from music critics. The album debuted at number 11 on the US Billboard 200,earning 49,000 album-equivalent units in its first week,and becoming Carson's first US top 20 album. [4] 8 months later,on July 5,2024,the deluxe version of the album was released,containing seven additional tracks. [5] [6]
The album's lead single,"I Need U",was first previewed in December 2022 [7] and released on February 14,2023,coinciding with Valentine's Day. [3] On June 2,Carson officially announced the project's title and an initial release date of July 17. [8] The album's tracklist was shared on June 25,revealing that it would consist of 14 tracks and feature multiple guest artists. [8] A second single,"It's Over",was teased but never released,and the album ultimately missed its original release date for reasons outside of Carson's control. [8]
Carson tweeted a pre-save link for the album on October 6,indicating that the project would now be released on the 13th of that same month,the day of which was a Friday the 13th. The post included a finalized track listing of 18 songs; [9] three days later,nearly the entire album leaked online after several tracks were shared on a Discord server. [10] On October 12,an album launch party was held at the Silo dance club in Brooklyn. Carson performed tracks "Singapore" and "Paranoid" alongside his Opium labelmate,Destroy Lonely. The show ended with a headlined performance by Playboi Carti. [11]
The album's cover art,which was designed by Nick Spiders and revealed on October 6,2023, [9] depicts a low-quality close-up shot of Carson wearing a black t-shirt,diamond chains,and an earring as he stands smiling in front of a gray backdrop with a grill visible in his teeth. [12]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Pitchfork | 7.8/10 [13] |
HipHopDX | 3.9/5 [14] |
A Great Chaos received generally positive reviews from critics. Mano Sundaresan of Pitchfork described A Great Chaos as "a creative breakthrough,flipping the script on Atlanta rap production" as "within the churn of these outrageous beats,Ken sounds alive,funneling his hedonistic tendencies into joyously unholy music". [13] Vibe 's Preezy Brown called the album "some of [Carson's] best work yet",highlighting solo tracks "Fighting My Demons","Hardcore","Overtime","Vampire Hour",and "Nightcore" as standouts that showcased the rapper "hitting on all cylinders". [15]
Will Gedron of HipHopDX stated:"If listened to over extended stretches,the album can become a war of attrition. This is not music to be still to. The production,while expertly constructed,is more rigid than flexible,making it difficult to recognize the humanity behind what Carson is saying. After going through the project multiple times consecutively,and finally removing headphones,there is a sense that one has emerged from an industrial warehouse,watching a conveyor belt loop over and over,at varying speeds." [14] Eric Young of Creative Culture wrote that,while the album boasted "better production,and a more convincing performance" than that of Carson's previous full-length outing, X ,he found certain songs "monotonous" to listen to and knocked the rapper's vocal delivery as being largely "uninteresting". Still,he labeled "Jennifer's Body" "a raging masterpiece of a song" and felt that the project offered "a thrilling musical experience" despite its flaws. [16]
Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
The Washington Post | The Washington Post's Best Albums of 2023 | 3 | |
Slant | The 50 Best Albums of 2023 | 15 |
A Great Chaos debuted at number 11 on the US Billboard 200,earning 49,000 album-equivalent units,becoming Carson's first US top 20 album. The album also accumulated a total of 60.359 million global streams on Spotify for its tracks,in the week ending October 20,2023. [4]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Green Room" |
|
| 3:08 |
2. | "Jennifer's Body" |
|
| 2:38 |
3. | "Fighting My Demons" |
|
| 2:30 |
4. | "Singapore" (featuring Destroy Lonely) |
| 2:31 | |
5. | "Lose It" |
|
| 2:20 |
6. | "Hardcore" |
|
| 2:04 |
7. | "Me N My Kup" |
|
| 3:54 |
8. | "It's Over" |
|
| 1:35 |
9. | "Succubus" |
|
| 2:29 |
10. | "Paranoid" (featuring Destroy Lonely) |
|
| 2:07 |
11. | "Pots" |
|
| 2:09 |
12. | "Like This" (featuring Lil Uzi Vert and Destroy Lonely) |
|
| 3:12 |
13. | "Overtime" |
|
| 1:46 |
14. | "Vampire Hour" |
|
| 2:34 |
15. | "Nightcore" |
|
| 3:07 |
16. | "Nightcore 2" |
|
| 3:02 |
17. | "Rockstar Lifestyle" |
|
| 3:12 |
18. | "I Need U" |
|
| 2:28 |
Total length: | 46:56 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Loading" | Kenyatta Frazier Jr. • Clifton Shayne | Clif Shayne | 3:06 |
2. | "More Chaos" | Frazier Jr. • Shayne • Nick Spiders | Clif Shayne • Nick Spiders | 2:21 |
3. | "Toxic" | Frazier Jr. • Keifa Carter • Johnny Peng | Legion • Skai | 2:45 |
4. | "Leather Jacket" | Frazier Jr. • Rupert Howarth | Perto | 2:37 |
5. | "Mewtwo" | Frazier Jr. • Shayne | Clif Shayne | 2:08 |
6. | "Ss" | Frazier Jr. • Bart Van Hoewjik • Danny O'Brien • Jaylan Lowe • Kylian Kante | Bart How • Lil 88 • Mnclzy • Kyl • Star Boy | |
7. | "Overseas" | Frazier Jr. • Spiders • Pierre Thevenot • Stacey Walroud • Stefan Cismigiu | Lucian • Lukrative • Nick Spiders • Esko | 2:21 |
Total length: | 14:12 |
Notes
Chart (2023) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Hip Hop/R&B Albums (ARIA) [19] | 34 |
Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA) [20] | 4 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [21] | 31 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [22] | 56 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [23] | 120 |
Canadian Albums ( Billboard ) [24] | 18 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [25] | 51 |
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [26] | 35 |
French Albums (SNEP) [27] | 155 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [28] | 45 |
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) [29] | 24 |
Icelandic Albums (Plötutíðindi) [30] | 14 |
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA) [31] | 9 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [32] | 21 |
Polish Albums (ZPAV) [33] | 15 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [34] | 13 |
UK Albums (OCC) [35] | 43 |
US Billboard 200 [36] | 11 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums ( Billboard ) [37] | 4 |
E. 1999 Eternal is the second studio album by American hip hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, released July 25, 1995, on Ruthless Records. The album was released four months after the death of rapper Eazy-E, the group's mentor and the executive producer of the album. Both the album and single "Tha Crossroads" are dedicated to him. Following up on the surprise success of their breakthrough single "Thuggish Ruggish Bone", it became a popular album and received positive reviews from music critics, earning praise for the group's melodic rapping style. The album title is a portmanteau of Cleveland's eastside neighborhood centering on East 99th Street and St. Clair Avenue where the group is based and the then-future year 1999.
Hell: The Sequel is the debut extended play by Bad Meets Evil. It was released on June 13, 2011, in some countries, by Shady Records and Interscope Records and it was released on June 14, 2011, in the United States. The EP incorporates various styles such as hardcore hip hop and horrorcore. In May 2011, the album's title and artwork was revealed. The EP features the executive producers Eminem and Mr. Porter, with production handled by Bangladesh, Sid Roams, Havoc, DJ Khalil, The Smeezingtons and Supa Dups, among others.
The Heist is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. It was released on October 9, 2012, by Macklemore LLC, distributed under the Alternative Distribution Alliance. The album was independently self-produced, self-recorded and self-released by the duo, with no mainstream promotion or support. After the album's release, the duo hired Warner Music Group's radio promotion department to help the push with their singles for a small percentage of the sales.
Stoney is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Post Malone. It was released on December 9, 2016, by Republic Records. The album features guest appearances from Justin Bieber, Kehlani, and Quavo. The deluxe edition was released on the same day. It features an additional guest appearance from 2 Chainz. The production on the album was handled by Malone himself, Mustard, Metro Boomin, Vinylz, Frank Dukes, Illangelo, Charlie Handsome, Rex Kudo, Foreign Teck, and Pharrell Williams, among others. Malone generally sing-raps on the album, which is noted for its woozy, contemporary R&B-hip hop production. The album also features influence from country and outlaw country music.
Beach House 3 is the second studio album by American singer Ty Dolla Sign. It was released on October 27, 2017, by Atlantic Records. The album serves as the third installment in his Beach House series. It features guest appearances from Pharrell Williams, Lil Wayne, Tory Lanez, The-Dream, YG, Future, Swae Lee, Wiz Khalifa, Damian Marley, and Lauren Jauregui, among others. The album's production was handled by Mike Will Made It, DJ Mustard, Skrillex, Mike Dean, Apex Martin, MariiBeatz, Dun Deal and James Royo, among others.
? is the second studio album by American rapper XXXTentacion and his last studio album to be released before his death. It was released through Bad Vibes Forever, Caroline Distribution, and Capitol Music Group on March 16, 2018, and primarily produced by frequent collaborator John Cunningham, it includes a wide range of guest appearances from PnB Rock, Travis Barker of Blink-182, Joey Badass, Matt Ox, Rio Santana, Judah, and Carlos Andrez, and also succeeds the release of his debut studio album 17 (2017) and the extended play A Ghetto Christmas Carol (2017).
Legendary is the seventh studio album by American rapper Tyga, released on June 7, 2019, by Last Kings Records and Empire Distribution. It follows the release of his sixth album Kyoto (2018). It includes the singles "Taste" featuring Offset, "Goddamn", and "Haute" featuring Chris Brown and J Balvin. A deluxe version of the album was released on August 23, 2019. It features four previously released singles: "Dip" with Nicki Minaj, "Girls Have Fun" featuring G-Eazy and Rich the Kid, "Swish" and "Floss in the Bank", as well as four new songs.
Music to Be Murdered By is the eleventh studio album by the American rapper Eminem. It was released on January 17, 2020, through Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records. Just like Eminem's previous studio album Kamikaze (2018), the album was released with no prior announcement. The album was produced by many producers, with Eminem and Dr. Dre serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from Skylar Grey, Young M.A, Royce da 5'9", White Gold, Ed Sheeran, the late Juice Wrld, Black Thought, Q-Tip, Denaun, Anderson .Paak, Don Toliver, Kxng Crooked and Joell Ortiz.
Pegasus is the third studio album by American rapper Trippie Redd, released on October 30, 2020. The album features guest appearances from Myiah Lynnae, Yung LB, PartyNextDoor, Chris Brown, Rich the Kid, Young Thug, Future, Lil Mosey, Quavo, Busta Rhymes, Sean Kingston, Doe Boy, Lil Wayne, HoodyBaby, and Swae Lee. The deluxe version titled Neon Shark vs Pegasus made in collaboration with Travis Barker was released on February 19, 2021, featuring Machine Gun Kelly, blackbear, Chino Moreno, Scarlxrd, and ZillaKami.
F*ck Love is the debut mixtape by Australian rapper and singer the Kid Laroi. It was released on 24 July 2020 by Grade A Productions and Columbia Records. Production was handled by twenty-one record producers over the course of the mixtape's four releases, including Benny Blanco, Bobby Raps, Cashmere Cat and Taz Taylor. The original tracklist features guest appearances from Lil Mosey, Corbin Smidzik, and the late Juice Wrld.
Pluto × Baby Pluto is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Future and Lil Uzi Vert. It was released on November 13, 2020, and was previewed through several trailers starting from July 2020. The title signifies the combination of both artists' nicknames: Future is referred to as Pluto, as expressed through his debut album Pluto (2012), while Lil Uzi Vert identifies as Baby Pluto, as expressed through the song "Baby Pluto" from Eternal Atake (2020). It is the second project released by Future in 2020, following High Off Life. It is also the third project released by Lil Uzi Vert in the year, following Eternal Atake and its deluxe reissue, notably after a lack of music released by Uzi between 2018 and 2019.
7220 is the seventh studio album by American rapper Lil Durk. It was released through Only the Family, Alamo Records, and Sony Music on March 11, 2022. The album features guest appearances from Future, Gunna, Summer Walker, and Morgan Wallen. The reloaded edition was released on March 18, 2022, exactly one week after its release. The deluxe edition of the album was released on June 24, 2022 and features additional appearances from Moneybagg Yo, EST Gee, Doodie Lo, Ella Mai and A Boogie wit da Hoodie.
2 Alive is the second studio album by American rapper Yeat. It was released on February 18, 2022, by Geffen Records, Interscope Records, Field Trip Recordings, Listen To The Kids and Twizzy Rich. The album features guest appearances from Young Thug, Gunna, Yung Kayo, Ken Carson, and SeptembersRich. The album was supported by one single, "Still Countin", which was released on February 11, 2022.
Kenyatta Lee Frazier Jr., known professionally as Ken Carson, is an American rapper and record producer. He signed with Playboi Carti's record label Opium, an imprint of Interscope Records in 2019 to release his debut studio album, Project X (2021). His second album, X (2022) saw continued unfavorable reception, but became his first entry on the Billboard 200. His third studio album, A Great Chaos (2023) reached number 11 on the chart and saw a critical incline.
X is the second studio album by American rapper Ken Carson. It was released through Opium and Interscope Records on July 8, 2022. The album features guest appearances from his Opium labelmates Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang. Production was handled by Ken's frequent collaborators F1lthy and Lil 88, among others. It is a follow-up to his debut studio album Project X (2021). The deluxe version, titled Xtended, was released three months later, on October 31, 2022, containing five additional tracks.
Opium is an American record label and rap collective that was founded in 2019 by American rapper Playboi Carti. The label, which is based in Atlanta, Georgia, currently holds four acts all of whom are natives to the city; Playboi Carti himself, rappers Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely, and the duo Homixide Gang. The label is also affiliated with a variety of producers including KP Beatz, F1lthy, and Art Dealer, who all worked extensively on Playboi Carti's second studio album, Whole Lotta Red.
Bobby Wardell Sandimanie III, known professionally as Destroy Lonely, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. His debut studio album, If Looks Could Kill (2023) peaked at number 18 on the US Billboard 200. Prior, his fifth mixtape, No Stylist (2022) marked his first entry on the chart at number 91.
If Looks Could Kill is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Destroy Lonely. It was released through Opium and Interscope Records on May 5, 2023. Production was handled by Cxdy, DxnnyFxntom, Lil 88, TM88, and among others. The album contains one feature, from Opium labelmate Ken Carson. The CD edition of the album was released the same day as the digital version, containing three new tracks. The vinyl edition of the album was released on August 11, 2023, also containing three new tracks. The deluxe edition of the album, subtitled "Directors Cut", was released on September 29, 2023, including all bonus tracks from all versions. The album serves as a follow-up to his fifth mixtape, No Stylist (2022).
The discography of American rapper Ken Carson consists of 3 studio albums, 3 mixtapes, 4 extended plays, and 29 singles.
Tec is the third studio album by American rapper Lil Tecca. It was released through Galactic and Republic Records on September 22, 2023. The album contains guest appearances from Kodak Black and Ken Carson. It serves as the follow-up to his previous album, We Love You Tecca 2 (2021).