Die Lit

Last updated

Die Lit
Die Lit by Playboi Carti.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 11, 2018 (2018-05-11)
Recorded2017–2018
StudioMeans Street (Atlanta)
Genre
Length57:39
Label
Producer
Playboi Carti chronology
Playboi Carti
(2017)
Die Lit
(2018)
Whole Lotta Red
(2020)

Die Lit is the debut studio album by American rapper Playboi Carti. It was released through AWGE and Interscope Records on May 11, 2018. Production was primarily handled by Pi'erre Bourne alongside several other record producers, including Don Cannon, Maaly Raw, IndigoChildRick and Art Dealer. The album features a wide range of guest appearances from artists including Skepta, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Pi'erre Bourne, Nicki Minaj, Bryson Tiller, Chief Keef, Gunna, Red Coldhearted, Young Thug, and Young Nudy. The album serves as a follow-up to his debut self-titled mixtape (2017).

Contents

The album was supported by the promotional single "Love Hurts", released on May 2, 2018, exclusively on SoundCloud. Die Lit received generally positive reviews from critics and debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, earning 61,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. In July 2019, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Background and release

In December 2017, a video showed Playboi Carti behind a mixing board, presumably listening to new material with the caption "Album Mode". [2] In March 2018, Pi'erre Bourne teased that the project had been finalized via Twitter. [3] [4] On May 2, 2018, Carti released "Love Hurts", featuring American rapper Travis Scott, as a promotional single for the album, being released exclusively on SoundCloud. [5] [6] On May 10, 2018, Carti announced the album's release date via Twitter. [3] On the same day, ASAP Rocky revealed the album's artwork. [7] Upon release, the album was briefly released exclusively via Tidal, before showing up on other streaming services. [8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 71/100 [9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Exclaim! 6/10 [11]
Highsnobiety 4.0/5 [12]
HipHopDX 3.0/5 [13]
HotNewHipHop 79% [14]
Pitchfork 8.5/10 [15]
Spectrum CultureStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [16]
Sputnikmusic3.8/5 [17]
Tiny Mix Tapes 4/5 [18]

Die Lit was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 71, based on seven reviews. [9]

Evan Rytlewski of Pitchfork stated that Die Lit is "an album that works almost completely from its own lunatic script. It is a perversely infectious sugar high, rap that fundamentally recalibrates the brain's reward centers", praising the production and simplicity. [15] Corrigan B of Tiny Mix Tapes said, "Like its predecessor, it's an album of party records; these are songs that will be played ad infinitum at functions until the hooks, the breaks, and, of course, the bass are burned into the brain of every attendee". [18] Maxwell Cavaseno of HotNewHipHop concluded that Die Lit "feels like the closest to a fully realized album as Carti is ever going to come close to achieving" and that it "should, at the very least, be respected for doing so much while doing so very little". [14] Online publication Sputnikmusic stated: "A lot of the gratification of this record is in the production, which takes the age-old hip-hop trick of taking a fractional melodic idea, barely a song by itself, and spinning out of it a thick sonic weave." [17]

A. Harmony from Exclaim! criticized the album for having a lack of variety, saying "It's fun enough but, save for a few keepers, has the lifespan of a mayfly. Rock to it for the summer and forget most of it by September". [11] Riley Wallace of HipHopDX stated, "Through a more respectable body of work—is unlikely to win over any naysayers". [13] Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic said, "Like Rae Sremmurd and Migos, these big-bass trap anthems owe much to their club-friendly vibe, but offer little in terms of substance or lasting impact". [10]

Year-end lists

Select year-end rankings of Die Lit
PublicationListRankRef.
Complex 50 Best Albums of 2018
45
Fact The 50 Best Albums of 2018
35
Highsnobiety The 25 Best Albums of 2018
17
Noisey Noisey's 100 Best Albums of 2018
23
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2018
25
Spin 51 Best Albums of 2018
18

Commercial performance

Die Lit debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 61,000 album-equivalent units (including 5,000 copies as pure album sales) in its first week. [25] On July 31, 2019, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and streams in excess of 500,000 units in the United States. [26] As of January 2021, the album has earned 1.1 million album-equivalent units and net 1.67 billion on-demand streams for its tracks. [27]

Track listing

All tracks written by Jordan Carter and Jordan Jenks, and produced by Pi'erre Bourne, except where noted. [28]

Die Lit track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Long Time (Intro)"
  • Carter
  • Jung Cho
Art Dealer3:31
2."R.I.P." 3:12
3."Lean 4 Real" (featuring Skepta)
IndigoChildRick2:57
4."Old Money"  2:15
5."Love Hurts" (featuring Travis Scott)
3:00
6."Shoota" (featuring Lil Uzi Vert) Maaly Raw 2:33
7."Right Now" (featuring Pi'erre Bourne)  3:27
8."Poke It Out" (with Nicki Minaj)
 4:29
9."Home (KOD)"  2:42
10."Fell in Luv" (featuring Bryson Tiller)
 3:26
11."Foreign"  2:22
12."Pull Up"  3:36
13."Mileage" (featuring Chief Keef)
 2:29
14."FlatBed Freestyle"  3:13
15."No Time" (featuring Gunna)
3:39
16."Middle of the Summer" (featuring Red Coldhearted)
  • Carter
  • Dashia Aaron
  • Jenks
 2:17
17."Choppa Won't Miss" (featuring Young Thug)
 3:37
18."R.I.P. Fredo (Notice Me)" (featuring Young Nudy)
 2:41
19."Top" (featuring Pi'erre Bourne)
  • Carter
  • Cameron Pitts
  • Jenks
 2:13
Total length:57:39

Notes

Sample credits

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Die Lit
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Poland (ZPAV) [45] Gold10,000
United Kingdom (BPI) [46] Gold100,000
United States (RIAA) [26] Gold500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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