50 Best Playboi Carti Songs, Ranked

Producer: Ty Dolla $ign, Kanye West, Digital Nas, Ojivolta, TheLabCook & The Legendary Traxster

Album: VULTURES 1

Label: YZY

Carti has had exactly one song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign's arena shaking, "CARNIVAL." This is a posse cut that became a global smash, carried by a riotous beat, an infectious chorus and four truly unique verses. Rich the Kid's is the best but Carti's more subdued capstone isn't too shabby either. —Dimas Sanfiorenzo

Producer: Dun Deal

Album: Cozy Tapes, Vol. 2: Too Cozy

Label: RCA Records

The song is a lightning bolt of talent—a post-"Slide" Frank Ocean and Quavo merging with a burgeoning Lil Uzi, a veteran ASAP Rocky and Carti, who'd dropped his self-titled debut just a month earlier. It might be an odd pick, since Carti's basically just doing ad-libs here. But there needs to be a Carti ad-lib song on this list, and it's hard to do better than "Raf." — Allison Battinelli

Producer: El Guincho & Jasper Harris

Album: C,XOXO

Label: Geffen/Interscope Records

Peaking only at 81 on the Billboard Hot 100, "I LUV IT" probably wasn't the hit Camila Cabello was expecting. But it gave fans an elite Carti feature, with the rapper embracing one of his most endearing traits: appearing in unexpected places and talking his shit. It had been a minute since we'd gotten the more eclectic-sounding side of Playboi Carti, and the Gucci Mane "Lemonade" sample laid the groundwork for him to be a natural fit for the hyperpop single. —Allison Battinelli

Producer: KP Beatz, Clif Shayne & DJ Moon

Album: The Leaks

Label: Glass Window/Wolfpack/Quality Control/Motown

After seeing the success Carti had with sampling Rich Kidz on "Like Weezy," Lil Baby took the format and invited Skooly along for good measure. "Let's Do It" is a joyous song, sampling the all-time classic "Wassup" while giving Baby the perfect real estate to name-check expensive cars. — Allison Battinelli

Producer: F1LTHY, Ojivolta, Ramzoid & Twisco

Album: MUSIC

Label: Interscope Records/AWGE

This was Playboi Carti and The Weeknd's effort to try and strike gold twice. Following the massive success of "Timeless” the duo linked up once again for the equally radio friendly "RATHER LIE.” The song isn't bad—The Weeknd chorus is very catchy—but it fails to live up to its predecessor. —Mike DeStefano

Producer: F1LTHY & Lucian

Album: N/A

Label: N/A

"DIS MY SONG LIL BRA @ye,"is the message that came from Carti about an hour after Kanye West dropped a snippet of an energetic, blown out, drumless song called "Alive."

Carti was correct. With the message came the version of "Alive" that is canon; the first released collaboration between the two biggest contemporary rap stars features an unbelievable opening verse from YoungBoy Never Broke Again; bars from deep-voiced Carti, who’s dropping lines like "I'm the reason niggas sippin' that drank and talk with a lisp"; and adlibs from DJ Swamp Izzo who sounds as caffeinated as ever. —Dimas Sanfiorenzo

Producer: Plu2o Nash

Album: Cozy Tapes, Vol. 1: Friends

Label: ASAP/Polo Grounds/RCA

Before he was King Vamp, he was Cash Carti, bitch. ASAP Rocky helped put a 21-year-old Carti on the map with multiple appearances on the first Cozy Tapes project. The highlight is the album closer, "Telephone Calls," where Rocky stamps his name on the opening line ("Telephone call from young Carti, said it's lit") before Carti brashly announces himself. — Allison Battinelli

Producer: star boy, Outtatown, Gab3 & DJ Moon

Album: Off The Meter

Label: Interscope Records/Opium

For all the years that Opium has been out, putting out dozens of songs, there had never been a song that featured the three biggest stars from the label: Destroy Lonely, Ken Carson and Playboi Carti. That changed with "Off the Meter", the album closer on Ken’s More Chaos album. The three have a reputation for being vamped out, so it's funny they would do a song this sunny and slight. Well, that's just the beat. The boys here are talking that murder shit, especially Carti, who is rapping lines like “Put my opp in a coffin/Opp blunt got me coughin'.” —Dimas Sanfiorenzo

Producer: Pi'erre Bourne

Album: N/A

Label: N/A

There is a bunch of lore around "One Day". Rumored to be one of the first songs Carti did with Pi'erre, the track has been floating around the net since the self-titled era. Around 2021, an updated version featuring an old Drake verse hit. (Drake was a fan of the beat and got it from Carti's old friend, the disgraced Ian Connor.) Audrey’s verse is playful and features a nice Gordo shoutout—"Me and Carnage, fifty hoes in our hotel, Ibiza shit." —Dimas Sanfiorenzo

Producer: J. Cash & KasimGotJuice

Album: Playboi Carti

Label: Universal Music Group/Interscope Records/AWGE

On “Flex” Carti goes from taunting ("All of these bitches, they mad") to sounding almost confused ("'I guess you're not feelin' me/Not feelin' the energy”). That's the genius of Carti, who can provide hot and cold emotions in the span of a couple of minutes. "Flex" is a true gem of a song, led by mischievous Carti, a sharp vocal performance from singer Leven Kali, and featuring one of the great rap beat changes of the last 10 years. —Dimas Sanfiorenzo

Producer: Tyler, the Creator

Album: IGOR

Label: Columbia

Perhaps the most amazing part about Playboi Carti’s feature on Tyler, the Creator’s “EARFQUAKE” is just how uninterested he is in rapping the words he raps. When IGOR dropped rather abruptly in 2019, Carti was in between Die Lit and Whole Lotta Red, pretty much at the peak of his powers. It’s wild to hear him on a Tyler beat instead of rapping over synths that sound like what taking acid feels like, but Carti’s super power is that his unique style can fit in almost anywhere. Who cares that he dropped a Derek Rose reference almost a decade after his prime? Carti makes everything fresh. —Will Schube

Producer: Pi’erre Bourne

Album: Die Lit

Label: AWGE/Interscope

Carti the loverboy? Only when he links with R&B singer Bryson Tiller. "Fell in Luv" presents a softer side of Carti, with a bouncy track carried by 808s and atmospheric vocals that get chopped up to fit his aesthetic. Bryson Tiller's rich R&B style complements Carti's boyish, flirty cadence. Carti and Bryson were not the boyband we expected, but we’re glad it happened. —Mariah Rivera

Producer: Neeko Baby, Deskhop & jetsonmade

Album: N/A

Label: Interscope Records/AWGE

Released in the lead up to Whole Lotta Red, fans initially hated the baby-voice inflections Carti was experimenting with on "@MEH." (So much so it was dubbed the song with the "fetus voice.") However, from the track's quirky beat, which sounds like a baby banging on a toy xylophone, to the way Carti is almost unintelligible throughout, "@MEH" has gained a cult-like appreciation among fans. It's a song that embodied the start of the Whole Lotta Red era—and just a blast to play loudly on some speakers. —Antonio Johri

Producer: Roark Bailey & Juberlee

Album: Whole Lotta Red

Label: Interscope Records/AWGE

Calling a rapper a rockstar is a complex endeavor. The genre of hip-hop should stand on its own. Why are we comparing our giants to white artists who stole from the culture? However, with Carti the comparison is apt. He's not a traditional rapper in any true sense; where those legends are loquacious, Carti is similar to the easy brilliance of Kurt Cobain. On the Whole Lotta Red cut "Slay3r," he delightfully brags about being cases, "living life like a rebel," riding his Porsche through the hood. —Jayson Buford

Producer: Cardo Got Wings

Album: MUSIC

Label: Interscope Records/AWGE

In which Carti convinces the most popular rapper on the planet to hop on his cut and embrace Carti aesthetics with the eagerness of a rookie with something to prove. In addition to this being a capital G-Good Rap Song, the entire conceit of post-“Not Like Us” Kendrick rolling through and Crip walking all over a Cardo Got Wings beat is the sort of cultural artifact that belongs in the Smithsonian. Kendrick does a serviceable job rapping his ass off, which is pretty funny in the context of Carti’s verse, who doesn’t change a damn thing despite being in the presence of lyrical greatness: “She tryna be part of my schedule, I told her, ‘Ho, come back tomorrow.’” Never change, Carti. —Will Schube

Producer: Digital Nas

Album: N/A

Label: N/A

Most rap fans don't associate Carti with motivational music. But I would guess most of those fans haven't heard "Made It This Far," an absolutely stunning song that was recorded during the DONDA sessions. It's a rags-to-riches story, the cloud rap version of "Juicy." Sure it's not the deepest "I made it out the hood now I'm rich" song—sample lyrics: "too much money, turnin' down deals, turnin' down deals"—but Digital Nas provides a cinematic and ethereal soundscape that's so gorgeous, we can forgive the lack of depth. —Dimas Sanfiorenzo

Producer: J Stew

Album: Playboi Carti

Label: AWGE/Interscope

On "No. 9" Carti takes the Big Tymers’ "Get Your Roll On” flow and makes an anthem about the joys of fast women and getting geeked out. It's a song that works because it’s so simple; the high concepts we would see Carti develop later—mostly in his vocal affections and production choices—are simplified. Instead, we get raps like “OXY…Contin…Xanax…Molly…Carti…Carti…Carti…Carti.” —Dimas Sanfiorenzo

Producer: Pi'erre Bourne

Album: Dark Lane Demo Tapes

Label: OVO/Republic

On their first official song together, Drake enters Carti's world. He is playfully biting the Atlanta rapper's flow over a pristine Pi'erre Bourne beat. But Carti completely makes the song his own, squeaking his way to a crescendo that's unmatched in his guest verse history. The key to the verse is its almost unintelligible pronunciations, sounding like Rich Gang-era Young Thug who just ingested laughing gas. —Jayson Buford

Producer: AyoAA, 30 Roc, DAVID x ELI, Ojivolta, SLOAN & Kanye West

Album: DONDA

Label: GOOD/Def Jam

Many people remember this DONDA standout because of Fivio Foreign, who completely blacked out. But Carti's verse sets the tone. Flooded with ad-libs that you can't help but scream along with and some light flexing for good measure ("I just threw 20K on these / we was at Onyx / I just bought me some brand-new clothes, Dover Street Market"), this is Carti in peak feature form. For anyone lucky enough to experience this ringing off live at the second DONDA listening in Atlanta, you know just how special this one really is. —Mike DeStefano

Producer: Southside & Jake One

Album: Playboi Carti

Label: Universal Music Group/Interscope Records/AWGE

Backpack rap stalwart Jake One, producer to acts like Skyzoo and Gift of Gab, describes being in the studio with Carti during the debut album as “puzzling.” He says Carti freestyled for 40 minutes while he experienced thoughts like, “he’s a little ahead of the beat” and “is he just doing adlibs?” But the co-producer of “Kelly K” admits he just didn’t get it. And he’s right. This is a hot song, whether or not it felt that way in the moment. Carti raps, “She say she so lonely though / Lean on me, hoe.” It’s a beautiful moment of support and trust. —Ross Scarano

Producer: Art Dealer

Album: Whole Lotta Red

Label: AWGE/Interscope

Playboi Carti's "Over" sounds like peak SoundCloud rap—a melancholic, atmospheric soundscape that gives space for Carti to express his despair. Like so many Carti songs, the track is about life's vices—lust, drugs, money—and how to deal when there's no end in sight. He raps, "Damn, how the fuck we got right where we started…got me thinkin' so deep, I'm in my conscious." —Mariah Rivera

Producer: MitchGoneMad & Earl on the Beat

Album: Nuthin’ 2 Prove

Label: Quality Control/Motown Records/Capitol Records

Over bubbly 808s and twinkling synths that sound like unlocking a video game achievement, Playboi Carti and Lil Yachty strike gold by playing off each other's mumbled flows. Carti steals the show, like he's prone to do on guest appearances; his verse is a hieroglyphic marvel, anchored by an earworm of a hook: "Shawty in love with my drip / I get that drip, you get dripped,” he raps. —Jon Barlas

Producer: F1LTHY & Jonah Abraham

Album: Whole Lotta Red

Label: AWGE/Interscope

Is anyone as good as Carti at saying the simplest stuff in remarkably clever ways? “New Tank” is a beautiful example of this skill, with King Vamp packing a bevy of ideas into a minute and 30 seconds. That’s not to say Carti is brief on “New Tank.” He cleverly raps each line twice, packing in these observations with adlibs and synth scratches that give the song that signature Carti texture. Among the standouts? “I got me some thots/ They thought I was gay.” —Will Schube

Producer:Clayco, Opm Babi & Streo

Album: MUSIC

Label: Universal Music Group/Interscope Records/AWGE

Carti might be one of the most popular mainstream rappers in the world, but he's always experimenting, bending phrases and words so they sound chopped and fragmented. And on "OPM BABI"—a fan favorite from MUSIC—Carti is rapping on a beat tailor-made for after hours at a Black punk club. —Jayson Buford

Producer: Pi’erre Bourne

Album: Playboi Carti

Label: Universal Music Group/Interscope Records/AWGE

It's fun revisiting Carti's early work, before he was the most popular rapper of a generation and the sort of artist whose output could inspire rabid fans to hijack the unreleased music of other MCs just to get some extra Carti verses.

There's an innocence to the era "Yah Mean" was released in, a joy to now-quotable lines like "Shortie wanna ball with the team/ Money sitting tall, Yao Ming." It's a reminder that no matter how famous Carti gets, he'll still love dropping NBA references that are a decade past their prime.— Will Schube

Producer: Travis Scott & Jahaan Sweet

Album: UTOPIA

Label: Cactus Jack/Epic

Travis is obviously not part of the underground. And “FE!N” is a global smash, taking the energy from rage and pushing the genre to a wider audience. The grandiose, oscillating Juno-synth chords, the mainstream debut of Carti’s deeper vocal performance, and the catchy chorus make it a victory lap of sorts for the rage genre. The song’s energy is undeniable, and it makes sense why Travis loves to play the track over and over—sometimes a dozen times during shows. —Antonio Johri

Producer: Pi’erre Bourne

Album: N/A

Label: N/A

"Cancun" isn't the deepest song ever, but it's a great idea. It features an almost whiny Pi'erre beat that has all of these little synths that worm their way into your ear, allowing Carti to deliver a ridiculously catchy hook about all the designer shit he’s wearing. This is a leak so good fans have claimed it their own—with the hilarious "stummy hurt" memes and all of the Sega Genesis edits out there. —Antonio Johri

Producer: Maaly Raw

Album: Whole Lotta Red

Label: AWGE & Interscope Records

Real Carti stans lost it when “New N3on” appeared on the final version of Whole Lotta Red. The leak had been floating around since 2018. It’s maybe the most frenzied track on the album, featuring a high-pitched, high-energy, and chopped-up beat, with peak Carti baby voice. —Mariah Rivera

Producer: John Carroll Kirby, Pharrell Williams & Solange

Album: When I Get Home

Label: Columbia

Following up A Seat at the Table, a successful album of statements and hooks, Solange got esoteric for When I Get Home, the more challenging album of moods and fragments.

She was in her producer bag, listening to Steve Reich and Stevie Wonder deep cuts and thinking hard about repetition. You know what happens when you turn a word into nonsense by saying it over and over? “Words would have been reductive to what I needed to feel and express,” she said at the time.

Enter Playboi Carti, coming in on “all black coupe, hol’ up, yeah,” maintaining the album’s color motif. But it’s really about the voice. Baby gurgle. Gravel tone. Pipsqueak confidence. Childlike wonder at a lump of a diamond. And then the bitter chaser: “They taking me in, what I done?” —Ross Scarano

Producer: Art Dealer

Album: Whole Lotta Red

Label: Columbia

"Sky" is a generation-rattler, a song that has ignited countless mosh pits at Carti shows all around the globe. Its night-vision music video—where Carti and his Opium imprint thrash through a grocery store—is just as synonymous with the song as the hook itself. As one of five Carti songs to surpass a billion Spotify streams, "Sky" has transcended to the upper echelon. —Jon Barlas

Producer: Metro Boomin, MIKE DEAN & D. Rich

Album: We Don’t Trust You

Label: Wilburn Holding Co./Boominati Worldwide/Epic Records/Republic Records

The whisper that Carti begins with on his verse on "Type Shit" could have been a voicemail from an emboldened serial killer. "Diamonds, they cover my flaws, I'm actin brand new type shit," he raps—in the process stealing Future's song from up under him.

In the wake of Future's album starting the Drake and Kendrick Lamar war, the fact that this was the first time Jacques, Nayvadius, and Jordan appeared on a song together got lost. But Carti's show stopping 16 is one of the best verses on the album, rapping with a freewheeling freedom that he would play with more on MUSIC. —Jayson Buford

Producer: Maaly Raw

Album: Die Lit

Label: AWGE/Interscope

“Shoota” is the sequel to “wokeuplikethis*,” a middle finger to anyone who called Uzi and Carti mumble rappers and brushed of their ascent as a disoriented fad.

When the song soundtracked the duo’s onstage reunion at Rolling Loud in 2021 it felt like an ultimate “we made it” moment that signified their growth from being SoundCloud rap forerunners, underground rebels, to being festival headliners.— Allison Battinelli

Producer: Pi’erre Bourne

Album: Whole Lotta Red

Label: Interscope Records & AWGE

On "ILoveUIHateU" Carti gives maybe his most technically impressive rap performance on Whole Lotta Red; he's in flow state, rapping smoothly over Pi'erre Bourne's cinematic production. It's also one of his most complete songs—balancing melody and emotion. There's nothing to hate about "ILoveUIHateU." —Jon Barlas

Producer: Harry Fraud

Album: Playboi Carti

Label: Universal Music Group/Interscope Records/AWGE

“Location” is the first song on the first Playboi Carti LP, a digital landmark not unlike Plymouth Rock or the Marcy Projects. This is where it all began for Carti, and listening back to “Location,” it’s easy to hear why. He sounds effortless on the woozy, whimsical beat from Harry Fraud, tossing in adlibs like he’s been crafting these accents since before the Migos dudes were even born. He sounds like he recorded his vocals in a different room than the one where the mic was located, but it gives the song its energy, like Carti is floating in and out of a world that already exists. —Will Schube

Producer: Cardo Got Wings & Onokey

Album: MUSIC

Label: Interscope Records/AWGE

"HBA" features a Carti we don't see often: Rap Cypher Carti, because he's kind of spitting his ass off here. Carti sounds like he's in a playground cypher, embracing Young Thug-style techniques and improvisation as he stutters, growls, and hiccups through his verses. He delivers devastating lines that absolutely cause you to freeze, like when he raps, "Y'all niggas don't know how to grow up, I been an OG since I was younger. All of my friends are dead, leave 'em in the cold, put 'em in the tundra."—Dimas Sanfiorenzo

Producer: MexikoDro

Album: N/A

Label: N/A

To this day “Broke Boi” is still one of his most quotable tracks—released by a young Carti that would be unrecognizable to most young fans. (This is back when the price of AF1s was under $100, kids.) Every word was intelligible, while Mexikodro's twinkly plugg beat punctuated by money counter sounds beneath Carti's hook will never not spark memories from a simpler time. — Allison Battinelli

Producer: Pi’erre Bourne

Album: Whole Lotta Red

Label: Interscope Records/AWGE

On "Place," Pi'erre Bourne—the Dr. Dre to Baby Boi's Snoop Dogg—once again gives Carti a glorious palette to work with, providing a beat that is an outlier to the rage-heavy world of Whole Lotta Red. There are no harsh 808s, guttural hooks, or rockstar guitar licks here—just indica-laced cloud rap in its final form.—Jon Barlas

Producer: F1lthy, Ojivolta, Earl on the Beat & Kanye West

Album: MUSIC

Label: Interscope Records/AWGE

Surprise dropped on YouTube in December 2023, "2024" was meant to be our grand introduction to Carti's latest era—I AM MUSIC. It has a lofty billing but it's still one of Carti's most replayable tracks, palatable enough for old rap heads who scoff at his pioneering rage rap sound, thanks to infectious co-production from Kanye West, ojivolta, and earlonthebeat.

At the same time, it offers some of the Carti-isms that his core fans love, Deep-Voiced Carti" and infinitely repeatable runs like, "Put 'em on the news or somethin'/Put 'em on the news." —Mike DeStefano

Producer: Art Dealer

Album: Die Lit

Label: Interscope Records/AWGE

"Long Time” arrives as Carti was in the middle of a transition. There's a nostalgic nature to the track, which has the cloud rap production that Carti was slowly leaving behind for the more eccentric rage sound. (Not surprising that "RIP" is right after.) But Carti's understated, sober reflection presents a more grounded version that we rarely see. —Jordan Rose

Producer: Kelvin Krash & Ojivolta

Album: MUSIC

Label: Interscope Records/AWGE

Carti is undefeated when he's paying homage to his Atlanta roots. "Like Weezy” samples Rich Kidz' all-time classic "Bend Over," showing how Carti can flip something classic into something modern. Carti also honors one of his idols, Lil Wayne, and in playful Weezy fashion, finds creative ways to flex his outlandish lifestyle. Can you actually get green thumbs from counting too much cash? Carti says it in a way you almost believe it. —Jordan Rose

Producer: Loesoe

Album: Trip at Knight

Label: 1400 Entertainments/10k

Story time: the first time I heard “Miss the Rage,” I was peaking on a controlled substance at Rolling Loud Miami. I found my way to where Trippie Redd was performing right as the beat dropped. I thought I was walking through the gates of Valhalla.

Whether faded or sober, this song goes hard and is the Big Bang moment that birthed the rage rap sub-genre that is flourishing today. Would there even be an Osamason, Che or Ken Carson if it wasn’t for “Miss the Rage”? —Jordan Rose

Producer: Pi’erre Bourne

Album: N/A

Label: N/A

For the fans who are infatuated with the "Cash Carti" era, "Molly" is the grail. The butterflies, lo-fi camcorders, and every other part of the aesthetic made this leak feel like the soundtrack to that era of Carti's career. The airy beat, with its heavenly vocal hums in the background, makes it feel like you're literally floating on ecstasy. Carti adds to the vibe by leaning into his baby voice, bragging about how brightly his diamonds shine. —Antonio Johri

Producer: Pharrell Williams, Ojivolta & Twisco

Album: Hurry Up Tomorrow

Label: XO/Republic

There’s something intoxicating about the smooth grandeur of The Weeknd’s voice next to the free-spirited whimsy of Carti’s delivery.

It’s a Shaq and Kobe level duo, with Abel providing the professional artistry and Vamp filling in the space with delightful improvisations. Among the towering pop anthems and radio epics, it’s fun to hear The Weeknd embrace Carti’s vision of modern music, allowing the MC to rap over a beat led by none other than Pharrell Williams.

Tesfaye even tries his hand at rapping, trading bars with Carti and employing a kind of weird whisper flow. It emphasizes the unrelenting grasp that Playboi holds on his musical orbit, dictating the energy on a song by one of the biggest popstars in the world. —Will Schube

Producer: Pi’erre Bourne

Album: Playboi Carti

Label: Interscope Records/AWGE

Oh what could have been. On Lil Uzi Vert and Playboi Carti's energetic fan-favorite, the duo put on a master class in self-confidence with "wokeuplikethis*". This meeting between the two, which caught them both while they were ascending, was supposed to signal a new Watch the Throne-style collaborative spirit that never fully manifested like we wanted. At least we got some classics. — Allison Battinelli

Producer: Cardo Got Wings & Ojivolta

Album: MUSIC

Label: Interscope Records/AWGE

Playboi Carti sounds like he is dissociating in front of you, mentally eroding yet bragging about sexually aggressive escapades and shopping sprees. The hyper-masculine yet androgynous revolution is here. Broken psyche fills the entirety of "Evil J0rdan," a two-and-a-half-minute loosie that would later show up on MUSIC. His verses mute the prestige by talking tough talk and playful misogyny, giving it an alchemy of street behavior with Carti's all-inclusive and topical subject matter. .—Jayson Buford

Producer: Pi’erre Bourne

Album: Die Lit

Label: AWGE/Interscope

Before Whole Lotta Red, the most aggressive Carti mosh anthem was "R.I.P.," which—from the gritty video where punk-looking freaks mosh one another into oblivion to its breakneck production—is the north star for the rap underground.

Pi'erre Bourne was smoking something crazy when he mashed the chirpy synths from Jodeci's "What About Us" over these utterly destroyed 808s and haunting keys. On the rapping front, Carti is all charisma, dropping lines like a line, "Bought a crib for my mama off that mumblin' shit.” —Antonio Johri

Producer: Pi’erre Bourne

Album: Playboi Carti

Label: AWGE/Interscope

Before he became the King Vamp of Atlanta, Playboi Carti was the Prince of Lower East Side Manhattan, and "Magnolia" is the crowning jewel of his New York era. The Pi'erre Bourne-produced record might have popularized the Milly Rock more than the dance's creator, 2Milly, did himself. From its earworm hook to how Carti slinks from bar to bar, "Magnolia" delivered one of the earliest glimpses of the Atlanta rapper's brilliance and how skillful he is at bottling up youthful energy and serving it back to his audience in under four minutes. —Jordan Rose

Producer: Pi’erre Bourne

Album: Die Lit

Label: AWGE/Interscope

Playboi Carti and Pi'erre Bourne are kindred spirits, playing off one another's eccentricities; Pi'erre provides the colorful, often kooky production while Carti adjusts his vocal acrobatics to match. The more out there the beat, the more out there Carti gets. Case in point: "FlatBed Freestyle," where Pi'erre gives Carti bouncy, Mario Kart-esque music that captures this chemistry and allows the rapper to go on a spree of ad-libs and sounds, like when he imitates the sound of a moped. This is where Carti sounds his best: when he simply follows his instincts. —Antonio Johri

Producer: Pi’erre Bourne

Album: N/A

Label: N/A

Playboi Carti has had hundreds of songs leak throughout his career, but "Pissy Pamper" remains the biggest "what if." Even though Carti is just a feature, the song became one of the rare leaks that truly broke through and entered the cultural zeitgeist. Originally called "Kid Cudi" because of Carti's verse, "Pissy Pamper" was slated to appear on Pi'erre Bourne and Young Nudy's Sli'merre, but it was ultimately scrapped due to sample clearance issues. That did not stop fans from uploading, making it the most well-known leaks of all time, a song that not only topped Spotify's Viral chart but became a regular part of his performance set.

The driving force behind its popularity is two-fold: one, it's the haunting, almost X-Files-sounding beat. Second was the Carti squeaky-voice-infused verse, which during this time—it leaked right before Die Lit dropped—was still in its infant stages. Young Nudy, put it best when he said, "He sound like a goddamn baby." —Antonio Johri

Producer: F1LTHY, Lukrative & ssort

Album: Whole Lotta Red

Label: Interscope Records/AWGE

“Stop Breathing” is the quintessential Playboi Carti track, a song that encapsulates the most important parts of Carti’s artistic makeup. You have the squeaky yet croaky vocal acrobatics throughout the verse; mixed with one of the most deranged beats on Whole Lotta Red, F1lthy merging kinetic bouncing drums and maximalist distortion; and the off the cuff rapping Carti, an energetic mix of chanting, sprinkled with bits of vulnerability (“Ever since my brother died, I’ve been thinking about homicide”). It’s a certified arena shaker—the soundtrack for hundreds of tooth-loosening mosh pits.

Beyond all the artistic flourishes though stands one of the truths about Carti: despite all of his innovation, trendsetting, and aesthetic pointing to the future, at his core is a sense of nostalgia, a deference for the hip-hop that raised him. The song’s chorus “take my shirt off and these hoes start screaming” is an homage to Gucci Mane. In the span of a decade, Atlanta rap went from lo-fi street music to the frenetic and energetic sounds of the blown out, rage-fueled future. —Antonio Johri