We have been waiting and speculating on Playboi Carti's forthcoming sophomore album Whole Lotta Red since August 2018, and he's finally gifting it to fans on December 25.
Hype around the album has been amping up over the past few weeks. Recent news indicates that Kanye West and Givenchy's Matthew Williams are executive producing the album, and that it will feature Travis Scott. Three days out from the supposed release date, Carti has revealed the album art and shared the pre-order link.
Since it was first teased, the album has managed to remain both elusive and yet frustratingly accessible, as leak-after-leak has plagued the otherwise tight-lipped Carti. Now, the rapper has once again resurrected hope that the album release is imminent.
To give some much-needed clarity, here's a rundown of everything we know so far about Playboi Carti's Whole Lotta Red.
'Whole Lotta Red' release date
Last week, rap gossip DJ Akademiks claimed to have been told Carti would be dropping his album on Christmas Day, December 25. In his post, Akademiks also said that Kanye West would be an executive producer of Whole Lotta Red along with Matthew Williams, creative director of Givenchy.
While Akademiks isn't the most reliable source, on Monday, Williams seemingly confirmed the rumors when he shared a photo of a graffiti tag with the album title and release day graffiti.
Today, Carti put an end to the speculation, tweeting "12/25," apparently confirming that the album will drop on Christmas Day.
'Whole Lotta Red' album art
Last night, Playboi Carti gave a first look at the album's Art Dealer-designed cover. Art Dealer (a.k.a Jung Yean Cho), is believed to have drawn inspiration from Slash, a Los Angeles-based punk rock fanzine published by Steve Samiof and Melanie Nissen from 1977 to 1980.
'Whole Lotta Red' pre-order link
Carti took to social media to share a pre-order link for the project. The Digital download will be delivered via email upon release on the 25th. Downloads are only available to U.S. customers and are limited to 4 per purchase.
'Whole Lotta Red' potential collaborators
Last night, Playboi Carti got fans' hearts racing when he shared a tweet teasing Travis Scott had finally submitted a verse – for WLR perhaps?
Carti also gave a pretty strong indication that Kanye would feature on the album. His recent Instagram post features a snippet of an unreleased track, accompanied by the explosive caption, "OK YE @kanyewest THANK @younglord."
Of course, the rapper has been known to go back and forth on possible collaborations for the project. In his the Fader interview, Carti listed producers Pi’erre Bourn, Maaly Raw, Richie Souf, his engineer Roark, and Don Cannon as collaborators. In the same article Dandridge-Lemco also cited features from Gunna and Trippie Redd.
Drake then sparked rumors that he might feature with a cryptic Instagram caption reading "Nobody: Me: Somebody play Whole Lotta Red."
However, it seems Carti changed his tune shortly after. While onstage on July 28, Carti told fans the album would have no features, saying “I ain’t gon’ lie. It feels like we worked too hard for this moment. So, I’ma do this shit with no features.”
'Whole Lotta Red' tracklist
Last night, Carti appeared to debut a brand new song. The lyric, "I have thots, they thought I was gay" has already begun trending on Twitter.
Over the past two years, a number of Carti tracks have leaked online. It’s not yet known whether leaked tracks “Minute Maid,” “Butterfly Pill,” “T Shit,” “A and L,” “Hulk,” “Shortie N Luv”, "Red on Red," and the most recent "Buff the Body" will appear on Whole Lotta Red.
It appears these leaked tracks were originally planned for the album. Ben Dandridge-Lemco, who interviewed Carti for the Fader, tweeted last August that “More than half of the songs that Carti played me in April for WLR have leaked since then.”
