Playboi Carti and Kid Cudi Talk for Interview Magazine

“K-I-N-G-V-A-M-P. Yeah, that’s me.” More than two years after the 2018 release of his debut album Die Lit, Playboi Carti has reemerged from the shadows as rap’s self-proclaimed vampire rock-star. That image he has cultivated—a nocturnal being with a taste for blood and black leather—is all over his long-awaited, endlessly hyped sophomore record Whole Lotta Red, which was finally released last Christmas, ending breathless online speculation as to its whereabouts. A product of the Soundcloud generation of rappers who made experimentation their calling card, the 24-year-old Atlanta native, born Jordan Carter, has ascended to hip-hop’s A-list on the strength of his delivery (his vocal register can careen from guttural shrieks to helium squeaks on the same track) and his exhilarating taste in beats (executive produced by Kanye West, Whole Lotta Red features 23 different producers). Late one night, he connected with the rapper and actor Kid Cudi, who appears with Carti on the song “M3tamorphosis,” to explain the method behind his monster madness.

 ———

PLAYBOI CARTI: What’s up, boy?

KID CUDI: Ain’t shit, man. How you doing, baby?

CARTI: I’m good. Just happy to talk to my boy.

CUDI: You ready to get into it? What was it like coming up in the Atlanta hip-hop scene? What makes it so unique?

CARTI: Shit, coming up in Atlanta, we had all the OGs out here going crazy. Gucci Mane, Jeezy, Shawty Lo, all the Atlanta legends. Hearing music like that made me want to go to the studio. 

Continue reading on Interview Magazine.