Article and Photos by Andrés Alvarado
Happy face emoticons. Happy face emoticons with cracked skulls. Designer tees, leather backpacks and serious bling. Rambunctious crowds, mosh pits, neon strobes and raging anthems. What do all these things have in common? Well, they were all crammed between The Tabernacle’s four walls during Playboi Carti‘s sold-out floor-shaking rowdy performance in hometown Atlanta.
Having released his highly awaited debut LP, Die Lit, earlier this year in May, Carti embarked on a support journey of epic promotion. Crowded venues at every stop along the way, Playboi was expected to carry out his craziest antics of this tour during the visit to his stomping grounds. Let’s just say he exceeded the narrative. On stage, the man is not only a dynamo of energy, but a motherfucking rock-star at his peak. Though the evening showcased Carti’s pals, Lil Skies, Sheck Wes, and Young Nudy, the night was undoubtedly Carti’s event to run.
The wild shenanigans come by the tons. Playboi exudes bottomless intensity with each passing dance, and each passing rhyme spit. Flailing dreads left and right as he strength-strolls the famed Tabernacle deck to the deafening beats and the trippy graphics spewing from the backdrop. Carti even takes time to climb the upper seating balconies to perform in stuntman-like manners — standing on the area ledge to execute and invite craziness to take over. This young-gun is a forceful and red-blooded artist for all intents and purposes.
By night’s end, Mr. Jordan Terrell Carter had the crowd sweaty, hyped, and in beast-mode mentality. Be a showman’s showman is the Carti mantra. The baby-faced rapper’s pageantry is insane, loud, fun, and fucking full of blazin’ beats and dope lyrics. Die lit, of course. Die fucking lit, indeed. Cheers!
LoudSound Magazine 