My first thoughts on WLR: A thread

I think what is dividing fans is what we expected vs what we got

I expected an album similar to WLR v1, and we got the opposite lmao

I like the energy and emotion of the album, but there are times where it just didn’t sound great or was underwhelming

The production was another highlight of the album, so props to Ye and all the other producers, it was consistently high energy, with some highlights being N3on, New Tank, Over, and a few others

WLR v1 leaks were the best Carti I’d ever heard, and I was expecting that hit-making, psychedelic sound, not high energy, aggressive Carti, so that threw me off admittedly, the more I listen to it the more it’ll grow on me I think

That being said, the album itself still felt underwhelming, and it dragged on in some places, I feel this would’ve been better if it was under 18 tracks

Also Carti teasing Pissy Pamper and all those features def made the first listen underwhelming, it set high standards that weren’t met, Carti made it sound like this would be his Astroworld, when it was more like an experiment in a new sound for him

I’m sure all that teasing will lead to a deluxe, which I’m excited for, and I’m sure will satisfy Carti fans like myself who were looking for that WLR v1 sound

As far as the features:

Kanye- Killed it? Idk how to feel

Cudi-Those hums were heavenly

Future-Who’s gonna tell Future his voice is too deep for a baby voice like Carti’s

I went into this album WANTING to love it, I wanted to hear a trap AOTY, and sadly I don’t think that’s what we got. I think this album is what Carti WANTED to make, and I can respect that

For me, the underwhelming parts outweigh the great parts, which is sad because I absolutely loved certain songs, and they feel overshadowed for me. Songs like Over, N3on, and Place are exactly what I expected

I’m just not a fan of some of the super aggressive songs, to me they sound messy and raw, but I understand some people were looking for that and I’m glad you all like it

Certain songs also just felt basic, like there wasn’t much to them (Ex. Punk Monk, Meh, King Vamp)

And obviously lyrics aren’t a huge aspect of Carti’s music, but compared to his other albums, most of the songs were pretty weak and the vocals and lyrics felt really lazy, he was for sure spitting on a few songs though, that MF DOOM bar was hard

Personally I’d have this as Carti’s worse, S/T as his best, and Die Lit in the middle

I think I’m speaking for a lot of Carti fans with this thread, but let me know if I’m wrong

Conclusion/ TL;DR:

Ranking after a few listens- 5/10ish

I think the hate is based around confusion because we got the opposite of what we expected

People want WLR v1, but other people wanted what we got

WLR isn’t bad, but felt underwhelming in certain sections

It dragged on too long

I’m excited for the deluxe which is practically confirmed

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you guys think of the album! I’d love to discuss it and hear opposing views! Feel free to change my mind on anything!