Carti’s Album Features Leaked – A Different Strategy?

What’s poppin y’all,

I don’t know how to feel about DJ Akademiks leaking damn near every single feature on Playboi Carti’s upcoming album. This is a different approach from what we’ve seen from other rappers. Lately, artists like Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, and Tyler, The Creator have trended toward hiding features, even dropping tracklists without revealing them. That mystery fuels the listening experience—fans go in blind, and as they hear the album, they start piecing together the collaborations themselves, leading to organic hype across social media and Rap Genius discussions.

But clearly, Akademiks didn’t leak these features without Carti’s permission. This was intentional. The question is, why?

There are a couple of possible reasons:

1. Maximizing first-week sales – By revealing big-name features like Travis Scott and Lil Uzi Vert, Carti ensures more casual listeners tune in. If your favorite artist is featured, you’re more likely to check the album out.

2. Standing out – With every other rapper hiding features, Carti might be going in the opposite direction to make a statement. He didn’t officially announce them himself, but by having Akademiks and fan pages “leak” the details, he maintains his usual mysterious aura while still controlling the narrative.

I am looking forward to this project, but I’ll be honest—I’m not sure how to take Akademiks’ word on this one. He’s never been a big Carti fan until Carti started acknowledging him, and we’ve seen him gas up people like YoungBoy and 6ix9ine in the past, even when their music wasn’t hitting like that.

That being said, I am optimistic about this release. If you’ve been here for four or five years, you know Whole Lotta Red wasn’t it for me at first—though I’ll admit some songs grew on me over time. But the music Carti has been teasing and dropping in the past year and a half? I mess with it. And seeing Uzi back on the tracklist is a full-circle moment.

Now, we just wait and see if Carti actually drops on Friday or if it’s just a single to build even more anticipation.

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