As the years have gone on, Playboi Carti has turned himself from a new name in the music world with a one-of-a-kind sound to an absolute mogul, making moves even outside of the industry that a lot of people are flabbergasted by, including me. Although he is one of the biggest names in hip-hop, he has gone on to help other artists out as well with his label Opium, and this lineup is completely stacked, which is something I’ve realized more and more as I even further familiarize myself with these young spitters.
Ken Car$on is definitely one emcee I listen to a ton, and have been tuning into even more after he dropped his latest album, but his friend and label counterpart Destroy Lonely wasn’t about to miss out on the fun or the thrill of releasing a new album either. Insert NO STYLIST, an extensive project of 19 songs that last just about 51 minutes long with only one feature in Ken Car$on on the album’s final cut “VETERAN”. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting tapped in with Destroy Lonely over the past few months, but even with a consistent listening streak, I still wanted to hear more from the Atlanta talent in order to fully understand his diverse sound, and this album does just that.
Every single song brings this unmatched energy to the forefront that is juxtaposed by Lonely’s laid-back charisma at times, but also matched by another side of him that is much more animated and outgoing. While many of the instrumentals might be classified as rage beats by some, others include electric guitar chords alongside various other instruments that contribute an indescribable complexity to the project as a whole as well as a handful of pace-changers in order to incorporate a myriad of styles that keep refreshing the collection of hits as you run through them.
He even dropped a JMP-directed music video for the album’s titular song as well, so Lonely had everything covered on all fronts, making sure to not leave a single page unturned for the album’s rollout. Destroy Lonely might only be 21 years old, but he brings much more to the table than I could ever imagine some in their early 20s could manage to accomplish, making NO STYLIST an album that you need to listen to as soon as you have an extra hour to spare so you can really zone in on the sounds that are dreamt up by the up and coming Atlanta star.