After years of speculation, leaks, and cryptic teases, Playboi Carti surprised fans this past Friday with the long-awaited album Music. The artist clearly wasn’t wasting time in the studio—this project spans 30 tracks with a total runtime of 76 minutes.

One of the most exciting musical figures in American pop culture at the moment has finally delivered his mission statement in album form, I AM MUSIC. Indeed, after years of edging fans, both with scrapped tour plans and (more recently) a shrewdly tradition-bucking release strategy for a string of well-received loosies ,