Allegations of violence surrounding high-profile artists — a 2022 domestic-abuse charge levied against Lil Uzi Vert met with a plea of no contest, and a 2023 felony aggravated assault charge against Carti was later reported as dismissed — imply that abrasive views on these records come from somewhere real and worrying.

After umpteen months of vague promises and biffed deadlines, Playboi Carti’s newest opus finally materialized the other day like a transmission from the edge of oblivion — and with one last-minute tweak.