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The core element of Whole Lotta Red is its hyperkinetic pacing, especially in its extended opening run.

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On вЂњVamp Anthem,вЂќ when KP and Jasper Harris-IвЂ™m not sure how to say this-chop up Johann Sebastian BachвЂ™s вЂњ Toccata and Fugue in D Minor,вЂќ you can practically see Carti laying the vocals in a black cape and those plastic Halloween fangs. (Sometimes there are literal echoes: KP Beatz and Jonah AbrahamвЂ™s вЂњNo Sl33p,вЂќ which comes immediately after Juberlee and Roark BaileyвЂ™s вЂњSlaењ“r,вЂќ might as well have been built around a hummed recollection of вЂњSlaењ“r.вЂќ) There is sinister Atlanta rap scaffolding-Richie SoufвЂ™s вЂњJumpOutTheHouseвЂќ sounds like something an agitated Gucci Mane might have jumped on in 2008-but also a refreshing sense of humor, and a looseness that allows the zaniest idea to occasionally win.

But those sounds are deployed in dizzyingly varied ways, from the white-hot punkish tracks near the beginning to the evolutions of early-2010s molly rap that pop up toward its end. ( WLR smartly opens with one of its most propulsive songs, where CartiвЂ™s voice sounds as if itвЂ™s already been strained by an hour-long performance.) Most impressive is the way Carti has merged his delivery with his pared-down writing style, like when he gets stuck on the line вЂњWhen I go to sleep, I dream about murder,вЂќ delivered over and over in a threatening stage whisper.ДЇor an album with such an extensive list of producers and co-producers-there are 24 beats, and only two from longtime collaborator PiвЂ™erre Bourne- WLR maintains a strikingly consistent palette of mostly electronic sounds. He has not completely excised it from Whole Lotta Red, but the albumвЂ™s most arresting moments come when Carti is rasping, evidently on the verge of losing his breath.

One of the signature elements of CartiвЂ™s style has been his so-called вЂњbaby voice,вЂќ a softer touch in a higher register. At its best, Whole Lotta Red sounds like CartiвЂ™s voice memos have been laid over the most punishing production he could find. ItвЂ™s only halfway through the song that it becomes clear that aside-one of the least-produced vocal stretches on the album-will be repurposed and repeated as a chorus. вЂњBeno!вЂќ opens with an aside about Carti buying his sister a Jeep, a cute and specific image in step with the beat, which sounds like an iPhone ringing in heaven. Even when songs do conform to more traditional arrangements, they arrive at them in unexpected ways. Verses disintegrate into Gregorian chants вЂњD-R-A-C-OвЂќ is spelled out repeatedly as if CartiвЂ™s trying to win the worldвЂ™s most heavily armed spelling bee the middle of the absolutely skull-rattling вЂњStop BreathingвЂќ is built around a single, constant ad-lib sound. There is no imposed formality of structure or delivery that could stiffen Carti or bleed the life out of the demos instead, there is вЂњNew Tank,вЂќ which seems to have a half-dozen chorus ideas that are dispensed in a single long take. Whole Lotta Red transposes that thrill of hearing an inspired work-in-progress and builds it out into a fully realized style.

For an artist who already has an audienceвЂ™s attention, snippets and half-finished leaks can be more effective than singles: Our brains correct for the compression of sound by imagining the fullest possible mix, and hearing the most interesting parts of a song-the bridge that everyone in the studio agrees is the best part, the opening four-bar run that justifies the trackвЂ™s existence-suggests a more exciting finished product than the one that, in all likelihood, exists. It is easy to find hours-long playlists of unreleased Carti songs, some ripped in 15-second increments from Instagram stories, others leaked by hangers-on or purchased from enterprising hackers. Despite his youth and his brisk release schedule, CartiвЂ™s cultish fanbase would have you believe that the periods between his records are long droughts, ones that can only be weathered with frenzied detective work.