Playboi Carti’s ‘Whole Lotta Red’ Album Headed For No. 1 Billboard 200 Debut — Despite Its Lukewarm Reception

Playboi Carti released his highly anticipated album Whole Lotta Red on Christmas (December 25) — and was met with a whole lotta criticism.

Twitter quickly turned the title of the project to Whole Lotta Trash and Whole Lotta Disappointment, despite having Kanye West in the role of executive producer. In fact, a large majority of Carti’s fans were solely impressed by Ye’s verse on “Go2TheMoon” and dubbed his verse a return to the “old Kanye.”

But even with the lukewarm reception, Whole Lotta Red is still expected to land at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 next week. According to HitsDailyDouble, the album is projected to move 125,000-135,000 total album-equivalent units in its opening week, potentially taking the coveted spot from Taylor Swift’s Evermore. If those numbers hold up, Whole Lotta Red will mark Carti’s first No. 1 album.

Carti began plotting Whole Lotta Red in 2018, not long after releasing his inaugural studio album Die Lit. That particular project debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and featured Skepta, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Nicki Minaj and Young Thug, among others.

Over two years later and countless delays, Whole Lotta Red arrived with guest contributions from Kanye, Future, Kid Cudi, Pi’erre Bourne and Wheezy. Shortly after its arrival, Carti revealed he was already plotting a deluxe version, asking his fans via Twitter, “tALk 2 me > WAT sOng . d0 u neeD oN deLuxE >> ??????”

Check out Whole Lotta Red below.