A Great Chaos

Atlanta rapper Ken Car$on gets more inventive and more interesting on his third studio album, A Great Chaos. An affiliate of Playboi Carti (signed to Cartis label Opium), Car$ons earlier material aimed for the same experimental heights Carti regularly reaches, but he often fell short in terms of both imagination and the skill required to get there. A Great Chaos takes more risks while at the same time feeling less self-conscious about needing to create something extraordinary. As a result, Car$on manages to stay out of his own way and get to unexpected places like the stuttering, video game synth instrumental of "Jennifers Body," the red-lined trap of "Paranoid" (one of several tracks that includes contributions from Destroy Lonely), and the elastic, Young Thug-influenced vocal inflections and haunted melodic hooks of "I Need U." There are also ample amounts of unsophisticated, raging fun on energetic tracks like "Vampire Hour" or when Car$on taps into a nearly belligerent joy on "Fighting My Demons" and "Me N My Kup." Lil Uzi Vert stops by to add impact to the vaporous catchiness of "Like This," providing just enough pop stability to level out an album thats always threatening to fall into incoherence. The balance is tenuous, but its a fun and engaging listening experience. A Great Chaos is also a huge step up from Car$ons earlier albums, which postured themselves as incredibly dark and intense, but lacked much substance beneath the bluster. ~ TiVo Staff