Ken Carson Explained

Ken Carson should not be confused with Ken Carson (country singer).

Ken Carson
Birth Name:Kenyatta Lee Frazier Jr.
Birth Place:Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Birth Date:11 April 2000
Years Active:2015–present
Discography:Ken Carson discography
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Signature:Ken Carson sig.png

Kenyatta Lee Frazier Jr. (born April 11, 2000), known professionally as Ken Carson, is an American rapper and record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. Carson initially gained attention for his SoundCloud releases and collaborations with fellow Atlanta rapper Playboi Carti. In 2019, Carson signed with the latter's record label Opium, an imprint of Interscope Records to release his debut studio album, Project X (2021).

His second album, X (2022), entered the Billboard 200 despite unfavorable critical reception. His third studio album, A Great Chaos (2023), peaked number 11 on the chart and saw a critical incline; its deluxe release spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 entry with the single "Overseas".[1]

Carson is associated with Opium label-mates Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang.[2]

Career

2015–2019: Beginnings

Carson initially joined 808 Mafia in 2015 as a rapper after meeting fellow record producer TM88,[3] [4] and would begin releasing music on SoundCloud as early as 2017. After gaining popularity in the underground rap scene, he would be discovered by fellow Atlanta rapper Playboi Carti and signed to his label Opium in 2019. Carson was also the first to be signed to Opium out of Destroy Lonely, and Homixide Gang.[5] [6]

2020–2022: Teen X, Project X and X

See main article: Project X (album) and X (Ken Carson album).

After signing with Opium in 2019, Carson released two extended plays—Boy Barbie and Teen X—the following year.

At the start of 2021, he released his third EP, Teen X: Relapsed, before releasing his debut studio album Project X later that year.[7] [8] In February 2022, he appeared as a guest on the track "Gëek high" off American rapper Yeat's album, 2 Alive.[9] He released his second studio album X on July 8, 2022.[10] It peaked at number 115 on the Billboard 200.[11]

In October 2022, he and fellow Atlanta rapper SoFaygo released a single titled "Hell Yeah" for SoFaygo's debut studio album Pink Heartz with an accompanying music video.[12] [13] On October 31, 2022, Ken Carson released a deluxe version of his X album named Xtended, alongside a music video on YouTube for his song "MDMA" featuring Destroy Lonely.

2023–present: A Great Chaos

See main article: A Great Chaos.

Carson released the single "I Need U" on February 14, 2023.[14] On May 5, 2023, Carson featured on Destroy Lonely's debut studio album, If Looks Could Kill, on the song "Money & Sex".[15] [16] In June 2023, Carson produced the song "x2" from Lil Uzi Vert's third studio album, Pink Tape.[17] On October 6, 2023, Carson tweeted a pre-save link for his third studio album A Great Chaos, indicating that the project would be released on October 13 with a tracklist of 18 songs;[18] three days later, nearly the entire album leaked online after several tracks were shared on a Discord server.[19] On October 12, an album launch party was held at the Silo dance club in Brooklyn to commemorate the project's release. Carson performed tracks "Fighting My Demons", "Lose It", "Hardcore", "Singapore", and "Paranoid" alongside his Opium labelmate, Destroy Lonely, before bringing out fellow rapper and the aforementioned label's founder, Playboi Carti, to perform songs from the rapper's latest album, "Stop Breathing" from Whole Lotta Red (2020), and "Fe!n" from Travis Scott's fourth studio album Utopia (2023).[20]

On July 5, 2024, he released the deluxe edition of A Great Chaos, containing seven additional tracks, including the single "Overseas", which was released on April 12, 2024.[21] [22]

Musical style

Carson's musical style has been described as "having electronic production that is energetic in nature" and having "focused flows."[23] He has been compared to his mentor Playboi Carti, especially his 2020 album Whole Lotta Red as well as to Lil Uzi Vert for his flow and mentality.[8]

Discography

See main article: Ken Carson discography.

Studio albums

Tours

Headlining

Notes and References

  1. 1716505380400906510 . billboardcharts . Debuts on this week's #Billboard200... . October 23, 2023 . October 24, 2023.
  2. News: Gee . Maddie . October 18, 2024 . Is There an Opium Group Album in the Works? . live . https://archive.today/20241102010822/https://raptv.com/article/destroy-lonely-says-opium-is-working-on-a-group-album/ . November 2, 2024 . November 1, 2024 . RapTV.
  3. Web site: Ken Carson (Friday). Creative Loafing. 2022-09-15.
  4. Web site: Park . Stephanie . Pinsky . Hannah . April 20, 2024 . Ken Carson: A Rising Rapper . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20241007174253/https://parkspantherpress.com/14680/new-articles/ken-carson-a-rising-rapper/ . October 7, 2024 . 2024-11-02 . Parks Panther Press.
  5. News: McKinney . Jessica . July 7, 2022 . Ken Carson is a Leader of the New School . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240205010748/https://www.complex.com/music/a/j-mckinney/ken-carson-interview-july-2022 . February 5, 2024 . April 7, 2022 . Complex.
  6. News: Satten . Vanessa . April 12, 2022 . Playboi Carti Interview – How One of Hip-Hop’s Most Elusive Artists Stays Making Waves . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240915123604/https://www.xxlmag.com/playboi-carti-interview/ . September 15, 2024 . XXL.
  7. News: Barlas . Jon . July 23, 2021 . Ken Car$on Drops Long-Awaited Debut Album 'Project X' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240910013041/https://ourgenerationmusic.com/news/ken-caron-teases-upcoming-album-project-x-with-six-new-songs/ . September 10, 2024 . Our Generation Music.
  8. News: Sundaresan . Mano . August 12, 2021 . Ken Carson: Project X Album Review . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240926125903/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/ken-cardollaron-project-x/ . September 26, 2024 . Pitchfork.
  9. News: Caldwell . Brandon . July 31, 2022 . Yeat Teases Upcoming 'LYFE' EP With Two Lil Uzi Vert Features . https://web.archive.org/web/20220731203643/https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.72167/title.yeat-teases-upcoming-lyfe-ep-with-two-lil-uzi-vert-features . July 31, 2022 . HipHopDX.
  10. News: William Cowen . Trace . July 8, 2022 . Stream Ken Carson’s New Album ‘X’ f/ Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240910013041/https://ourgenerationmusic.com/news/ken-caron-teases-upcoming-album-project-x-with-six-new-songs/ . September 10, 2024 . Complex.
  11. Web site: Cabison . Rosalie . Billboard 200 Week of July 23, 2022 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220907171537/https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/2022-07-18/ . September 7, 2022 . Billboard.
  12. News: Cole . Alexander . October 21, 2022 . SoFaygo & Ken Carson Bring Undeniable Energy On "Hell Yeah" . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221021144712/https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/442707-sofaygo-ken-carson-bring-undeniable-energy-on-hell-yeah . October 21, 2022 . HotNewHipHop.
  13. News: Dolan . Jon . October 21, 2022 . Taylor Swift, Lil Uzi Vert, Carly Rae Jepsen, and All the Songs You Need to Know This Week . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230314190303/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/taylor-swift-lil-uzi-vert-carly-rae-jepsen-songs-you-need-to-know-1234615801/ . March 14, 2023 . Rolling Stone.
  14. News: Crack Staff . March 9, 2023 . Here’s What Went Down at Ken Carson’s Sold-Out London Show . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230314034910/https://crackmagazine.net/article/profiles/heres-what-went-down-at-ken-carsons-sold-out-london-show/#expand . March 14, 2023 . Crack.
  15. News: Pointer . Flisadam . May 2, 2023 . Destroy Lonely’s New Album ‘If Looks Could Kill’: Here’s Everything We Know So Far . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230502204154/https://uproxx.com/music/destroy-lonely-new-album-if-looks-could-kill-release-info/ . May 2, 2023 . Uproxx.
  16. Web site: Barlas . Jon . May 15, 2023 . Destroy Lonely's 'If Looks Could Kill' is a Beacon of Triumphant Darkness . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240920173404/https://ourgenerationmusic.com/new-music-spotlight/destroy-lonely-if-looks-could-kill-neverever-fakenggas/ . September 20, 2024 . October 10, 2023 . Our Generation Music . en-US.
  17. Web site: Bras Nevares . Gabriel . Lil Uzi Vert Thanks Ken Carson For Producing "x2" Off Of "Pink Tape" . . 2023-11-16 . 2023-07-03.
  18. Web site: Armstrong . Sam . October 8, 2023 . Ken Carson Announces New Album ‘A Great Chaos’ . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231011195028/https://www.udiscovermusic.com/about-us/ . October 11, 2023 . uDiscoverMusic . Universal Music Group.
  19. News: Zamora . José . October 9, 2023 . Opium's Ken Carson Has New Album Leaked Online . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240909220613/https://raptology.com/2023/10/09/opiums-ken-carson-has-new-album-leaked-online/ . September 9, 2024 . October 10, 2023 . Raptology.
  20. News: Kurzweil . Lucas . 2023-10-14 . Ken Carson Introduces 'A Great Chaos' With Action Packed Concert at Silo in Brooklyn . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231020121542/https://nysmusic.com/2023/10/14/ken-carson-introduces-a-great-chaos-with-action-packed-concert-at-silo-in-brooklyn/ . 2023-10-20 . 2023-10-15 . NYS Music.
  21. Web site: Bernstein . Elaina . July 5, 2024 . Ken Carson Drops 'A Great Chaos' Deluxe Edition . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240910214103/https://hypebeast.com/2024/7/ken-carson-a-great-chaos-deluxe-announcement-release-info . September 10, 2024 . Hypebeast.
  22. News: Espinoza . Joshua . July 5, 2024 . Ken Carson Unleashes 'A Great Chaos' Deluxe Edition . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240705171523/https://www.complex.com/music/a/joshua-espinoza/ken-carson-a-great-chaos-deluxe-edition . July 5, 2024 . Complex.
  23. News: Cole . Alexander . September 26, 2022 . Ken Carson Makes A Statement With New Album "X" . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221001111412/https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/408979-ken-carson-makes-a-statement-with-new-album-x-new-mixtape . October 1, 2022 . HotNewHipHop.

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