THE ATLANTA RAPPER WHO REWROTE HIP-HOP’S SOUND
Playboi Carti
b. 1995 · Musician
Early Life
Jordan Terrell Carter was born on September 13, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia, and grew up in nearby Riverdale, attending North Springs Charter High School in Sandy Springs. He initially aspired to play professional basketball before turning his focus to music.
He began rapping under the name Sir Cartier in 2011, releasing tracks on SoundCloud, before rebranding as Playboi Carti in 2013 and joining Awful Records in 2014 after meeting producer Ethereal.
Rise to Fame
At 18, Carti relocated to New York City and connected with A$AP Rocky’s crew, which led to his 2016 signing with Rocky’s AWGE imprint and Interscope Records. His self-titled 2017 mixtape peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 200, driven by breakout tracks "Magnolia" and "Wokeuplikethis," and established his signature ad-lib-heavy, minimalist style.
His 2018 follow-up, Die Lit, debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200, further cementing his reputation as one of the most distinctive young voices in hip-hop and expanding his influence over the genre’s evolving sound.
Career Highlights
Carti’s 2020 album, Whole Lotta Red, became his first number-one album and was hailed by Rolling Stone as one of the most forward-thinking rap records of its era for its abrasive, punk-influenced production. In 2019, he founded Opium Records, a label and creative collective built around a dark, aggressive aesthetic drawing on 1970s and 1980s punk rock, signing artists including Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely, and A$AP Nast.
His 2025 album, Music, became his second consecutive number-one album, moving 290,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, and was led by the chart-topping single "Carnival," featuring Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign, which gave him his first number-one single. Heading into 2026, he has supported The Weeknd’s After Hours til Dawn Tour, launched his own Antagonist Tour featuring Opium artists, and partnered with Fortnite for an in-game event and character skin.
Personal Life
Carti dated rapper Iggy Azalea from 2018 to 2019, and the couple has a son, Onyx, born in 2020. He has a second child, a daughter named Yves, born in 2023 with a different partner.
In 2023, Carti faced a felony assault charge involving an incident with his pregnant girlfriend at the time, a case that drew significant media attention; he has also faced travel restrictions, including a 2025 entry denial into Canada.
Net Worth & Legacy
Playboi Carti’s net worth is estimated in the tens of millions of dollars, built through album sales, touring, and the roster of artists signed to his Opium label.
From SoundCloud uploads under the name Sir Cartier to back-to-back number-one albums and a record label that has reshaped a generation of rap production, Carti’s influence on hip-hop’s sound over the past decade has been outsized relative to his relatively sparse release schedule, and his continued grip on the genre’s cutting edge suggests his impact is far from finished.