With 90 minutes to go on stage at Lyrical Lemonade's Summer Smash festival, Playboi Carti is already putting on a show — right out of his trailer.
Sprayed on the side of the trailer in red graffiti is the word “OPIUM,” the name of Carti's creative agency and partnership with Interscope Records, along with an eye that looks like something an eighth grader might say is a symbol of the Illuminati. The trailer window, in huge font, bears the number “666”. Carti's trailer is stuck among several others, plus the large SUV that transported the 28-year-old rapper from his hotel to the Chicago-area festival. An entourage of about a dozen people — including up-and-coming artists and Opium signees Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely — swarm around him. Marijuana smoke hangs over the area, a smell so awful it reminds you why one of the drug's nicknames is “strong”. At one point, entourage members light something on fire with what appears to be a butane torch, grinning like hyenas.
If you're going to get to know Carti, you might as well start here, as he prepares to do what he currently does better than any rapper on earth: perform. Although his albums are rocking beyond belief – and wildly popular – Carti is more in his element on stage, and right now, the atmosphere is something of a pre-game warm-up meets secret society gathering. His entourage embodies the punk attitude that Carti celebrates in his aesthetic, music and concerts. It's a diverse crew, from the heavy-piercing Nyree Morrison, a skater and artist known for reconstructing shoes and clothing with spikes, jewelry and all manner of gore. to Carty's barber, wearing a chain with a barber's pole that Carty gave him. to a white child with hair made into giant black and white spikes that looks like a Degrassi extra (and is actually the Burberry skater model Erry). to Carti's manager and Opium COO Erin Larsen, a white woman whom the rapper affectionately calls “Mom.” Soon, Lyrical Lemonade founder Cole Bennett appears with rapper BabyTron. The gang is here to watch hip-hop's most innovative artist of the 2020s headline Summer Smash for the third year in a row. “Every year, he's the one person people really look forward to,” says Bennett. “It's tradition at this point.”
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Styling by Rose Marie Johansen. Makeup by Emily Schubert. Jagger Harvey custom leather sling and Pelle Pelle pants, in collaboration with Rose Marie Johansen; Arena Embroidery custom hat, in collaboration with Rose Marie Johansen and Dawid Dinh; VAIN tank top and leather gloves.
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Shirley Tang custom flight suit, in collaboration with Rose Marie Johansen, Stephanie Perez and Dawid Dinh. Jagger Harvey custom leather sling and hat in collaboration with Rose Marie Johansen and Dawid Dinh. VAIN tank top and leather gloves.
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VAIN full outfit, custom embroidered durag.
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VAIN full outfit, custom embroidered durag.
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Jagger Harvey custom leather sling and Pelle Pelle pants, in collaboration with Rose Marie Johansen? Arena Embroidery custom hat, in collaboration with Rose Marie Johansen and Dawid Dinh; VAIN tank top and leather gloves.
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Shirley Tang custom flight suit, in collaboration with Rose Marie Johansen, Stephanie Perez and Dawid Dinh. Jagger Harvey custom leather sling and hat in collaboration with Rose Marie Johansen and Dawid Dinh. VAIN tank top and leather gloves.
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Jagger Harvey custom leather sling and Pelle Pelle pants, in collaboration with Rose Marie Johansen; Arena Embroidery custom hat, in collaboration with Rose Marie Johansen and Dawid Dinh; VAIN tank top and leather gloves.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/photos/playboi-carti-photos-billboard-cover-shoot-1235764685/