Kenyatta Lee Frazier Jr. (born April 11, 2000), known professionally as Ken Carson, is an American rapper and record producer from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Carson initially gained attention for his

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

releases and collaborations with fellow Atlanta rapper

Destroy Lonely Bobby Wardell Sandimanie III (born July 30, 2001), known professionally as Destroy Lonely, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. His first full-length album, ''If Looks Could Kill (Destroy Lonely album), If Looks Could Kill'' (2023), pea ...

. In 2019, Carson signed with

Playboi Carti Jordan Terrell Carter (born September 13, 1995, or 1996), known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern Hip hop music, hip hop a ...

's record label

Opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

, an imprint of

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

, to release his debut studio album, '' Project X'' (2021). His second album, '' X'' (2022), entered the ''Billboard'' 200 amidst negative critical reception. His third studio album, ''

A Great Chaos ''A Great Chaos'' is the third studio album by the American rapper Ken Carson, released on October 13, 2023, through Opium and Interscope Records. The album's production was handled by various producers, including F1lthy, Lil 88, Star Boy, O ...

'' (2023), peaked at number 11 on the chart and received warmer reviews by comparison; its deluxe release spawned his first ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entry with the single " Overseas". Carson released his fourth album, ''

More Chaos ''More Chaos'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Ken Carson. It was released on April 11, 2025, through Opium and Interscope Records. Carson recorded most of the album in 2024, whilst touring in support of his third album, ''A Great C ...

'', on his 25th birthday on April 11, 2025, and became his first number 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Carson is associated with Opium label-mates

and

Homixide Gang Homixide Gang (sometimes shortened to HXG) is an American hip-hop duo that was founded in 2019, and signed to Playboi Carti's Opium record label in 2021. The group consists of Homixide Beno! and Homixide Meechie. Emerging as part of the undergro ...

Career

2015–2019: Beginnings

Carson initially joined

808 Mafia 808 Mafia is an American record production and songwriting group founded by record producers TM88, Lex Luger, and Southside. Its other members include Fuse 100, Tarentino, Purps, Swede, Nonstop Da Hitman, and MP808, among others. The group's ...

in 2015 as a rapper after meeting fellow record producer

TM88 Bryan Lamar Simmons (born April 4, 1987), known professionally as TM88, is an American record producer. He is part of the Atlanta-based record production team 808 Mafia, as one of its lead members alongside Southside. Simmons produced the 2017 ...

, and began releasing music on

in 2017. After gaining popularity in the underground rap scene, he was discovered by fellow Atlanta rapper

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.

2020–2022: ''Teen X'', ''Project X'' and ''X''

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, titled ''Teen X: Relapsed'', before releasing his debut studio album, '' Project X'', later that year. In February 2022, he appeared as a guest on the track "Gëek high" off American rapper

Yeat Noah Olivier Smith (born February 26, 2000), known professionally as Yeat (occasionally stylized as YEAT ), is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his experimental sound—most notably the rage sound, u ...

's second studio album ''

2 Alive ''2 Alive'' (stylized as ''2 Alivë'') is the second studio album by American rapper Yeat. It was released on February 18, 2022, by Geffen Records, Interscope Records, Field Trip Recordings, Listen To The Kids and Twizzy Rich. The album feature ...

''. He released his second studio album, '' X'', on July 8, 2022. It peaked at number 115 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and reached number 50 on ''Billboard'''s

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

chart. In October 2022, he and fellow Atlanta rapper

SoFaygo Andre Dontrel Burt Jr. (born October 3, 2001), better known by his stage name SoFaygo (formerly stylized as $ofaygo), is an American rapper and singer. His 2019 single, " Knock Knock", went viral on TikTok in late 2020 before it received platinum ...

released a single titled "Hell Yeah" for SoFaygo's debut studio album, '' Pink Heartz'', with an accompanying music video. On October 31, 2022, Ken Carson released a deluxe version of his ''X'' album, titled ''Xtended'', alongside a music video on YouTube for his song "MDMA" featuring

. On January 16, 2023, a music video for "Freestyle 2" was released. On June 13, 2024, the song was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA).

2023–present: ''A Great Chaos'' and ''More Chaos''

Carson released the single "I Need U" on

February 14 It is observed in most countries as Valentine's Day. Events Pre-1600 * 748 – Abbasid Revolution#Persian phase, Abbasid Revolution: The Kaysanites Shia#History, Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad ...

, 2023. On May 5, 2023, Carson featured on Destroy Lonely's debut studio album, '' If Looks Could Kill'', on the song "Money & Sex." In June 2023, Carson produced the song "x2" from

Lil Uzi Vert Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, they gained initial recognition following the release of the commer ...

's third studio album, ''

Pink Tape Pink Tape may refer to: * ''Pink Tape'' (f(x) album), 2013 * ''Pink Tape'' (Lil Uzi Vert album), 2023 * ''Barenaked Lunch'' (The Pink Tape), a demo tape by Barenaked Ladies, 1990 * ''The Pink Tape'', a demo tape by Engerica, 2000/2001 {{di ...

''. On October 6, 2023, Carson tweeted a

pre-save A pre-order is an order placed for an item that has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came because people found it hard to get popular items in stores because of their popularity. Companies then had the idea to allow customers to r ...

link for his third studio album, ''

'', indicating that the project would be released on October 13 with a tracklist of 18 songs; three days later, nearly the entire album leaked online after several tracks were shared on a

Discord Discord is an instant messaging and Voice over IP, VoIP social platform which allows communication through Voice over IP, voice calls, Videotelephony, video calls, text messaging, and digital media, media. Communication can be private or take ...

server. On October 12, an album launch party was held at the Silo dance club in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

to commemorate the album'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,

, to perform songs from the rapper's latest album, "Stop Breathing" from ''

Whole Lotta Red ''Whole Lotta Red'' is the second studio album by the American rapper Playboi Carti. It was released on December 25, 2020, by AWGE and Interscope Records. Recording began in late 2018, following the release of its predecessor '' Die Lit'' (2018 ...

'' (2020), and " Fein" from

Travis Scott Jacques Bermon Webster III (born April 30, 1991), known professionally as Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had five number-one hits on the U.S. ''Bil ...

's fourth studio album, ''Utopia'' (2023). 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. The single became his first entry on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, debuting at number 79. On November 1, 2024, Carson released the single "Delusional" in promotion of his fourth studio album ''

''. The single debuted at number 49 on the US

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. He would eventually release the album on his twenty fifth birthday, April 11, 2025, and became his first album to reach the number 1 spot and his second album to enter the top 10 on the ''Billboard'' and ''grinder'' 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums respectively, earning 69,500 album-equivalent units in its first week.

Musical style

Carson's musical style was described by ''

HotNewHipHop ''HotNewHipHop'' (HNHH) is an online publication that covers daily news about hip hop and pop culture, including streetwear, sports, and Sneaker collecting, sneakers. In addition to its editorial content, HotNewHipHop also produces the video seri ...

'' music critic Alexander Cole as "having electronic production that is energetic in nature" and having focused "flows." Mano Sundaresan of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' compared Carson to his mentor

, especially his 2020 album ''

'', as well as to Lil Uzi Vert for his flow and mentality.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Project X'' (2021) * '' X'' (2022) * ''

'' (2023) * ''

'' (2025)

Tours

Headlining

* The X Man Tour (2022) * Chaos Tour (2024) * Lord of Chaos Tour (2025)

Awards and Nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Ken Living people 21st-century American rappers African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American hip-hop singers Interscope Records artists Rappers from Atlanta Record producers from Georgia (U.S. state) Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Southern hip-hop musicians American trap musicians 2000 births Opium (record label) artists