A Great Chaos is the third studio album by American rapper Ken Carson. It was released through Opium and Interscope Records on October 13, 2023.[1] The album is a follow-up to Carson's second studio album, X (2022); it consists of 18 tracks and features guest appearances from Destroy Lonely and Lil Uzi Vert.[2] The album's production was handled by various producers, including Carson himself, F1lthy, Lil 88, Star Boy, Outtatown and TM88, among others.
The album was supported by the release of the single: "I Need U", which was released on Valentine's Day.[3]A Great Chaos received mostly positive reviews from music critics. The album debuted at number 11 on the US Billboard 200, earning 49,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, and becoming Carson's first US top 20 album.[4] 8 months later, on July 5, 2024, the deluxe version of the album was released, containing seven additional tracks.[5][6]
The album's lead single, "I Need U", was first previewed in December 2022[7] and released on February 14, 2023, coinciding with Valentine's Day.[3] On June 2, Carson officially announced the project's title and an initial release date of July 17.[8] The album's tracklist was shared on June 25, revealing that it would consist of 14 tracks and feature multiple guest artists.[8] A second single, "It's Over", was teased but never released, and the album ultimately missed its original release date for reasons outside of Carson's control.[8]
Carson tweeted a pre-save link for the album on October 6, indicating that the project would now be released on the 13th of that same month, the day of which was a Friday the 13th. The post included a finalized track listing of 18 songs;[9] three days later, nearly the entire album leaked online after several tracks were shared on a Discord server.[10] On October 12, an album launch party was held at the Silo dance club in Brooklyn. Carson performed tracks "Singapore" and "Paranoid" alongside his Opium labelmate, Destroy Lonely. The show ended with a headlined performance by Playboi Carti.[11]
The album's cover art, which was designed by Nick Spiders and revealed on October 6, 2023,[9] depicts a low-quality close-up shot of Carson wearing a black t-shirt, diamond chains, and an earring as he stands smiling in front of a gray backdrop with a grill visible in his teeth.[12]
A Great Chaos received generally positive reviews from critics. Mano Sundaresan of Pitchfork described A Great Chaos as "a creative breakthrough, flipping the script on Atlanta rap production" as "within the churn of these outrageous beats, Ken sounds alive, funneling his hedonistic tendencies into joyously unholy music".[13]Vibe's Preezy Brown called the album "some of [Carson's] best work yet", highlighting solo tracks "Fighting My Demons", "Hardcore", "Overtime", "Vampire Hour", and "Nightcore" as standouts that showcased the rapper "hitting on all cylinders".[15]
Will Gedron of HipHopDX stated: "If listened to over extended stretches, the album can become a war of attrition. This is not music to be still to. The production, while expertly constructed, is more rigid than flexible, making it difficult to recognize the humanity behind what Carson is saying. After going through the project multiple times consecutively, and finally removing headphones, there is a sense that one has emerged from an industrial warehouse, watching a conveyor belt loop over and over, at varying speeds."[14] Eric Young of Creative Culture wrote that, while the album boasted "better production, and a more convincing performance" than that of Carson's previous full-length outing, X, he found certain songs "monotonous" to listen to and knocked the rapper's vocal delivery as being largely "uninteresting". Still, he labeled "Jennifer's Body" "a raging masterpiece of a song" and felt that the project offered "a thrilling musical experience" despite its flaws.[16]
A Great Chaos debuted at number 11 on the US Billboard 200, earning 49,000 album-equivalent units, becoming Carson's first US top 20 album. The album also accumulated a total of 60.359 million global streams on Spotify for its tracks, in the week ending October 20, 2023.[4]
