X (Ken Carson album)

X is the second studio album by American rapper Ken Carson. It was released on July 8, 2022, by Opium and Interscope Records[2] The album features guest appearances from his Opium labelmates Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang. Production was handled by Ken's frequent collaborators F1lthy and Lil 88, among others. It is a follow-up to his debut studio album Project X (2021). The deluxe version, titled Xtended, was released three months later, on October 31, 2022, containing 5 additional tracks.[3]

X
Standard cover[lower-alpha 1]
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 8, 2022 (2022-07-08)
Genre
Length48:08
Label
Producer
  • 4vrlit
  • AM
  • Bart How
  • Dxrksiiide
  • Earl on the Beat
  • Esko
  • F1lthy
  • Gab3
  • Gl1tch
  • Jhux
  • Jonah Abraham
  • Lil 88
  • Loesoe
  • Lucian
  • Lukrative
  • Outtatown
  • Rok
  • Slowburnz
  • Ssort
  • Star Boy
Ken Carson chronology
Project X
(2021)
X
(2022)
Lost Files 4
(2023)
Singles from X
  1. "The End"
    Released: July 5, 2022
  2. "Go"
    Released: July 8, 2022

X received mixed reviews from music critics. The album entered at number 115 on the Billboard 200.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
HipHopDX2.8/5[5]
Pitchfork4.7/10[6]
AllMusic[7]

X was met with mixed to negative reviews.

Anthony Malone of HipHopDX stated that Carson was full of identity and creativity, saying, "Lacking variety from the beats and any real force from the artist himself, X is a repetitive listening experience. There are moments of fun: the short and succulent 'Money Hunt'; the energetic flexing in 'Get Rich or Die'; and Destroy Lonely's verse on 'MDMA'. But it's not enough to justify the 20-track output."[5] Pitchfork reviewer Alphonse Pierre said that "Carson lacks the curiosity, imagination, and irreverence to do anything more than lay down the same glazed Auto-Tune raps, with only rare attempts to liven them up", and that "X is such a slog that the smallest signs of taste are cause for celebration. The pitch change at the end of 'Get Rich or Die' is something! When he's listing off his drugs on 'PDBMH', the Auto-Tune is turned up and in that instant the sped-up flow is slightly (emphasis on 'slightly') reminiscent of [Young] Thug!" but that overall the album was "forgettable".[6]

AllMusic said that, "This repetitive production taken in tandem with Carson's often listless and uninspired lyricism (and flows that sometimes struggle to even stay on beat) makes X a largely hollow and forgettable affair."[7]

Commerical peformance

In the United States, the album entered at number 115 on the Billboard 200.[4]

Track listing

X track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"
  • Jhux
  • Slowburnz
3:15
2."New"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Gabriel Rousseau
  • Gab3
2:49
3."Gems"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Rousseau
  • Gl1tch
  • Gab3
  • Gl1tch
2:16
4."Nobody"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Rousseau
  • Gab3
2:10
5."Go"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Tobias Dekker
  • Anton Mendo
  • Dxrksiiide
  • Outtatown
  • Star Boy
  • Dxrksiiide
1:50
6."MDMA" (featuring Destroy Lonely)
  • AM
  • Bart How
  • Outtatown
  • Star Boy
3:48
7."X"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Pierre Thevenot
  • Ștefan Cișmigiu
  • Thomas Ross
  • Lukrative
  • Lucian
  • Ssort
2:09
8."PDBMH"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Hoewijk
Bart How2:18
9."Money Hunt"
1:45
10."South Beach"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Dekker
  • Mendo
  • Outtatown
  • Star Boy
2:00
11."Going Schitz"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Hoewijk
  • Cas van der Heijden
  • Bart How
  • Loesoe
1:55
12."Same Thing"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Heijden
Loesoe1:55
13."Freestyle 1"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Cișmigiu
  • Ross
  • Thevenot
  • Lucian
  • Ssort
  • Lukrative
3:51
14."Freestyle 2"
2:18
15."Fuk 12"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Mendo
  • Dekker
  • Hoewijk
  • Outtatown
  • Star Boy
  • Bart How
1:24
16."Murda Musik" (featuring Destroy Lonely)
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Sandimanie III
  • Hoewijk
  • Rok Curkovic
  • 4vrlit
  • Rok
  • Bart How
  • 4vrlit
2:56
17."Delinquent" (featuring Homixide Gang)
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Demetrius Chatman
  • Keyon Thomas
  • Ortiz
  • Thevenot
  • Oliver Brown
  • F1lthy
  • Lukrative
  • Esko
2:45
18."Get Rich or Die"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Dekker
  • Mendo
  • Outtatown
  • Star Boy
2:19
19."Turn Up"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Dekker
  • Mendo
  • Outtatown
  • Star Boy
1:58
20."The End"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Dekker
  • Mendo
  • Outtatown
  • Star Boy
2:15
Total length:48:08
XTENDED (deluxe edition) track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
21."Freestyle 3"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Hoewijk
Bart How2:22
22."Fashion Habits"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Isaac Bynum
Earl on the Beat3:22
23."Shoot"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Ross
  • Thevenot
  • Ssort
  • Lukrative
2:47
24."Swag Overload"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Cișmigiu
  • Jonah Abraham
  • Lucian
  • Abraham
2:32
25."Lookbook"
  • Frazier Jr.
  • Thevenot
  • Cișmigiu
  • Lukrative
  • Lucian
2:30
Total length:61:35

Charts

Chart performance for X
Chart (2022) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[8] 115
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[9] 50

References

  1. In the deluxe version, the background is black.
  1. "Listen To "X" By Ken Carson". Ratings Game Music. July 8, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  2. Cowen, Trace (July 8, 2022). "Stream Ken Carson's New Album 'X' f/ Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang". Complex. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  3. Barlas, Jon (October 30, 2022). "Ken Carson drops 'Xtended' version of album 'X'". Our Generation Music. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  4. @billboardcharts (July 18, 2022). "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200..." (Tweet). Retrieved September 14, 2022 via Twitter.
  5. Malone, Anthony (July 20, 2022). "Ken Carson 'X' Lacks Identity While Being Lapped By His More Talented Peers". HipHopDX. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  6. Pierre, Alphonse (July 13, 2022). "Ken Car$on: X Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  7. Staff, TiVo (July 8, 2022). "Ken Car$on - X Album Reviews, Songs & More..." AllMusic. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  8. "Billboard 200". Billboard.
  9. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Week of July 23, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
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