Kenyatta Lee Bettis Frazier Jr. (born April 11, 2000), known professionally asKen Carson, is an American rapper and record producer fromAtlanta, Georgia. Carson initially gained attention for hisSoundCloud releases and collaborations with fellow Atlanta rapperDestroy Lonely. In 2019, Carson signed withPlayboi Carti's record labelOpium, an imprint ofInterscope Records, to release his debut studio album,Project X (2021).
His second album,X (2022), entered theBillboard 200 amidst negative critical reception.[4] His third studio album,A Great Chaos (2023), peaked at number 11 on the chart and received warmer reviews by comparison; its deluxe release spawned his firstBillboard Hot 100 entry with the single "Overseas".[5] Carson released his fourth album,More Chaos, on his 25th birthday on April 11, 2025, and became his first number 1 on theBillboard 200.[6][7]
Carson initially joined808 Mafia in 2015 as a rapper after meeting fellow record producerTM88,[9][10] and began releasing music onSoundCloud in 2017. After gaining popularity in the underground rap scene, he was discovered by fellow Atlanta rapperPlayboi Carti 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.[11][12]
After signing with Opium in 2019, Carson released two extended plays—Boy Barbie andTeen X—the following year.
At the start of 2021, he released his third EP, titledTeen X: Relapsed, before releasing his debut studio album,Project X, later that year.[13][14] In February 2022, he appeared as a guest on the track "Gëek high" off American rapperYeat's second studio album2 Alive.[15] He released his second studio album,X, on July 8, 2022.[16] It peaked at number 115 on theBillboard 200 and reached number 50 onBillboard'sTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[17]
In October 2022, he and fellow Atlanta rapperSoFaygo released a single titled "Hell Yeah" for SoFaygo's debut studio album,Pink Heartz, with an accompanying music video.[18][19] On October 31, 2022, Ken Carson released a deluxe version of hisX album, titledXtended, alongside a music video on YouTube for his song "MDMA" featuringDestroy Lonely.[20] On January 16, 2023, a music video for "Freestyle 2" was released.[21] On June 13, 2024, the song was certifiedGold by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[22]
Carson released the single "I Need U" onFebruary 14, 2023.[23] On May 5, 2023, Carson featured on hisOpium labelmateDestroy Lonely's debut studio album,If Looks Could Kill, on the song "Money & Sex."[24][20] In June 2023, Carson produced the song "x2" fromLil Uzi Vert's third studio album,Pink Tape.[25] On October 6, 2023, Carson tweeted apre-save link for his third studio album,A Great Chaos, indicating that the project would be released on October 13 with a tracklist of 18 songs;[26] three days later, nearly the entire albumleaked online after several tracks were shared on aDiscord server. On October 12, an album launch party was held at the Silo dance club inBrooklyn to commemorate the album's release. Carson performed the tracks "Fighting My Demons," "Lose It," "Hardcore," "Singapore," and "Paranoid" alongside Destroy Lonely, before bringing out fellow rapper and Opium founderPlayboi Carti to perform songs from the rapper's latest album, "Stop Breathing" fromWhole Lotta Red (2020), and "Fein" fromTravis Scott's fourth studio album,Utopia (2023).[27]
On July 5, 2024, he released the deluxe edition ofA Great Chaos, containing seven additional tracks, including the single "Overseas," which was released on April 12, 2024.[28][29] The single became his first entry on theBillboard Hot 100, debuting at number 79.[30] On November 1, 2024, Carson released the single "Delusional" in promotion of his fourth studio albumMore Chaos. The single debuted at number 49 on the USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[31] 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 on theBillboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, earning 59,500 album-equivalent units in its first week.[7]
OnHalloween, October 31, 2025, Carson released his single, "Yes".,[32] six days later, on November 6, Carson would follow through with his next single, titled "Catastrophe".[33] On November 13, Carson would release "Margiela".[34] On November 17, Carson was featured in aSkims ad, where the brand was doing a collaboration withCactus Plant Flea Market.[35] On December 12, he released "The Acronym" featuring Destroy Lonely after having previewed it the month before.[36]
Musical style
Carson's musical style was described byHotNewHipHop music critic Alexander Cole as "having electronic production that is energetic in nature" and having focused "flows."[37] Mano Sundaresan ofPitchfork compared Carson to his mentorPlayboi Carti, especially his 2020 albumWhole Lotta Red, as well as toLil Uzi Vert for his flow and mentality.[14]
^Park, Stephanie; Pinsky, Hannah (April 20, 2024)."Ken Carson: A Rising Rapper".Parks Panther Press. Parks Junior High School.Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. RetrievedNovember 2, 2024.
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