This article originally appeared in Hypebeast Magazine #36: The Platinum Issue

Ken Carson lives loud. At the moment, the Opium rapper’s high-decibel daily routine features soldout stadium shows and impromptu, in-person listening events, followed by headlining festival appearances and dialed-in, self-directed photoshoots. There’s no rest for the wicked, they say, and Carson’s giant pentagram chest tattoo may very well indicate that he successfully made a Faustian deal with the devil that’s led to unimaginable fame — yet very little downtime.

Each moment of chaos and clamor is obsessively documented by his lurking subreddit, eyeing Carson’s every maneuver. Even a move of his index finger to post on Instagram is clocked in seconds, something I witnessed in real time when I first met the rapper in early 2025 at a last-minute vinyl signing in New York. Carson refused to formally announce the event; instead, just nine minutes before the doors were set to open, the rapper posted a photo of his name on the letter board outside of LUME Studios. When I pulled up, just ahead of start time, I could already see the line from around the corner, physical proof of the Ken Carson Effect.

Carson’s is just one sect of the cult-like tribe that bleeds through the goth-trap Opium universe. Opium, the Playboi Carti-helmed label and collective, and its four main artists — Carson, Carti, Destroy Lonely, and Homixide Gang — can do quite literally anything, and it’s guaranteed to catalyze a crowd. And that crowd will be as diverse in demographics, as it is homogeneous in style. If you were to take an aerial photo of an Opium listening party event, the image would resemble a black-and-grey blob, due to the sartorial preferences of the fans. Zoom in and you’d see a dark-hued range of both oversized and skin-tight post-punk Rick Owens, VLONE, and Raf Simons pieces — looks defined by draping, hooding, and layering — and likely complemented by flashes of Chrome Hearts hardware and jewelry.

Carson organized the event on an impulsive whim to celebrate his recent release, More Chaos, with a come-one, come-all attitude. The album, of course, is Carson’s latest dialed-in deluge of sonic defiance and distortion, a fitting follow-up to A Great Chaos — a record some regard as the very blueprint for post-SoundCloud rage-trap as a whole. Where A Great Chaos paved the way, More Chaos doubled down with a vengeance — a conviction that netted it the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart.

Both projects are plucked straight from planet Opium, and the Opium world, like much of what Carti has built around him, spins on an entirely different axis, magnetically moving on its own wave sonically, aesthetically, and culturally, too. If Carti first induced the wave into a crest, Carson is pushing it to its next peak. At just 25 years old, the Atlanta-born rapper now has four studio albums (all released under Opium), three independently released mixtapes, and a surplus of Billboard-charting and gold-certified singles. Tracks like Teen X’s “Yale,” which went gold in October of 2023, three years after its release, laid the groundwork for Carson’s frenetic and futuristic sonic facade. It also inspired other rage-rappers to follow suit.

“That’s what happens when you’re part of evolution,” Carson confers coolly when I ask if he thinks other artists are ripping his sound. “One person’s sound branches off into different sounds, and that’s how you know you’re the best at something — or you’re at least at the pinnacle of it. I’d be more worried if motherfuckers weren’t copying me.” What once existed as an outcast genre of sorts, rage-trap is now firmly in the mainstream, almost entirely shedding its IYKYK status. Carson’s influence has undeniably spurred this sea change.

Carson also notes that while every Opium artist undoubtedly exists on the same primordial plane, each of the four is simultaneously on his own “island” — different designer labels of choice, different niches in their honed-in hip-hop genre, and different ways of staying focused and ambitious in the hazy Opium omniverse.

What centers Carson in the midst of all this noise? It’s simple, he says, the antithesis of his day-to-day: “silence.”

How would you describe your sound if you had to put it into words?

Ken Carson: Really futuristic. It sounds like it’s from the future.

So what’s the secret to making a Ken Carson song sound futuristic?

My Auto-Tune preset. I’m super flexible with my voice, so I feel like it just depends on the song.

Because you’re channeling the future, how would you describe your sound to an alien from another planet?

Chaos. Whether that’s a good sort of chaos or a bad sort of chaos, that’s up for the audience to determine.

Were you into music growing up? What were you listening to?

I’ve always been into music. When I was a kid, I would wake up extra early before I had to catch the bus to watch music videos until I had to leave. Like, lots of Fall Out Boy. “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark.” Eminem. What’s that one Eminem and Lil Wayne song? “No Love.” A lot of shit like that. And “Somebody That I Used To Know.”

Speaking of watching a lot of videos, do you take an active role in curating your visuals?

Yeah, definitely. 100%. I don’t do anything if it’s not my idea. I’m usually pitching the ideas and making them come to life. Curating my visuals is always cool and a lot of fun, but the music always comes first. The sound has to come before I decide which aesthetic or direction I want to go with visually. The music has to make sense before anything else.

Are there any essential movies, TV shows, or other references that have informed or influenced the visual world you’ve created?

I watch a lot of movies. Movies like Hostel and Guns Akimbo.

Do you consider yourself a pioneer in the rage-rap space?

100%. I think it speaks for itself. My fans speak for that. I’m sure they see more of it than I do. They with me, I’m with them.

When it comes to pioneering new genres, how has working with Opium impacted your artistry?

Opium is about witnessing greatness being made and watching people gravitate towards some of the best rappers. I get to see the whole process from start to finish and get a lot of different perspectives. It’s taught me how hard you have to work in order to reap the benefits and earn that respect and reciprocated energy from your fans. Every Opium artist’s sound is one-of-a-kind. You can’t compare it to anything else in music. Each of us is one-of-one.

How does that translate to fashion and style? How do you differentiate yourself stylistically within the Opium aesthetic?

I feel like each of us has our own island of Opium, especially when it comes to fashion. I think I keep it more basic in comparison to the other Opium rappers. But I’m also always on my rockstar trash shit.

I feel that. Would you ever step into a creative director or designer role? What brands could you see yourself working with?

I’d love to step into a designer role someday. I feel like I’m already on my Creative Director shit because I creative direct all of my own stuff. I’d definitely design clothes, though. A brand like Nike has such a wide range of shoes and silhouettes that you have so much to choose from when designing. It’d be an obstacle for me, but I don’t think it’d be too hard.

Nike by Ken Carson sounds pretty solid, actually. Do you think fame and money have impacted your sense of style?

I think my style evolves every single day. A lot of people like to write stuff off really quickly, and I make sure to never write anything off because I feel like anything can grow on me.

Does that mentality carry over to areas beyond fashion?

Definitely. Whether it’s clothes, movies, music, or anything.

Do you remember the first time you met Playboi Carti?

I don’t remember the first time, but I remember the time we locked in locked in. I was with Southside in 2016 or 2017, and we were in the studio. I was just getting out of military school. I was like 16 and had free time, so I was just extra hands in the studio. Carti was in the lobby. Southside told him to pull up into the studio, and that was history.

In addition to Carti and Southside, you’ve also spent a lot of time with the producer Wheezy. What’s the most important lesson you learned after building with such legendary hip-hop artists?

The most important thing I learned from everybody is that you gotta work hard for what you want. If you really want it, you’ll work hard for it. I watched all of these people bust their asses to be great.

Outside of the Opium world, who else in your orbit pushes you to step up and continue working hard?

Honestly, me. I feel like I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the self-drive and self-motivation that I have. I’m really disciplined. This has been what I’ve wanted to do, so I’ve been literally working every day of my life for these exact moments.

Do you have any specific creative role models?

I don’t think there’s one specific person, but I find myself taking what I like from each of the motherfuckers who I like. My peers motivate me so much.

Do you read reviews of your music?

Of course, the people around me are always talking about it. But that doesn’t determine how I feel about my own art. It’s art. You paint a picture. You put it out when you decide it’s done. And then it’s done, and you move on to the next piece of art. How people decide to perceive your art is out of your hands.

How has your sound evolved from Project X up through More Chaos?

I think I’ve just gotten better at everything as I’ve gotten more practice.

Do you approach each project as its own or as a continuation of the last?

Each project is me showcasing how much better I’ve gotten. Dropping is literally just you showing how much you’ve improved from the last drop. For me, personally, I view it like an athlete — working on my game like a basketball player every single day.

How do you make sure everything you release feels true to your vision?

I’m so strict about putting my stuff in other people’s hands. Again: I’m the artist. I paint the picture. After the picture is painted, it’s painted. It’s out of my hands. I honestly don’t even like my albums being mixed.

That sounds challenging. How do you choose who to bring into your creative circle?

I don’t really recruit many people into my circle. I know what I want to do. If you’re in line with what I want to do, then we can work, but I’m never trying to actively bring more people in.

Do you think people are copying your sound?

I think that’s what happens when you’re part of evolution. One person’s sound branches off into different sounds, and that’s how you know you’re the best at something—or you’re at least at the pinnacle of it. I’d be more worried if motherfuckers weren’t copying me.

What do you think that says about where you are in your career right now?

I love making music, so I think I’ll always have music no matter what I’m doing. I don’t think that deeply into it. I view it as just giving out my art. I make bread off it, but I still have other shit I want to do. Just creating more shit. Making a little bit of everything.

What are you listening to right now?

Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of Jay-Z. Kanye West. I’ve been listening to a lot of Watch the Throne. I firmly believe that in order to get better at something, you’ve gotta look at the pinnacle for inspiration. I try to dissect what motherfuckers were doing when they were at the peak of their careers and put that into my everyday life so I can do the same thing.

If you could say one thing to your fans, what would it be?

Never let people know when you’re up, so they’ll never know when you’re down.

How do you stay centered and keep your head clear?

Silence. Peace and quiet.

Do you feel like you’ve “made it”?

I think I’ve definitely “made it”—whatever you want to call “making it.” What even is “making it”? Everyone has a different perspective on what it means to “make it.” For me, you “make it” when you certify an RIAA song type shit. I think that’s when you know you’ve made it. Once that song gets certified, you’ve definitely made it. But am I content? I don’t know…

So what’s next for you?

Being as complex as I can be.