In 2023 popular rapper Playboi Carti announced that he would be going on tour alongside his label Opium. The label also consists of Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely, as well as a couple other artists. This tour was known as the original Antagonist Tour. Announced in July 2023, it was expected to be one of the biggest tours of all time, stretching from North America all the way to Europe.
Before the original shows were held, the tour was delayed and the start date was moved from September 2023 to January 2024. However, after all the delays, ultimately the whole tour was cancelled. After dropping his long awaited album MUSIC, Carti decided to team up with The Weeknd and they went on tour together in the After Hours til Dawn Tour. While on tour, during a quick three day break going from Orlando, FL to Arlington, TX, Carti announced the return of the Antagonist Tour. Five artists, one stage, thirty one shows, two months— Carti was back.
The tour started on October 3rd in Utah, where new Opium member ApolloRed1 opened up, followed by Beno and Meechie HXLS2’s set. Then came out the big artists, Destroy Lonely fresh off of his new mixtape Broken Hearts 3, released on September 19th; Ken Carson off of his new album More Chaos, released on April 11th; and finally the main act— Playboi Carti off of his long anticipated album MUSIC.
On November 30th in Tampa, Florida, what started off as a normal night in the Benchmark International Arena, made history. ApolloRed1 came out and performed his five songs, including “Georgia Boy”— his iconic concert song. After him came Beno and Meechie, two energetic rage rappers who know how to energize a crowd with their hits like “VILLAIN,” “5G,” “PC5,” and “Lifestyle.” They performed for about thirty minutes before a five minute intermission.
After the two smaller artists got the crowd ready, it was time for the main events, the three headliners. First came Destroy Lonely, who immediately got the crowd going with “LOCK IN.” After getting the crowd riled up, he performed “SYRUP SIPPIN,” “DOUBT IT,” “BLITZ,” and “ABOUT MONEY” before a quick pause. After he played “catch a kill,” “screwed up,” and “In the Air.” After the newer and lesser known songs, Destroy Lonely began to play some of his older songs. He started with “How U Feel,” then switched to one of his first big hits on his older album NOSTYLIST, NEVEREVER. From the same album he played his biggest song “NOSTYLIST.” He concluded with his second most popular song, “if looks could kill,” to end a wonderful thirteen-song slate. Overall, Destroy Lonely’s set was very energetic and lasted about an hour before heading backstage.
After Destroy Lonely, came one of the most famous performers of all time, Ken Carson. He opened up with his iconic “sirens” from the opening song to his new album More Chaos, Lord of Chaos. After, from the same album he played “Blakk Rokkstar,” the song with the iconic beat switch that has bass so loud you could literally feel it. After that he played “Money Spread” from More Chaos, and the single he released on Halloween 2024, “Delusional.” After that he transitioned to his older album, A Great Chaos. He played the songs “It’s Over,” and “Lose It.” After that he played his popular romantic song “Mewtwo” for about thirty seconds before switching to another romantic song, “I Need U.” After that he played “Succubus,” another song off of A Great Chaos. He quickly played his new single “yes” before switching back to A Great Chaos and playing “Me N My Kup.” After, he played his famous concert songs “Rock N Roll,” and “Freestyle 2.” He finished his setlist by going back to A Great Chaos where he played “ss,” a song named after American Actress Sydney Sweeney, “Overseas,” and finally ending the set with his most famous concert song “Fighting My Demons.” Overall, Ken Carson brought rage, love and energy to Tampa with his memorable set leaving many in awe and wonder.
Finally, the main event came out, Playboi Carti. The opened his set by playing “Pop Out” not one but twice. Before playing “OPM BABI” and “Crank.” After that he played “Overly” and “K- POP.” These songs really lit up the crowd with all of the pyrotechnics and smoke machines. After these, Carti played “Like Weezy,” one of his biggest hits on his new album MUSIC. Then he played another one of his biggest hits, “Good Credit.” To finish off the songs from MUSIC he played “HBA.” Then he switched to his most influential album, Whole Lotta Red. He opened that part up with “Stop Breathing,” the iconic concert song. After that he played “On That Time,” and “Rockstar Made.” Then he quickly played “R.I.P” from the album Die Lit. Then he played a cover of the song “Timeless” originally by The Weeknd. He quickly went back to MUSIC and played “Evil Jordan.” Then he played another iconic song from Die Lit, “Shoota.” Then he played “ILOVEUIHATEU” with a live guitarist. Then he transitioned to his first mixtape, Playboi Carti. He played 1 song from it called “Location.” Then he played “Long Time” from Die Lit. Then he played “Sky,” from Whole Lotta Red. After that he switched to a cover of “FE!N,” originally by Travis Scott. Then he played another cover, “Carnival” by Kanye West. Then he brought out well known artist Trippie Redd to play “Miss The Rage.” This was the first time they ever performed “Miss The Rage” together. After that he played “Toxic,” another song from his new album MUSIC. Finally he walked out of the Arena to popular leak, “Made It This Far,” more commonly known as “24 Songs.”
The concert lasted a little under four hours from the beginning of ApolloRed1’s set to the end of Carti’s set. The concert left a lasting impression on who Carti is as an artist and an individual. As he goes through his career, any criticism gets quickly overshadowed by his albums and performances.
