Ken Carson just released his fifth studio album, XPERIMENT, after a very intriguing rollout that built up a significant amount of hype. The entire marketing idea and positioning of this album was that it was supposed to be an “experiment,” hence the album title. However, Ken fails to actually experiment on this project and instead gives us 22 more songs of his exact same sound, with less rage.
The music on this album isn’t necessarily bad. It feels like Ken’s attempt to revert back to his older, more melodic, less rage-heavy sound from earlier albums like Project X and X. However, overall, it’s a very weak attempt at experimenting or introducing a new sound away from the rage style he leaned into on his last two projects, A Great Chaos and More Chaos.
Ken’s vocal performance feels extremely lazy throughout the entire album, and there isn’t much evolution or artistic growth. There’s absolutely nothing on this album that truly feels like an experiment, and a lot of the songs that had major potential because of the features end up falling short. It gets to a point where halfway through the album, you start to feel burnt out because of how repetitive and sloppy the project feels.
Some of the album’s most disappointing moments come from the features. “Shadeson” uses the same beat 2hollis used for “Girl,” yet there isn’t even an actual 2hollis feature. Both Playboi Carti appearances also feel lazy, with Carti using the same tone and flow fans have already criticized. “Ghost” with Lil Uzi Vert isn’t bad, but Ken’s verse drags on too long, while Uzi’s part is too short to make a real impact.
Overall, there isn’t much to say about this project. It feels like a lazy attempt at experimentation with no real artistic evolution, and it becomes painfully repetitive. If you’re already a fan of Ken Carson, you might still enjoy the album, but if you were expecting a new sound or Ken stepping outside of his comfort zone, you won’t find that here.