Steven Wilson says he’s “yet to meet anyone who’s even heard of Playboi Carti” after chart battle

Steven Wilson has opened up about his recent chart battle with Playboi Carti, saying he’s “yet to meet anyone who’s even heard of” the rapper.

On March 14, the Porcupine Tree frontman released his eighth studio album ‘The Overview’, which is comprised of two, 20-minute long tracks. It coincided with the release of Carti’s fourth LP ‘Music‘.

The following week, Wilson hit Number One in the UK’s midweek album chart in a surprise victory against the rap superstar. However, though it seemed like he may have been on track to receive the first UK Number One of his career, he ultimately landed at Number Three in the end-of-week chart, with Carti claiming the top spot.

Wilson has now spoken about the chart battle with Playboi Carti, telling The Telegraph that he wasn’t surprised about the rapper’s victory.

“It was no competition, really, let’s be honest,” he said. “[Carti’s] music is almost the antithesis of mine – short, minimal, full of the kind of digital sounds you hear on mobile phones. There are no solos, which have completely disappeared from modern music.

“It’s all about the vocals these days, and it reflects the pace of life we live now. I completely understand why it might be more interesting to 15-year-old kids raised on computer games and TikTok.”

Wilson went on to say that his sales came from physical units, whereas Carti’s more likely came from digital streams. “All of my sales come from CDs and vinyl,” he told the publication. “I’ve been touring around indie record stores, and I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s even heard of Playboi Carti.”

Wilson added that he saw a lack of variety in modern pop music. “Dire Straits’ biggest hit was Private Investigations, six minutes long with a three-minute marimba nylon string guitar duet,” he said. “I mean, fuck’s sake! It got to number two [in 1982], it wouldn’t even get to first base now.

“Sound And Vision by David Bowie, the vocal doesn’t come in for a minute and a half. [Rod Stewart’s] Maggie May doesn’t have a chorus, it’s just a succession of verses. And don’t get me started on [Queen’s] Bohemian Rhapsody. None of these songs would have a hope in hell today.”

Speaking to NME ahead of ‘The Overview”s release, Wilson opened up about what he though the response would be. “I was very aware some fans would love ‘The Overview’ as an idea. I was more worried about how my record company, management and the media would take it,” he said.”

“In all respects, I’ve been proved wrong. It seems the timing is good for this record, that the time is right for progressive ideals to be reappraised,” he continued. “I’d never have expected that this would be the album the British media would be excited about, but they seem to be. It goes to show all the old rules don’t apply anymore. No one cares about genre, it’s about whether the music distinguishes itself and has something unique about it. That’s how it rises out of the mass now.”

Last summer, Steven Wilson announced details of a 2025 UK and European headline tour, which will mark his first solo dates in seven years.

The European leg will kick off on May 1, while the UK dates commence on May 10 with a show at Beacon in Bristol. This will be followed by two nights at the London Palladium on May 12 and 13, before further stops in Newcastle, Glasgow and Salford. Visit here for tickets and more information.

Meanwhile, in a four-star review of Carti’s ‘Music’, NME‘s Kyann-Sian Williams wrote: “For nearly a decade, Carti’s been a step ahead, dragging rap into the future and leaving everyone else scrambling to catch up. From underground hero to untouchable force, Playboi Carti cements his spot as rap’s feral frontrunner.”

Last week, he shared a new expanded version of the massive album, now titled ‘Music – Sorry 4 Da Wait’. The expanded version includes four additional tracks, bringing the tracklist to a whopping 34 songs.