Playboi Carti is perhaps one of the most influential rap artists of the past decade. His 2017 mixtape Playboi Carti was a triumphant entrance into the music scene, and 2018’s Die Lit was one of the best trap albums of the 2010s. Carti’s vocals, and his production, typically handled by the extremely talented Pi’erre Bourne, provide his projects with excitement, energy, and a sense of ingenuity that is extremely difficult to replicate.

However, there’s a reason I’m not writing this article about Playboi Carti. His sophomore album, Whole Lotta Red, has been teased, leaked, and eagerly awaited by his fans for 2 years. He hadn’t even turned the album in to his team until recently, and though he’s been active on social media, there is no indication that this album will be released any time soon.

That’s why this article is about Mario Judah. If you don’t know Mario Judah, that’s understandable. He’s only released five songs. Most famous is his smash hit ‘Die Very Rough’, a song making waves on Tiktok and Youtube. But now, he is blowing up for his Twitter ‘beef’ with Playboi Carti. On December 2, Mario Judah tweeted “On every religion there is…if you don’t drop WLR before December 6th…I will do it for you…” On December 6th, as promised, Mario Judah released ‘Bih Yah’, the lead single off of Mario Judah’s Whole Lotta Red. The song quickly blew up, reaching 18k views within hours, overwhelming Youtube.

This ‘beef’ is one of the best marketing strategies I’ve ever seen from an artist. Mario Judah recorded and mixed an album, shot a music video, and prepared himself to ride the wave of Playboi Carti. He used fans’ frustrations at Carti’s refusal to release his album, and turned it into his own reputability. From the production to the vocals, Judah copied Playboi Carti to a T, even copying the famed ‘baby voice’ that garnered Carti so much positive attention. Mario Judah took Carti’s buzz and attention and made it his opportunity to climb.

I encourage everyone who loves Carti to listen to ‘Bih Yah’, and the rest of Whole Lotta Red. Judah has made some of the best Carti-esque music since Carti himself, and the songs are definitely worth a listen, even just to marvel at the genius marketing and advertisement.