album 

A Great Chaos is the third studio album by American rapper Ken Carson. It was released through Opium and Interscope Records on October 13, 2023.[1] The album is a follow-up to Carson's second studio album, X (2022); it consists of 18 tracks and features guest appearances from Destroy Lonely and Lil Uzi Vert.[2] The album's production was handled by various producers, including Carson himself, F1lthy, Lil 88, Star Boy, Outtatown and TM88, among others.

The album was supported by the release of the single: "I Need U", which was released on Valentine's Day.[3] A Great Chaos received mostly positive reviews from music critics. The album debuted at number 11 on the US Billboard 200, earning 49,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, and becoming Carson's first US top 20 album.[4] 8 months later, on July 5, 2024, the deluxe version of the album was released, containing seven additional tracks.[5][6]

Background and release[edit]

The album's lead single, "I Need U", was first previewed in December 2022[7] and released on February 14, 2023, coinciding with Valentine's Day.[3] On June 2, Carson officially announced the project's title and an initial release date of July 17.[8] The album's tracklist was shared on June 25, revealing that it would consist of 14 tracks and feature multiple guest artists.[8] A second single, "It's Over", was teased but never released, and the album ultimately missed its original release date for reasons outside of Carson's control.[8]

Carson tweeted a pre-save link for the album on October 6, indicating that the project would now be released on the 13th of that same month, the day of which was a Friday the 13th. The post included a finalized track listing of 18 songs;[9] three days later, nearly the entire album leaked online after several tracks were shared on a Discord server.[10] On October 12, an album launch party was held at the Silo dance club in Brooklyn. Carson performed tracks "Singapore" and "Paranoid" alongside his Opium labelmate, Destroy Lonely. The show ended with a headlined performance by Playboi Carti.[11]