Offset’s new venture, Haunted by Fame, arrives steeped in stress and vulnerability. This indicators a pointy flip from the calm introspection of his earlier album, Kiari. Once vowing to “move on in peace,” the Atlanta rapper now revisits acquainted wounds—most notably his difficult historical past with Cardi B. Released as Halloween season hits its peak, the venture feels as eerie because it does emotional.

When Kiari dropped earlier this 12 months, its closing monitor, “Move On,” learn like a farewell to heartbreak. Offset’s lyrics—“I’m tryna move on in peace / I’m tryna move on / Happy for you, why you ain’t happy for me?”—supplied a quiet decision to one in all hip-hop’s most public love tales. Their marriage, marred by divorce filings and on-line disputes, had appeared to succeed in its finish with that second of lyrical give up. Yet Haunted by Fame means that peace was short-lived.

Offset turns heartbreak into lyrical revenge

On the brand new venture, Offset returns to his sharper instincts. The track “No Sweat” finds him taking intention at Cardi B’s present associate, NFL star Stefon Diggs. Diggs is reportedly anticipating a fourth youngster with the rapper. “How the f*ck you leave Jordan for Rodman?” he raps—a biting line that cuts by means of the album’s gloom. The distinction between Kiari’s regret and Haunted by Fame’s resentment is putting. This underscores a shift from reflection to retaliation.

Fans have been fast to reply. Some on X mocked Offset’s fixation on his ex, with one submit studying that he ought to “just sign the divorce papers already.” Others famous the irony of his current interviews, the place he expressed regret for his previous habits towards Cardi. The public discourse mirrors the duality in his music: one facet searching for progress, the opposite unwilling to let go.

Released simply months after Kiari, Haunted by Fame feels much less like a sequel and extra like a reckoning. It additionally lands on the anniversary of Without Warning, Offset’s 2017 collaboration with 21 Savage and Metro Boomin. That was a defining second for lure music. This time, nonetheless, the haunting doesn’t come from 808s or ad-libs, however from the ghosts of fame, love, and the price of dwelling each in public.