The Best World-Builders in Music Right Now

World-building isn’t just for fantasy novels and Marvel movies. It’s also the invisible scaffolding holding up some of music’s most memorable eras: the outfits, the music videos, the fonts, the fan theories, the unexpected hair colors. It’s when the sound bleeds into the visuals and everything starts to feel… intentional. Good world-building pulls you in. Great world-building makes you want to stay.

Think of it like this: When Doja Cat dropped Planet Her, she stepped onto every red carpet in something that truly looked out of this world. And when Tyler, the Creator puts out a record, he doesn’t just make a tracklist. He crafts an aesthetic universe, down to the color palette and the fictional persona that lives inside it.

So who’s doing it best right now? Is it Doja? Is it Tyler? Below, in no particular order, are the current top-tier architects of pop worlds. Just to be clear, this is not a ranking or a definitive list. It’s just a field guide to the artists who don’t only make music but whole eras, too.

Tyler, The Creator

Tyler has gone from crafting worlds out of bees, clouds, and childhood wonder on his fifth album, Flower Boy, to being drenched in heartbreak and pastels in his IGOR era. No two Tyler eras look the same, and that’s the point. And just when you think you’ve got him figured out, he pivots again—of late, into St. Chroma, a more militant, mid-century spin on his visual playbook. Every Tyler world has a distinct color scheme, a lead character, and a live show that leans all the way into the bit. You don’t have to love the album to feel totally immersed in it, but good luck looking away.

Doja Cat

You know a new Doja era is approaching when her Instagram turns cryptic and she starts wearing things that look like a final project at an alien fashion school. Planet Her era was marked by a glossy, extraterrestrial, and glitter-coated aesthetic, while Scarlet took a sharper, more grotesque, some might even say dark turn. Remember when she covered herself in red body crystals? I still think that fit perfectly with her covering herself in blood in music videos in that era. She’s a maximalist who fully commits to the bit, down to having an outfit made of hair at Coachella and videos that toe the line between absurd and high-concept. Doja’s worlds might be unserious, but the execution never is.

The Weeknd

The Weeknd literally used to hide behind shadows. But over time, he’s gone full character actor, quietly becoming one of the best narrative architects in pop. What started as moody anonymity has evolved into something serious. Take, for example, the gory, Vegas-like chaos of the After Hours era, when he regularly walked the red carpets with a bloody nose and bandaged face. His love of the ’80s isn’t just sonic, but also shows up in vintage suits and the whole glitchy film aesthetic his music videos lean into. The Weeknd builds his eras like movies: There’s foreshadowing, costume design, and dramatic arcs.

Charli XCX

No one is thinking about cohesion quite like Charli XCX during Brat. From the acidic green cover art to the grimy boiler room raves in Brooklyn to the flawless self-remix rollout, every detail was curated with precision. The “360” and “Von Dutch” videos felt like portals into a her “it-girl” world, while the clubs she performed in became part of the album’s ethos. If you googled “what is brat?” in the last year, congrats, you were participating in the world-building, too.

Tierra Whack

Tierra Whack could very well be the most underrated world-builder on this list. The Philly-raised rapper isn’t just sharp with her pen—she’s also a visual author with a taste for the surreal. Her videos recalls greats like Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes: weird, colorful, unpredictable, and totally unforgettable. From Whack World to her latest visuals, there’s a clear commitment to bending the medium in service of something stranger. In a sea of sameness in rap, Tierra makes sure her world feels like an actual escape.

Playboi Carti

There’s no one in rap right now creating a more visually obsessive world than Playboi Carti. His fanbase treats each rollout like it’s a secret society drop. They decode his hair color changes, outfit choices, and cryptic tweets as if they’re gospel. Whole Lotta Red and Die Lit were mosh-pit-inspired eras, while his more recent looks and universe nod to early-mixtape-era Lil Wayne, proving Carti has more range than most give him credit for. The music videos often feel like cult film trailers, and the live shows are an extension of that. Carti’s world is definitely not built for everyone, but for those inside, it’s like a religion.

Travis Scott

Look, Travis may not win any lyrical awards, but boy, does he know how to package a moment. From the immersive theme park feel of Astroworld to Utopia, his stage design is consistently over the top. There are rollercoasters, fireballs, and more fog than a haunted house. Travis is world-building through pure spectacle, and it works.

Beyoncé

Beyoncé is literally the blueprint for artists stepping up their world-buidling game. With Renaissance, she redefined what a visual era could look like, even without traditional visuals. (Yes, we’re still waiting). Instead, she let the world-building play out onstage (as she’s done so many times—most notably at her headlining Coachella performance in 2018) with a show that’s sonically and aesthetically tight. The chrome disco cowboy look, the ballroom inspirations, all of it was Beyoncé in top-tier curator mode. And now, with Cowboy Carter, she’s doing it again, pulling us into a dusty, denim-heavy new dimension that feels just as intentional, if less fun.

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