Travis Scott - UTOPIA
Hip hop – June 28, 2023 – 19 songs, 73 mins
REID
Well well well… this is something I never thought would happen. A review of a Travis Scott album.
Love him or hate him, the man is one of the hottest rappers alive. He arrived on the scene with Rodeo (2015) and has enjoyed incremental success with each new studio record. His most recent, ASTROWORLD (2018), had critical acclaim and skyrocketed him to a new level of stardom. High profile performers are lining up to work with him as evidenced by this records’ features list. He has children with a Jenner and I’ll leave it up to you whether you consider that impressive. Point being is she’s amongst Hollywood’s elite. His resume precedes him. So why wouldn’t we review him?
In my eyes, Jacques Bermon Webster III is the poster child for what’s wrong with hip hop in 2023. The mumble rap, auto-tuned, overproduced sound that’s popular nowadays is criminal in comparison to hip hop of the past. Unfortunately this movement flooded the game drowing out the remaining good rappers in the copycat world we live in.
I caught some of Scott’s live performance at Austin City Limits in 2018 and I give him credit. His performance is high energy and the frat boy-filled crowd was loving it. But the man said ‘hello’ in auto-tune. I’m not sure I heard his actual voice that day. Other than the show, I’ve never had a prolonged listen as I just wasn’t interested. But the kids eat this shit up and that’s what we’re here for. I’ll do my best to wipe away those preconceived notions and give UTOPIA a chance, #forthebrand.
Feelings with this review ranged from surprised, to annoyed, to impressed to frustrated before ultimately landing on a hand-shake agreement level of acceptance. Travis Scott’s style is never one I’ll truly get behind but an appreciation is there for his creation of a synth-infused ambiance with thumping bass and variety; the experience that is UTOPIA.
The album opens with its best run of songs with HYAENA, THANK GOD, MODERN JAM and MY EYES. This was critical for this naysayer, giving the record legs to stand on early. The bass was real heavy but was levelled out with frequent transitions and a couple of nice hooks. From there on out, there were moments I struggled mightily but as the listens piled up, I started to get a feel for the sum of its parts rather than individual output and it started to grow on me. Standouts include:
The takedown of Pharrel Williams and Pusha T (to a lesser extent) on MELTDOWN with Drake. A non-violent feud has been productive for the rap game in the past. And it’s entertaining even though I don’t like the negative chatter about my boy, Pusha. Queue the ‘Michael Jackson eating popcorn’ meme.
The eerie, piano leading beat in I KNOW ? is killer, matching well with his chill vocals.
PARASAIL serves as a nice, smooth break from the norm as Scott reflects and rises above his recent past with a hand from Dave Chapelle.
LOOOVE features Kid Cudi and is upbeat and fun, plain and simple.
TIL FURTHER NOTICE is an excellent break up song. The haunting backing vocals serve it up well for his first lyrics three minutes into the five-minute song. He can have fun with that one live.
Another thing that grew on me? Scott’s rap skills. Colour me surprised but he outshined his features on most songs and it was nice when he shut off the effects. I hear him go off like that and it makes me question the auto-tune even further. I digress.
On to the negatives. UTOPIA is just too long. All he had to do was cut the few abysmal songs and none deserved the chopping block more than FE!N. It’s the worst song I’ve heard in a while, right up there with Lil Uzi Vert’s version of Chop Suey (System of a Down). Surprise surprise, he features on it. Scott’s repetition of FE!N and Uzi’s entire chorus are just awful. The stuff of nightmares.
Worse than that? Scott using an evacuation siren in LOOOVE and actually naming one of the songs SIRENS less than two years after the tragedy at Astroworld Festival. Ten people died and over 300 were treated for injuries while Jacques ignored the calls for him to stop. Questionable decision making here. Maybe the former track can be used as a convenient excuse if it happens again in the future.
This was an out of the comfort zone listen and as stepping out often does, I was surprised. While it won’t stick around the playlist for long, Travis Scott proved his talent on Utopia and I feel dirty even saying it. This comes from someone who isn’t a fan of the genre so I can understand why diehards probably think it’s dope.
Overall Rating: 7.0/10
Favourite Song: THANK GOD
ROZ
This week the TSR crew pivots into the hip hop world by setting their sights on the newest release by mainstream rap artist Travis Scott, UTOPIA. An absolute powerhouse of an effort; UTOPIA clocks in at a staggering seventy-three minutes across nineteen songs while using an immense number of creative resources - over twenty studio producers and more than a dozen artist features. While I have personally never seen the use of large studio crews as an automatic negative within mainstream pop music (in fact the sheer scope of some projects at times necessitates this), it is definitely in the back of my mind as I settle in for my journey.
UTOPIA is in every way a studio super-project, catered specially for an already established megastar. The writer list and producers list is massive for every track, as powerhouses in the industry compete to add their own signature flavor on each song that they have the opportunity to take credit for. Production-wise, UTOPIA is rife with high quality and well-executed modern ideas and techniques; something to be expected when one recruits some of the most famous producers in the industry. Names such as Kanye West, Mike Dean, The Alchemist, Oz, Metro Boomin and Daft Punk's Guy-Manuel appear throughout the tracklist, their individual styles somehow finding cohesion through the undoubtedly bloated studio sessions that must have occured. You would be hard pressed to find a more star-studded cast on a hip hop album in 2023, and the objective quality of UTOPIA’s instrumentals reflect as such.
When it comes to substance, Scott fails to dig much deeper than surface-level topics that center around the lavish lifestyle that he is able to afford. Ultimately this is by design; this album by no means attempts to be anything more than a platform to show off the glitz and glamor of the famous rapper's life. Travis Scott’s struggle from the bottom and his rise the very top is quickly teased in songs such as MY EYES and PARASAIL before the album inevitably nosedives back into its hedonistic ways. A mere crack in the marble floor - and sadly as deep as you’re going to get.
Here is the major gripe that I have with UTOPIA. I enjoy polished mainstream music as much as the next person (and I recognize a good radio hit when I hear one), but this album does not feel like an actual Travis Scott album at all. In fact, in every track that features a fellow superstar, Scott is completely outshined and outclassed. I AM A GOD - I mean MODERN JAM and Black Skinhead - I mean CIRCUS MAXIMUS are so close to Kanye West’s own personal work that the former could have easily been on Yeezus and the latter could easily be on DONDA. MELTDOWN, produced by Drake's talented producer Boi-1Da, is a Drake album song merely featuring Travis Scott. DELRESTO (ECHOES) and its 1990’s aesthetic sounds like it was stolen straight off of Beyonce’s RENAISSANCE. LOOOVE sounds exactly like everything else on Kid Cudi’s Man On The Moon 3. When you take into account the Playboi Carti feature, the Bad Bunny-Weeknd track and the combined Future-SZA piece, Scott seems to be lurking in the shadows rather than standing in the spotlight on his own damn album.
Most of UTOPIA genuinely feels like Travis Scott features from other albums that were gifted so that he could make his own. When the best moments of your own music are the moments that you’re not in, it may be time to reconsider your approach.
Overall Rating: 5.8/10
Favorite Song: I KNOW ?
LUNDI
The slate was wiped clean. No personal lack of enjoyment for this weeks artist was to be factored in. A fresh start for a uber popular musician. Hell I even listened to his previous work to see what I may have been missing and you know what, it’s pretty damn solid. It’s still not my bag, but objectively I see a quality product. But the creeping sensation of hope that Astroworld gave me quickly disappeared as I dove into Utopia. Yes my friends, Travis Scott is here for a TSR breakdown and for me it ain’t going to be pretty.
Before we dive in I caveat that my review is done from a perspective of critiquing a superstar, someone who can fill top billing on the worlds biggest stage. With great hype comes great responsibility, and it only feels fair to look at the product through that lens. Simply put, good isn’t good enough.
Let’s start with the few positives. Scott is the ultimate hype man with the most impressive rolodex known to rap. The feature list is exhaustive and by far the saving grace for UTOPIA. Kid Cudi on LOOOVE, SZA on TELEKINESIS, and double 21 Savage on TOPIA TWINS & TIL FURTHER NOTICE particularly stand out, but nearly every feature pops, which I’m not so sure is good for Travis himself. Scott though handles triple duty by performing, writing, and producing nearly every track in tandem with an incredible supporting team. An impressive feat no matter how you break it down.
But with every listen the drum beat gets louder. What exactly is the appeal of Travis Scott that elevated him to superstar status? His vocal is auto tuned and typical. It doesn’t immediately pop like when you hear Tyler, Kendrick, or Kanye. His flow is weak and quite substandard in comparison to the likes of Jay Z, J Cole, or Lil Wayne. His lyrics do a lot more for me than most rappers but he’s certainly no Nas, Eminem or Kendrick. Honestly he’s pretty far down most these lists. Even when it comes to do it all triple threats Kanye and Tyler are both light years ahead. I can recognize the complete quality package but overall he’s a middling rapper at best.
On the production side UTOPIA whelms to a similar middle ground. The backing beats are high standard and fun but they lack the flare and pivoting that come with the best rap songs. The majority of the album feels like the base beats were created to rap over during studio sessions, but never taken back to the production floor to add that elevating dimension. Repetitive is not the recipe for an album pushing 1.5 hours. As a major Yeezus fan, which clearly inspired UTOPIA, the beats feel like they were swept up off Kanye’s chopping floor. Also is it really that impressive to make a diet version of another rappers album 10 years later?
Finally and maybe most disappointing of all, is the complete lack of energy. Where are the damn hooks at? From the guy who brought us Sicko Mode I expected so much more. With a laundry list length of supporting producers and writers this album should in theory be much much better but it has zero memorable songs and leaves me further questioning exactly why people like Travis Scott.
I used to be with 'it', but then they changed what 'it' was. Now what I'm with isn't 'it' anymore and what’s 'it' seems weird and scary. Travis Scott is my Abe Simpson moment and UTOPIA nothing more than middling rap trash.
Overall Rating: 5.3/10
Favourite Song: LOOOVE