By: David Williams
Score 7.1/10
In 2018, Travis Scott reached megastar status with his psychedelic trap album Astroworld which catapulted him to A-list-level fame. He or his music was unavoidable unless you lived in a cave in the wilderness. The man became a commercialized juggernaut from selling sneakers that sold out at hyper speed, hard seltzers, and McDonald’s meals--you could even purchase a life-sized chicken nugget body pillow on his website. But, the gravy train came to a screeching halt nearly two years ago when tragedy struck at Astroworld Festival, where 10 people died in a crowd crush at the concert with thousands more injured. You’d be disappointed if you expected him to address the tragedy on Utopia. The courts said Travis was not criminally responsible for the incident. However, he is still a defendant in an abundance of civil lawsuits. Since the aftermath, he has stayed relatively low-key until now.
This leads us to the present, Utopia, where Travis gives maximum effort to try and create the biggest rap blockbuster of the year. You can find all your favorite stars and producers in one place during the 73-minute run time. His curation skills are top-notch, which is part of the reason why he’s so popular today. His talent for pairing certain artists with different production styles is an art form. Take, for instance, Quavo on “Oh My Dis Side” or Kid Cudi’s “through the late night.” These are prime examples of Travis selecting artists that fit like a hand in a glove into his sonically crafted world. His taste level has to be so high to make his albums work because he needs a lot of help. You will never see him give a J. Cole-style album with no features; it just wouldn’t work. Travis is a more vibes-over lyricist-level rapper, so the importance of bringing in the right person is higher than most. He doesn’t bring much to the table with his raps; most of his lyrics seem like random sentences thrown together as long as they rhyme. A lot of stuff has happened to him in the 5 years since his last album, and for him to act like it’s business, as usual, is a letdown, but it’s also very Travis. He provides electric style but little to no substance as a rapper.
There are some real high points on features here on Utopia as well. On “MELTDOWN,” essentially “SICKO MODE” 2.0, Drake gives a menacing verse firing shots at one of Pusha T’s most trusted confidants. After purchasing Pharrell’s auctioned-off chains, he threatens to melt them down to nothing like he’s some kind of villain from Gotham City (more of that sinister lyricism, please). Playboi Carti’s high-pitched vocals on the chorus of “FE!N” are some of the most infectious and fun on the record. 21 Savage delivers over gorilla thumping drums on “TOPIA TWINS.” He stays on brand with talk about sipping wok and taking on opps. Lastly, Future brought his A game on “TELEKINESIS” with a reflective verse “Streets stepped in and raised me, but I ain’t have my daddy.”
But, the one collaborator that is hovering over this entire project is that of Kanye West. Let’s start with the fact that Ye handed off Travis like an All-American running back three songs from the Donda sessions “THANK GOD,” “GOD’S COUNTRY,” and “TELEKINESIS.” The dark tones and brooding soundscape is unmistakable. The powered synths of Yeezus are front and center, even using one of the same producers (Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk). Travis also borrowed the singing flow from “Coldest Winter,” softly sneaking it in on “DELRESTO (ECHOES),” costarring Beyoncé which sounds like a RENAISSANCE leftover that wasn’t good enough to make the cut and combined with the maximalist effort of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy if you’re keeping score that’s an astounding 4 different eras of Kanye rolled into one body of work. Is it copying another person’s paper, or him just being heavily influenced by an artist? That is an argument that can be had. However, one thing indeed can be said the guile, charisma, and sheer magnetism from a Kanye album are sorely missed here. If Travis is taking “Ye over Biden,” most, if not all, would take “Ye over Scott” as well.
The production is dazzling on Utopia, which offers lots of shine and flashes with multiple beat switches on songs that keep up the rage fanatic that lies within Travis’ persona going. He’s at his most focused on the record when keeping the tempo high to match his chaotic energy. But when he turns left, he crashes the car with “MY EYES.” At face value, sonically sounds excellent, but when you listen to it, you think of Frank Ocean even down to using the same distorted high-pitched vocals from “Nikes.” There’s nothing wrong with taking risks as an artist; it’s encouraged, but when the risk you’re taking is copying other artists’ ventures into new territory, that’s what you call playing it safe. Also, who thought having Justin Vernon of Bon Iver sound like he was singing underwater while deep-sea diving was a good idea? The least inspiring song on the album is “K-POP,” which feels like a lab-created AI song explicitly designed to get the most streams possible by having the biggest names in pop music altogether. It’s a lifeless attempt at a number 1 hit song.
Utopia will be an instant success and streaming giant. Most likely one of if not the highest-selling albums of the year by sheer volume. It’s the equivalent of a Michael Bay summer blockbuster that goes number 1 at the box office with expensive CGI explosions and big named stars but with a heartless story. What are we left with if you take away the glitz and glamour of guest features and production? A commercialized entity without much to say.