Travis Scott “UTOPIA” Album Review

UTOPIA

Travis Scott

• Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
• Date: 28 Jul, 2023
• Content: explicit
• Track(s): 19
• ℗ 2023 Cactus Jack Records under exclusive license to Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment

Travis Scott’s long-awaited new album, “UTOPIA,” has finally here. This is Scott’s first full-length album since the Astroworld 2021 music festival in Houston, which police labeled a “mass casualty incident” when eight people died and many others were injured.

The album features vocals from a variety of musicians, including Beyoncé, Drake, The Weeknd, SZA, Kid Cudi, Future, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, Swae Lee, Young Thug, and Sampha. The album also includes credited contributions from James Blake, Metro Boomin, the Alchemist, Boi-1da, Kanye West, Vegyn, and other incredible music producers.

Album Cover Art

The official cover art for UTOPIA depicts an action figure of Travis raising his fist against a black background. This action figure was featured on the cover of his debut album Rodeo and its expanded edition in 2015. Travis revealed the artwork roughly three hours before the album’s release via an Instagram and Twitter post. It contrasts a perfect paradise with an eerie, ambiguous perception of “UTOPIA.”

This creepy interpretation is supported by UTOPIA’s third cover, which depicts a rough man clutching money in a run-down automobile. Travis’ “UTOPIA” could be a distorted interpretation of the word, or it could be an unsure hellscape filled with terror that he must overcome.

Tracks and Features

HYAENA kicks off the album with an unexpected acapella intro, which sets the song on a new sonic wave as Scott goes in hard over the well-crafted beat, rapping his ass off about his everyday life and the appealing perks of the superstar lifestyle. The super talented Teezo Touchdown joins La Flame in MODERN JAM to set a new sonic trend, as they both ride the complex bop of a beat in the most experimental manner that ends up working out perfectly well. So well you’ll want to rewind just to listen to Scott’s shouts that form the song’s chorus. Mad stuff. Mad approach. Mad ingenuity. Teezo, of course, brings in the melody as he diffuses into the track’s beautiful madness.

In continuation of the sound experimenting, Scott asks Sampha to tag along in MY EYES, which starts off chill with Travis talking slick and bragging about his recent huge achievements in the calmest way possible. However, Sampha’s contribution should’ve received more than just the few seconds he was allotted. Great jam, regardless. A true anthem with a fast-paced flow that displays Travis’s technical mastery, SIRENS, featuring Swae Lee, is amazing. It feels constructed for vast open expanses because it is intense and uncompromising. The track ends with a brief, interesting conversation between two lovers in a hotel room. Travis and his many creative concepts.

Drizzy and Scott team up again in MELTDOWN in an attempt to possibly recreate Sicko Mode, and they do a marvelous job! Drake begins by saying “tensions are definitely rising,” and he couldn’t be more correct, as he pulls up to the beat spitting ice-cold bars that leave you intrigued and low-key concerned.

FE!N with Playboi Carti and Sheck Wes is lit but not as much as is expected from such a rare joint effort. Scott’s rendition, the beat and the choice of sampling manage to save the day.

DELRESTO (ECHOES) featuring Beyoncé comes on and elevates the vibration. The sound experimentation and Bey’s vocals pump fresh oxygen into the song, giving it a sweeter appeal. Her repeated harmonious “fuck” background ad-libs leaves you spellbound. It just has to.

CIRCUS MAXIMUS is a complete experience, not just music. Travis went with a quiet, robotic rapping style for the song, but The Weeknd’s sultry, heavenly vocals will have you floating on cloud nine. Their lyrics, on the other hand, will convince everyone that they are capable of anything. The album’s conclusion, TIL FURTHER NOTICE, featuring the iconic 21 Savage and James Blake, which veers between digital despondency and resistance, plunges the album back into gloom.

Album Theme

“UTOPIA” is perhaps his best work, a creatively courageous endeavor that delves into his core ideals before blasting them to astronomical heights with its audacity, daring, and constant rule-breaking. However, this isn’t an album about arrogance. There is a sense of development and a voice chafing against the barriers we construct in our lives in “UTOPIA,” which is not built through boasting.

Tracklist

NO	TITLE	ARTIST	TIME
1	HYAENA	Travis Scott	3:42
2	THANK GOD	Travis Scott	3:04
3	MODERN JAM	Travis Scott	4:15
4	MY EYES	Travis Scott	4:11
5	GOD’S COUNTRY	Travis Scott	2:07
6	SIRENS	Travis Scott	3:24
7	MELTDOWN	Travis Scott	4:06
8	FE!N	Travis Scott	3:11
9	DELRESTO (ECHOES)	Travis Scott	4:34
10	I KNOW ?	Travis Scott	3:31
11	TOPIA TWINS	Travis Scott	3:43
12	CIRCUS MAXIMUS	Travis Scott	4:18
13	PARASAIL	Travis Scott	2:34
14	SKITZO	Travis Scott	6:06
15	LOST FOREVER	Travis Scott	2:43
16	LOOOVE	Travis Scott	3:46
17	K-POP	Travis Scott	3:05
18	TELEKINESIS	Travis Scott	5:53
19	TIL FURTHER NOTICE	Travis Scott	5:14

Production Credits

Scott and James Blake themselves, WondaGurl, Kanye West, Allen Ritter, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Wheezy, Pharrell Williams, Buddy Ross, Vegyn, 30 Roc, Jahaan Sweet, Boi-1da, Vinylz, Tay Keith, BNYX, Oz, the Alchemist, Dom Maker, Illangelo, DVLP, and Metro Boomin were among the record producers who worked on the album.

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