Travis Scott’s Utopia: Was it Worth the Wait?
Did La Flame’s Utopia live up to the 5 year wait?
Stream UTOPIA: Apple Music | Spotify
In the 5 years since Astroworld dropped and skyrocketed Travis Scott to new heights, a lot has happened since then. Various brand deals such as Mcdonald's and Nike came into the mix, his on-again-off-again relationship with Kylie Jenner, and most notably the tragedy that was the 2021 Astroworld Festival. An event that still looms over the Houston rapper to this day, and has continuously sparked conversations about his live shows, his response to the event, and much more.
At the center of all of this lies Utopia, Scott’s fourth studio album that has been a long time coming, perhaps the longest gap between albums for Travis. Leading up to its release there was a ton of weight resting on his shoulders to deliver with this album, especially considering the staleness he got himself into with the series of loosies he dropped prior to (“Highest In The Room”, “Escape Plan”.) as well as the public scrutiny surrounding his character. In many ways, this was going to be the make-it-or-break-it moment for Trav, is he going to drum up something new and interesting for Utopia? Or was this the sign of the times that Travis has officially become washed?
It’s safe to say that Travis has beaten those washed allegations with UTOPIA. Diving back deep into his older, dark trap sound while adding in more industrial undertones to create an album that isn’t afraid to take some risks when it needs to. It’s a direction I wasn’t expecting La Flame to take so soon, but I’m glad he did. Although some of his frequent criticisms and inconsistencies show up here, UTOPIA was something that I found to be well worth the wait.
Initially, I was skeptical about how UTOPIA would sound, as said before the series of singles he dropped in between this and Astroworld ranged from serviceable to flat-out boring. I was worried that Travis would rely on the style of these singles for Utopia but I’m happy to hear that’s not the case. By now you’ve most likely seen the hundreds of Yeezus comparisons, calling UTOPIA Travis’ “Yeezus” moment (despite La Flame’s heavy involvement and influence on that album, but I’ll digress for brevity). If anything, UTOPIA fine-tunes Travis’ style of psychedelic dark trap so that it sounds different, yet familiar.
Travis is a producer first and foremost, and he knows the best way to create a sonic world that captures his energy perfectly. If Astroworld was a carnival-themed, rollercoaster of a ride, then UTOPIA is the opposite. Much more moodier and atmospheric, while still offering some gargantuan moments we should come to expect from the rager. The opener “HYAENA” takes boom-bap and mixes it with alarming synths and a driving, middle eastern guitar strum. The result is a trippy experience and immediately sets UTOPIA’s tone. “GOD’S COUNTRY” provides booming bass over some eerie horns that resemble children chanting, one of the creepiest beats by Travis (and Kanye) for sure.
Trav also throws several curveballs on UTOPIA. The Guy-Man produced “MODERN JAM” brings about a huge Daft Punk essence that works surprisingly well. The Beyonce-assisted “DELRESTO” taps into some hip-house, and could have easily fitted in with last year’s RENAISSANCE. These curveballs extend into the album’s beat switches, which there are many. “SKITZO” sees Trav rap over 3 beats with differing styles within a 6 min span. “MY EYES” is a glitchy, Blonde-inspired track that switches tempos towards the end with its crescendo.
Sometimes these nuances don’t really work, as on the prog-inspired “CIRCUS MAXIMUS” which samples the drums from Marilyn Manson’s “Beautiful People”, the result is a bit muddy and uninspired. The lead single “K-POP” is yet another “radio-friendly Latin/reggaeton track” that’s so formulaic you would have thought an AI wrote it.
La Flame’s knack for bangers still rings true here. The horror-esque synths of “FE!N” adds more quality to its rage beat, and is one song I can’t wait to see performed live. “TOPIA TWINS” and “MELTDOWN” are your typical Trav affair that resembles his trap bangers from the past. Meanwhile “I KNOW ?” and “THANK GOD” revel in their minimalism yet they still feel grand to some extent.
In typical Travis Scott fashion, the hidden guest features are the icing on the cake. Teezo Touchdown does his best Andre 3K meets Rick James impersonation on “MODERN JAM”, the aforementioned Beyonce feature is a fever dream (and one I didn’t think would happen). Playboi Carti introduces us to his new vocal inflection in “FE!N”, and The Weeknd comes through on the obtuse chorus of “CIRCUS MAXIMUS”. Scott even enlists Buffalo’s own Westside Gunn for the grimy “LOST FOREVER”.
Standouts on here include frequent collaborators Young Thug, 21 Savage, and Drake. The latter of whom fires shots at Pusha T and Pharrell, reigniting their feud on “MELTDOWN”. Future and SZA shine in their appearances on “TELEKINESIS”, with SZA’s voice being a huge highlight. Meanwhile, James Blake ends the album off with his croons on “TIL FURTHER NOTICE”. What I appreciated about UTOPIA is that the features never really steal the show from Travis, rather acting as another instrument within the songs.
Where the album tends to teeter-totter however is in its lyricism. It should be noted by now that Travis has never been an insightful lyricist, his focus is more on capturing a vibe rather than penmanship. Although this has never been an issue in previous albums, in my opinion, UTOPIA could have been the opportunity for Scott to improve his bars, whether that be more introspection (especially when considering the last few years) or some clever/wittier lines. The notion that Travis is nothing more than a hollow shell in terms of lyrics was something I tried to shake off during listening, but it kept creeping up on me throughout the album.
Despite that, I still really enjoyed UTOPIA. It’s a welcome surprise and a breath of fresh air that Travis went against the grain and took some risks with this album. Rodeo fans are surely going to eat this up, while newer fans are finally going to get a taste of Travis’ darker, more atmospheric style that he initially started off with. The production on here is great, and the direction fits Scott incredibly well. The guest features are an added bonus and once again solidify Travis as a solid curator. Although his bars and lyrics are more or less derivative of his past work, and a missed opportunity to improve on, they’re serviceable enough.
Overall I’m giving UTOPIA a 7.5–8/10. I’m confident to say this is probably one of the better mainstream hip-hop albums to come out this year and one that I think we’ll be talking about as 2023 continues. Was this worth the 5 year wait? somewhat, while I think there was a chance to hone in on Travis’ flaws (in terms of artistry) the production and tone of UTOPIA were incredible throughout and make up for some of its inconsistencies.
Final Rating: 7.5–8/10
Favourite Tracks: HYAENA, THANK GOD, MODERN JAM, GOD’s COUNTRY, MELTDOWN, FE!N, I KNOW ?, LOST FOREVER, TIL FURTHER NOTICE.
