Travis Scott’s "Utopia” is Arena-Rock for the Modern Age
Few artists, for reasons both good and bad, have captured the national consciousness of America and perhaps the entire world like Travis Scott. His psychedelic trap sound defined the late 2010s trap wave and his Astroworld tragedy is the Altamount of our generation. He is a genius, a devil and a hack, a wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing eating money out of a McDonald’s bag. For 5 years, the world has waited, or pehaps dreaded, the arrival of Utopia, a record which seemed either destined to fall short of its expectations or which seemed destined to be a masterpiece. Which one is it? It may be impossible to ever say, especially so early. But there’s no question it has struck a nerve, tapped into the spine of a cultural zeitgeist that is blossoming like a baby in its mother’s stomach.
It could be defined as simply as saying “Hey mom new production standard just dropped.” This was certainly true in the past. Astroworld led to an infection of beat switches and futuristic production in trap music that was somehow palatable to the mainstream. Utopia is different, mainstream in spite of its perfect weirdness. There’s a nothingness that defines the record, a hollow void that hints at sadness, darkness and grief. So many of the soundscapes are simple, tasteful and skeletal, driven by a fragmentation of man, myth and legend. Travis’ rapping is better here but he arguably says less, seemingly losing his train of thought halfway through verses, missing a piece of his processing that allowed him to make his previously choppy lyrical ideas work.
There is a lot of chop here but it’s even more chopped than before, almost a stream of consciousness vibe record. Tracks like “God’s Country” and “Hyaena” both encapsulate a fear of following an idea to its conclusion, preferring instead to stop halfway and delve into more absurd and half baked ideas. Some of the ideas are downright strange- a rhyme featuring Kelsey Grammar and Chelsea Handler might be the first time they’ve been mentioned in the context of the 2020s (outside of Kelsey Grammar deciding to be a Republican Hollywood poolboy). The weird enunciated mispronunciation of the word “festival” as “festi-viel” sticks out too. And of course, the choice of the line “Shoot yo ass in Walmart like I’m DaBaby” made me pause the record, pace around the room and then sit back down. Just an all around moment of confusion right there. I kept searching for reason there, even more so later in the track (“Skitzo”) when he said “I got Ye over Biden.” WOAH! My headphones begin shaking and burning and began coughing profusely. What? I digress.
The production on this record is absurd. Easily the best produced rap album of the year. Maybe of the decade. It’s weird and experimental in a very mainstream yet eccentric way, the Cara Delevigne of rap records. I was intriguided and couldn’t take my ears off it but my eyes were absolutely covered the entire time. Some of the beats on this record go dumb- “Modern Jam”, that whole song actually, what was that? Who is Teezo Touchdown and why does he sound like Cornerstore Freddie Mercury? “I Know???” (maybe the best song on the record) is a beautiful, very elegant beat, perfectly balanced between bouncy bass and twinkling piano (note: harpsichord?) “Skitzo” has like 5 beats and they’re all solid but the one at the end really stands out. A gorgeous jazz beat which descends in pitch, the type of thing we never hear Travis over, one that sounds more at home in an Isiah Rashad record. “Topia Twins” is a by the book Wheezy beat, until the chorus at least, but it fits in perfectly with the record.
Production wise, a big hand needs to go to the samples and in some cases the features, which define songs like “Modern Jam”, “Til Further Notice”, “Delresto” and “Circus Maximus.” These songs sound huge, larger than life, and probably deeper than they really are thanks to these extra elements. “Circus Maximus” especially sounds epic in scale with the addition of the random screaming and heavy breathing throughout the track. That was not a joke. The way the Weeknd comes in over the top..chef’s kiss in a dive bar, but the Weeknd is somehow there.
There’s a lot of features on the record. Drake shows up and sounds like a regular Joe at first, talking about “Tee time, tee time, tee time!” until you realize he actually said “Tea time, tea time, tea time…” and then he gets into some drama about melting chains and how people are afraid of the 6 (6[6]). This is true, I personally am afraid of locations where the temperature drops below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. My blood wasn’t made for it. Real men know not to fuck with the weather.
Anyways, Travis absolutely rips features. Sometimes he brings in guys for like 4 bars. You’re hearing a track and nodding along BOOM! Sampha, BOOM! Swae Lee…..BOOM! Yung Lean (who is up there with Frank Ocean on the list of elusive features.) These are quiet BOOMs (more like “boom!” but they’re still interesting and some important minor flexes. Not only that they actually work pretty well in the context of their respective tracks. Except Sheck Wes. Not sure what was going on there. Also, Young Thug from jail, or more accurately, still from jail.
I really liked this record. No complaints. It exceeded my admittedly middling expectations, which were mainly based on how bad the rollout was and how difficult of a situation Travis was in because of the fact that everyone who doesn’t love him hates him now. It would’ve been very easy to just phone it in and make Astroworld 2. Instead he made a Yeezus style minimalist monster mash that had me confused and delighted all at once. If he wanted to be Kanye 2.0….he may very well have succeeded. As it stands right now, Utopia as an album is crushing charts around the world and looks to be another opus of sorts. Regardless of whether you hate the guy or love him, it’s undeniable that he’s once again created a pop culture monster.
