Utopia [Travis Scott]

[cr47t 7]

My thoughts (since I presume everyone active here can get the gist of the context of this album)

I see a lot of people debating this along the hip hop internet, partly in the fighting for ordering the tracks, but also whether this album is good at all or if Travis is gonna tank over it. Been seeing/hearing of haters who say things like "FE!N is the only good song/the best" or "there's no number 1 hits" like wtf?... the thing is Travis isn't exactly trying to make the next Astroworld (i mean just look at "Meltdown", regardless of how good you think it is, in terms of the song itself no way it's sicko mode 2) where every song can be a single.

Just look at "Telekinesis" which was basically given to him from when Kanye gave up on Future Sounds/Bounce (can't pin down which leak is the right one on YT) - he could have kept a lot of that material but I for one prefer the streamable mix, between Future's vulnerable deliver of his verses, and the laid back vibe of it until it explodes w/ SZA (as opposed to the more traditional buildup the kanye mix reportedly had going). Compare any tracks on Utopia to any other tracks on Utopia and the versatility of the production (because let's be honest, you listen to Travis for the vibes) shows it's not about making the next banger bonanza, he's more concerned with putting together a complete body of work (that is to say, more than the sum of its parts.)

As far as that goes I like the album the way it is. Some tracks I don't care for but I try not to tier them because that's not exactly the point. If I had to pick favorites though I'd choose "Hyaena" "My Eyes" and "Telekinesis" for personal listening pleasure. I also like that Travis is kind of standing out more on his verses, because with Astroworld it was like Travis as a rapper was largely one of the weaker parts of his own album, but here his presence is better executed - when I go to utopia, part of why I'm going is for Travis himself and what he brings to the table beyond production, and that's a nice change of pace from before.

Anyone else's thoughts on the album?

Edited September 27, 2023 by cr47t
fixed a typo where i said i go to astroworld for travis when i meant to say utopia

[I-tachi 1]

Something that i know about Travis is "Sicko Mode" enough. Hahaha

Still with old hip hop.