Utopia
Travis Scott
2023
Channeling one of his icons in hip hop and pop culture and having to combat a decline in public image following a headlining tragedy, the Houston auteur lets a dark world consume him in a something new, something borrowed sonic direction.
Industrial Rap/Cloudy Rap/Rage rap
BY HARPSICHORD
MARCH 14, 2024
Travis Scott found himself in a peculiar situation as it pertained to the status of his career. Just as he had been regarded as one of the top moguls that came from the space of hip hop, it quickly got snatched away from him. It seemed as though the Houston native was an all powerful, highly adored and respected figure. But when the ASTROWORLD Festival tragedy happened in 2021, that came to a screeching halt.
At that point, Travis Scott received the label of being self-absorbed for how he handled the event, which involved casualties. Even though a Texas grand jury found him unreliable for the tragic event, the public at large condemned him. It became unclear how his fourth studio album, UTOPIA would fare commercially. Especially because the ASTROWORLD album brought him to new peaking heights.
When speaking to ‘GQ’ about his Grammy nomination for UTOPIA , Travis Scott mentioned he was “overly devastated,” and that he “always think[s] about it.” When it comes to addressing the event on UTOPIA , that comes on “MY EYES.” Mournful in the nature of the indie psychedelic folk present on Bon Iver’s discography, Justin Vernon opens the song with a pre-chorus where he mentions “heaven.” At the beat switch after Sampha’s guest appearance, Travis Scott stops singing and raps. “I replay them nights, and right by my side, all I see is a city of people that ride wit' me/If they just knew what Scotty would do to jump off the stage and save him a child/The things I created became the most weighted, I gotta find balance and keep me a smile.”
On UTOPIA , that is the only time he deliberately addresses the controversy. And that honestly lived up to how Travis Scott’s PR handled the situation: thinly veiled answers that lack substance to the enormity of the tragedy. But this review and synopsis is not going to focus on the events of ASTROWORLD Festival, because the material itself does not play into that.
Instead, UTOPIA plays as a project that reasserts the power of Travis Scott. Instead of filling the album with apologies, he’s on the defensive as if he is the fallen hero that needs to prevail. It very much borrows from the school of Kanye West. Just as some affairs within hip hop seem to be dying, a commercial savior comes in to save it all.
Around the time of UTOPIA ’s release, it had been noted by many music outlets how hip hop wasn’t a dominant commercial force as it used to be. High profile releases weren’t being paid attention to as much as pop, country, and even the re-emerging side of rock. When the album went No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and took over global streaming charts, Travis Scott became the industry savior he sought out to be.
On “HYENA” — which features a jubilant harpsichord— the song somewhat acknowledges that being the state of the industry. It contains an interpolation of Gentle Giant’s 1974 cut, “Proclamation.” “The situation we are in at this time/Neither a good one, nor is it so unblessed,” plays into that notion. In a bizarre way, the interpretation of the sample sounds as if it’s Kanye West hollering out during a TMZ rant about another injustice.
With that in mind, UTOPIA plays as a spitting image of Yeezus disassembled into various working parts of Kanye’s sound since that 2013 album dropped. Travis Scott had been an integral part of that album’s production, so in this go round, the student is getting his due justice in a time when his back was against the wall with a make or break release.
UTOPIA does not play as a continuation of ASTROWORLD , the album, although there are references and continued soundscapes. From the beat switch on “MY EYES” drawing from what made “SICKO MODE” from ASTROWORLD a success, while “MELTDOWN” features Drake menacingly mentioning “tea time” and the fact that “Texas is definitely on the rise;” to “the butterfly reflect the doors” on “GOD’S COUNTRY,” a seeming reference to “BUTTERFLY EFFECT” on ASTROWORLD .
The world of UTOPIA is full of thrashing psychedelia interlaced with industrial music.. “SIRENS” plays like a Yeezus cut with rumbling steel drums, as it bounces on a tribal feel akin to Kanye West’s “Black Skinhead.” “CIRCUS MAXIMUS” continues on that Yeezus energy.
“MELTDOWN” works with the abhorrent nature of Makaveli akin horrorcore— as Travis Scott and Drake compare themselves to sports GOATs Tom Brady and Lionel Messi. Staying in line with the dark energy is “TOPIA TWINS” which finds 21 Savage giving his usual energy as the usual face of where that subgenre of hip hop is consumed today.
Much of UTOPIA seems to discuss exactly what Travis Scott is known for: his style, foreign cars, lust for women, and the drugs that come from partying hardcore. “I KNOW?” is currently the single that has taken the album into 2024. Well after it lost the Grammy for Best Rap Album to Killer Mike. It falls in line with what he’s done on 2015’s Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight .
But overall, maybe the critics who panned UTOPIA while a certain sector of hip hop celebrated it, got it correct. UTOPIA in large part comes off dull in comparison to the highlights of Travis Scott’s career. Maybe that is the commentary he’s making overall about the festival that turned him into public enemy No. 1. It seems as though the fallen hero might not be able to escape the dark hell hole he’s fallen into.
“FE!N” for being the noteworthy aspect of the album, and for proving that Travis Scott can still make hype anthems that get a crowd going.
“DELRESTO (ECHOES)” for continuing Beyoncé’s RENAISSANCE mission with an added flare
“I KNOW?” for being a nostalgic sound that has replayability.
Key Tracks
To say the least, UTOPIA is quite dull for the standards of Travis Scott. He’s just had better. While he was able to make dark music sound exciting before, the production and the punchline ability of this album seems to have lost its spark. There are only a handful of tracks that really stand out— but this album is no Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight or ASTROWORLD . Even if the concept is there, this UTOPIA is in a dystopian abyss.