Even if it wasn’t accompanied by a literal theatrical release movie, Travis Scott’s long-awaited fourth studio album would still be a blockbuster release. Since emerging as an energetic, enigmatic force in hip-hop 10 years ago, Scott has specialized in gargantuan songs with sledgehammer drums, thunderous synthesizers, and trash-the-hotel-lobby hooks. All of those qualities remain on Utopia, Scott’s first solo album in nearly five years, though there are enough tweaks to the formula that it doesn’t totally feel like Astroworld 2.
Utopia doesn’t reach the thrilling, cinematic highs of *Astroworld–*there’s no “Sicko Mode” or “Carousel” here, but it also doesn’t see Travis sitting on his laurels. He’s clearly inspired, which manifests in embracing club and house music, and choosing exciting upstarts for prominent roles on the LP. As with any Travis Scott album, the feature list is the equivalent of Wes Anderson movie, with stars from around the pop spectrum appearing in roles of varying sizes: Beyoncé, Drake, Justin Vernon, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, SZA, and Young Thug, just to name a few. Scott is frequently outshined by his collaborators, but you get the sense that he’s alright with that, willing to take a backseat for the sake of making a great song.
Here are GQ’s first impressions of Utopia, another deeply ambitious but lyrically opaque entry in the Travis Scott canon.
In social media chatter, Utopia has already been branded as Travis Scott’s Yeezus, referring to Kanye West’s renegade 2013 album in which he eschewed the luxurious maximalism of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy for angular, experimental electronic sounds and collaborations with Arca, Daft Punk, and Hudson Mohawke.
That influence, as well as the success artists like Beyoncé and Drake have had embracing house and club music, clearly looms large over Utopia. As Instagram fan account Donda’s Place noted, “Modern Jam” even literally repurposes a beat from an early version of Yeezus’ “I Am a God,” originally produced by Scott, West, Mike Dean, and Daft Punk. (West is not credited on “Modern Jam,” though he is on “Thank God,” which was originally slated to appear on his album Donda.)
It’s crucial to note that Scott isn’t just mimicking Kanye–he was a key collaborator on Yeezus. Scott co-produced on “New Slaves” and “Guilt Trip,” and spoke to outlets like Billboard about how working with West on that album shaped him artistically.
“Modern Jam” is a blast, as Scott raps in a springy, ‘80s cadence and has some fun with his voice, ending stanzas with high-pitched yelps. “Looove” also feels Yeezus-inspired with ominous, decaying synths reminiscent of “New Slaves” and Scott rapping nimbly atop cacophonous percussion. The Beyoncé collaboration “Delresto (Echoes)” keeps B in her dance music bag, with the Renaissance superstar shining in the house diva role. These moments largely work, and provide a compelling tonal counterbalance to the classic bleary-eyed Travis songs like “I Know? and “FE!N.”
A cruise through the credits reveal Scott has a more active hand in production on Utopia than any of his previous albums (Complex tallied it to 63 percent), a return to form since his early years in the industry were marked with more production work than as a a lead artist. with production credit on 63 percent of songs here compared to 29 percent on the latter. (These numbers still pale in comparison to earlier projects like Rodeo and Owl Pharaoh.) Scott also brings in a slew of established acts in the electronic space to split production credits, including Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, E*vax of Ratatat, and U.K. producer Dom Maker.
Travis’ ear for talent has always been one of his best qualities, and there are few bigger platforms for a rising artist than a prominent guest spot on a Travis Scott track.
On Utopia, Travis sprinkles up-and-comers amongst his A-list peers, and they mostly acquit themselves nicely. Teezo Touchdown steals the show on “Modern Jam,” with a soaring hook and verse that help sell the song’s house music influences. Kanye protege KayCyy warbles the hook of the woozy “Thank God,” a track that mostly feels like a bridge to more interesting moments on the album. (KayCyy is also upstaged here by another exciting new name in music: Scott’s daughter Stormi Webster.) The wild card cameo from New Orleans MC Rob49 on “Topia Twins” is a delight, as he raps at breakneck pace, invoking YoungBoy Never Broke Again, embracing the raunchy lineage of southern hip-hop.
The last time Travis Scott and Drake worked together on a Travis solo album, they gave us “Sicko Mode,” a Frankenstinian banger that remains ubiquitous five full years later. Expectations were high, and while “Meltdown” doesn’t quite reach the peak of “Sicko Mode,” it’s an enjoyable track that certainly started a lot of internet chatter.
Drake, who has his own album coming imminently, comes onto the track in a spicy mood, rapping in a hoarse, menacing tone, “You act like you love this American shit / But, really, the truth is you scared of the 6.” He then takes aim at Pharrell Williams—you’ll remember, Drake brought some of Williams’ most classic jewelry pieces when they were up for auction and displayed them somewhat crassly in the January music video for “Jumbotron Shit Poppin.” “I melt down the chains that I bought from yo’ boss / Give a fuck about all of that heritage shit / Since V not around, the members done hung up the Louis, they not even wearing that shit,” he raps, referencing the death of Virgil Abloh, who he’s been honoring with a massive statue during his It’s All a Blur tour. Dissing Pharrell, frankly, feels weird, but it’s pretty clearly a shot at longtime rival Pusha T, who is famously close with Pharrell. (Interestingly, Pharrell is credited as a co-writer and producer on Utopia’s “Looove.”)
Pusha has been teasing new projects, including one with DJ Drama and a possible Clipse reunion on wax, and Drake told fans at one of his New York shows that “I have an album dropping for you in, like, two weeks or some shit,” so presumably this is all just a precursor to another fiery chapter in their feud.
Once Drake gets the shots off of his chest on “Meltdown,” Travis enters the fray with his usual flexes about women and money, but depending on how you read one line in particular, it’s possible Travis also used the track to get spicy about his own personal life. Towards the end of his verse, Travis raps “Chocolate AP and chocolate the Vs, got the Willy Wonka factory / Burn a athlete like it’s calories, find another flame hot as me, bitch.” It would be innocuous wordplay except, there is an actor, with a lead role as Willy Wonka in a new spin-off out later this year, who has been romantically linked to the mother of Travis’ two children. Just saying. (“Burn an athlete” may even be a reference to Chalamet’s pickup game with Adam Sandler that made the rounds across tabloids last week; “Meltdown” was reportedly recorded quite close to Utopia’s release.)