2 minute read
Music
Travis Scott - UTOPIA
Starting out, I must admit that I wasn’t expecting much - I admittedly do carry a slight bias against Travis Scott (Jacques Bermon Webster II) for no reason other than I haven’t enjoyed his music as much as I have some of his peers However, for the sake of The Stag, I patiently waited for UTOPIA to drop, got seated, and pressed play.
In checking the production credits, a few recognisable names in the music industry caught my eye - most notably, Kanye West Now, I have my own opinions on Kanye, as someone who thinks the man is batshit insane But this isn’t about him as a personit’s about him as a producer And the fact of the matter is that Kanye West is an absolute maestro in creative direction and intertwining samples to give them new, glorious life
Gentle Giants Proclamation (worth a listen!) creates a sharp, stilted introduction that creates such intense excitement for the rest of the album It was a promising indication of artistic continuation and evolution for Jacques, whose last album - ASTROWORLDdropped half a decade ago with similar psychedelic and futuristic influences. In my quest to figure out if it was a harpsichord underlying the beat (results inconclusive), I discovered that a large majority of it was sampled from Michel Corringe’s 1969 ‘Cigarettes sur Cigarettes’ Not even a minute in, and this album is shaping up to be amazing. The first verse is what lost me While Travis Scott may boast a stylistically diverse discography, he harshly lacks talent in lyricism - and unfortunately, this album is no exception
Now, dear readers, where I may lose a bit of my credibility is that I’m unfortunately pretentious and terrible and snobby, and tend to believe that good rap comes from pre2010s, the UK, or from Lil Uzi Vert. However, I do completely think that there is justification in saying Travis Scott fails to do his tracks justice when it comes to rhyme, lyric and sophistication. The funky, minimalist beat of MODERN JAM is overlayed by lyrics such as ‘I like a bi girl on a bicycle’ and ‘hey, guy-man, brought him home from France’ (???). While it fits the Travis Scott style and feels like a welcome home, it’s overwhelmingly underwhelming. What a shame.
As much as I could talk about each track on the album in such a lengthy manner, my editor has me at gunpoint and I truly do fear for my life. Each other track on the album follows the same pattern Stunning soundscape Futuristic, twisted sampling and arrangement. Dynamic, forwardveering motion in which nearly every movement almost stumbles over its own feet in its excitement to deliver you to the next. Incredibly shallow, boring lyricism.
As I write this, the features are still hidden. By the time of publication, they won’t be. But this album boasts an artful usage of the familiar timbres of Carti, Drake, Yung Lean, and … is that Beyoncé? The star-studded cast of this production each complements their tracks beautifully - dare I say more than Travis Scott himself. Each feature track is a unique experience in and of itself. DELRESTO (feat. Beyoncé) is an ethereal journey through synths, harmonies and cowbells, while conversely, LOOOVE (feat. Kid Cudi) is an upbeat run through self-confidence and rhythm
This album is characterised - at least to me - by its stylistic versatility and return to the iconic futuristic sound of Travis Scott. Its downfall, however, lies in the fact that out of the entire team of songwriters, not one person managed to do a single track justice with interesting lyricism UTOPIA is beautifully constructed but ultimately would be a far easier listen if it had been given some substance to complement. Overall? 2.5 Stags out of 5.