Editor’s Note: Some of the songs mentioned or linked to in this article may contain profane lyrics. 

By Ben McLoughlin

Houston rapper Travis Scott and his impact on our culture right now can be summed up in one word: hype. Hype is a word with more than one definition in the 21st century: excitement, exhilaration, and energy, as well as intense, feverish anticipation surrounding an event. Scott makes hype, from his raucous concerts, to his energetic music, to his own meal at McDonald’s, to his unfathomably popular and expensive line of Jordans. If that doesn’t make sense, ask your kid.

Scott pictured in 2019. Photo credit: Frank Schwichtenberg.

The hype surrounding his fourth album, Utopia, released on July 28, was exponentially multiplied by the five-year gap between that and his 2018 masterpiece Astroworld. Astroworld tat cemented Scott, an already famous artist, as a modern hip-hop king by hitting incredible chart numbers, as well as winning the acclaim of critics, who praised the record for its fresh sound and pop-rap bangers. 

The gap between releases was the partial result of an unfortunate tragedy. At Scott’s 2021 “Astroworld Festival” in his hometown of Houston, Texas, 10 people were killed as a result of a crowd crush, thrusting the rapper into the spotlight for the wrong reasons. Although he was recently cleared of any wrongdoing, the public and the media were critical of Scott’s handling of the situation, as he continued to perform amid eerie silence, cries for help, and emergency vehicles making their way into the audience during the festival.

Over a year removed from the tragedy, in May 2023, Scott began his promotional rollout for Utopia, an album that had been teased as early as August 2020. Although the promotion was minimal for such a big-ticket release, Scott’s name alone built more anticipation than any release of the year, except maybe Drake’s new record For All the Dogs, and fans and critics eagerly anticipated the summer release.

In promotion of the album, Scott was photographed with a briefcase with the word “Utopia” on it in many locations across the world. Here, he recreates the cover of The Beatles’ album Abbey Road. Photo credits: @hypebeast on Instagram.

The opening track, “HYAENA” is the perfect start. Scott’s production is loud and grand and sets the groundwork for the album’s wide soundscape. The abrasive drums and complementary flow cause the listener to feel as if they have entered a huge dystopian world. “HYAENA” contains Scott’s best rapping on the album as well, with creative flows and a raw vocal performance with minimal autotune. The lyrics are lacking, as is common in Scott’s songs, but the energy and sound make up for it, at least for now. Scott is a pioneer of the young, current generation of rap that focuses almost solely on sound, energy, and aesthetics in his songs, as opposed to lyrics. Many of Scott’s words are loosely tied together and seemingly only there to sound appealing sonically. “​​Set up, told the preacher, “Never finish,” that’s to say the least/Buy it, never lease it, but I gotta lease it/Mobile, Mona type of pieces, Met Gala, night Jesus,” as Scott raps in the song, sounds like he asked ChatGPT to give him a list of words to make him sound cool and wealthy and then repeated them into a microphone. Nonetheless, the song sees Scott returning to his earlier style, with infectious raging energy making up for the weaker lyrics.

Track 2, “THANK GOD,” is another highlight, with a dramatic, jaw-dropping beat-switch coming in at the 1:25 mark. Chills. Corny lines follow (“A quarterback calls, I don’t like 12, except Tom Brady,” Scott says, for example. Eyeroll), but the violin-driven instrumental backing is one of the album’s best. There is a faint piano melody in the background that gives the song a restless, angry ambience, expanding on the world that Scott created in “HYAENA.” 

The real highlight of the record, however, is track 4, “MY EYES.” Soft, gorgeous, lullaby-ish keyboards start the song off before a heavily autotuned Scott begins singing. After two minutes, British singer Sampha sings for 8-9 heavenly seconds, before another shocking beat-switch, transitioning to a bold verse and instrumental that feels arena-ready. Scott also addresses the Astroworld tragedy in this verse, although it sounds a little forced and rushed. “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 inspired,” Scott raps. It’s commendable to hear Scott address the tragedy in the album, but it’s a bit eerie to hear him move on in a matter of seconds and continue with the song. Even with these lyrics, this song is one of the best songs of 2023. The production is beautiful, the vocals and melodies sound fresh, and the energy is perfect. Even if you don’t usually like rap music, I would strongly recommend listening to this song. 

The album is top-heavy. The back half contains flashes of quality, such as the calm, relaxing interlude “PARASAIL,” and the erratic instrumental and tempo switches on standout track “SKITZO,” but many songs fall flat. “DELRESTO (ECHOES),” notable for its Beyoncé feature, fails to find any direction and ends up sounding like a throwaway from her 2022 album RENAISSANCE  (which it probably is). “TOPIA TWINS” is a sonically stale track, pedestrian for Scott’s usual high standard of innovation, and contains some egregious lyrics that I don’t feel comfortable putting into The Match. “LOOOVE” and “K-POP” are two horribly uninspired songs back-to-back that have no place in the sequencing of this album. All of these songs highlight one of Scott’s essential flaws: the desire to create a hit instead of a good song. High-profile features, such as Beyoncé, as well as Bad Bunny and The Weeknd, seem placed on tracks only for their massive, internationally recognizable names, as opposed to their musical additions to the album. 

Utopia, as a whole, has pretty sounds, clinical production, and club bangers, but much of it lacks something that music needs to succeed: emotion. The album is a product, as opposed to a piece of art. Utopia has cheap tricks that will make millions of dollars in sales but will have no influence or legacy on the rap scene, unlike ASTROWORLD and Scott’s incredible 2013 release Rodeo. With Utopia, Scott has watered down his product, taking the safe route and making an album with a few moments of brilliance and plenty of forgettable ones. 

6/10

Featured image: Utopia Album Cover, copyright Cactus Jack Records and Epic Records.