The guestlist is impressive and the production is fun, but it’s still not enough to conceal the fact that Travis Scott is an utterly unexciting rapper.
I felt like such a nerd when I recognised the opening vocal sample
from Gentle Giant’s ‘Proclamation’. Who knew Travis Scott was a fan of 70s prog
rock? Adding this sample seemed like a bold move until I remembered Kanye had already done something
similar when he sampled King Crimson in ‘Power’. There are a few other moments
that feel very reminiscent of past Kanye albums – ‘MODERN JAM’ and ‘CIRCUS
MAXIMUS’ both have abrasive beats that sounds very Yeezus-influenced. It’s
not that surprising considering that Kanye pretty much launched Travis Scott’s
career. And Travis Scott did play a part in producing Yeezus.
But here’s the problem – as much as he wants to be, Travis Scott
is no Kanye West. Utopia may have the fun production to match some of
Kanye’s best works and it’s as star studded as Donda, but at the centre
of it all is some fairly hollow rapping. Was it ignorant of me to expect him to
address the Astroworld Tour crowd crush? Possibly, considering Travis is all
about the bangers. But even if heavy personal topics aren’t his thing, couldn’t he
have still come up with at least a few funny or mean bars? There’s absolutely nothing memorable
here – just dumb lines like ‘twin bitches hopping off a jetski’.
All in all, he has about as much presence as DJ Khaled does
on a DJ Khaled album. The plus side is that he’s a much better composer and arranger
than DJ Khaled. Pretty much every beat on this album slaps. The detuned synths
on ‘FE!N’ sound like something that would score a sci-fi Dracula movie. And ‘LOST
FOREVER’ may well have the nastiest beat switch I’ve ever heard. Meanwhile, no
guest feels misplaced or underutilised on this album. That verse from Teezo Touchdown
is so unique. And I had no idea Drake could sound aggressive. All in all, Travis
definitely pulls some interesting performances out of each guest, even if he
can’t do the same for himself.
The beats and guest performances do give this album replay value. But ultimately Travis Scott's forgettable performances stop this from feeling like a great album by providing a few lulls.
★★★☆☆
TRACK TASTER: