Long Awaited: Travis Scott’s UTOPIA

photo by Jason Koener | Getty

Rapper Travis Scott released his album UTOPIA on July 28, 2023, to a mixed bag of reviews from students throughout the halls of WGHS.
by Emery Brown and Grayson Cranford

Rapper Travis Scott released his album UTOPIA on July 28, 2023, to a mixed bag of reviews  from students throughout the halls of WGHS.

“It was mid,” said Freshman Bradley Wallace. “He worked on it for a long time and I expected better.” This statement has been mentioned a number of times, whether it be from professional music reviewers or the everyday rap fan.

Junior Lubis Montejo says, “Me personally, I like Astroworld better than [UTOPIA]. . . I think his old days are way better than right now.” Astroworld was Scott’s previous solo album, released on August 3, 2018. Many, including BillBoard Music and reviewer Anthony Fantana, consider it his best work, so UTOPIA had big shoes to fill.

On the other hand, the album gained lots of praise, specifically for its features and production. “My favorite song is ‘Meltdown’ because Drake is on it,” says Freshman Darren Robinson. Drake was just one of a long list of featured artists that both surprised and shocked fans, such as Playboi Carti, 21 Savage, Kid Cudi, Bad Bunny, and Future.

“[My favorite song was] ‘Telekinesis’ because I really love the SZA part.” added Senior Lilliana Esparza. She stated her opinion on the production and beats on the album, “[It] really enhanced [the vocals]. I really really enjoyed the beats. That was probably the best part of the songs. . . Definitely, the beats outshine the vocals.”

Even if you weren’t sure about the artist's performances, there’s one thing that most agree on and it’s that the production on this album is unique and impressive. With veteran producers such as The Alchemist, Pharrell Williams, Metro Boomin, Mike Dean, and Kanye West on the project, the beats manage to create a soundscape that transports you to Scott’s mind and see things from a different perspective. West specifically influenced the album the most as many point back to his 2013 album Yeezus, of which was partially produced by Scott. According to one X (Formally Twitter) user, "Kanye is always 10 years ahead. . . In 2013 he dropped Yeezus, 10 years laters, Travis drops #Utopia which has Kanye production influence all over it."

One thing is unsure for now: How will this album age? Lilliana thinks that “Some of the songs are getting a little overplayed already.” With the album gaining 650 million global streams within a week of release and songs like ‘Meltdown’ and ‘FE!N’ dominating the charts, for some, it can be easy to get tired of hearing about this album (NME.COM).