By Ioannis Sistovaris, Year 12
Travis Scott, born Jacques Webster II, is a well-known contemporary rapper. His particular blend of rap and pop music, innovative production, and collaborations with famous performers such as Drake have helped him establish himself as a global icon. Having married famous influencer Kylie Jenner in the past, being featured in video games (such as Fortnite), directing a movie, and owning a clothing brand, it goes without saying that Travis Scott is one of the most influential artists in modern history. He is most famous for his 2018 album “Astroworld” which broke the record for the biggest sales week of 2018. This is why I have decided to write about him, as I am one of the many admirers of his clothing brand, but especially of his music.
After years of anticipation, delays, and cancelled shows, Travis Scott’s fourth studio album, UTOPIA, was finally released on the 28th of July 2023. It was enjoyed by thousands of people and became the first rap album in five years to spend its first four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 c.
The album has a total of 19 songs which are listed below:
1. “Hyaena”
2. “Thank God”
3. “Modern Jam” Feat. Teezo Touchdown
4. “My Eyes” Feat. Sampha
5. “God’s Country”
6. “Sirens” Feat. Swae Lee
7. “Meltdown” Feat. Drake
8. “Fe!n” Feat. Playboi Carti & Sheck Wes
9. “Delresto (Echoes)” Feat. Beyoncé
10. “I Know?”
11. “Topia Twins” Feat. Rob49 & 21 Savage
12. “Circus Maximus” Feat. The Weeknd
13. “Parasail”
14. “Skitzo” Feat. Young Thug
15. “Lost Forever” Feat. James Blake & Westside Gunn
16. “Looove” Feat. Kid Cudi
17. “KPop” Feat. Bad Bunny & The Weeknd
18. “Telekinesis” Feat. Future & SZA
19. “Til Further Notice” Feat. 21 Savage & James Blake
Utopia is, in my humble opinion, one of Travis Scott’s finest albums so far. Travis’ fans were eagerly anticipating the release of his first album in five years. The songs in themselves have a tendency to have an explicit meaning when it comes to the lyrics which, however, is not really the center of attention as what I think matters the most is the soundtrack and overall feeling you get while listening to his records.
What struck me the most about this album was Travis’ decision to keep his featuring artists hidden for the first month of its release. This produced a sense of excitement among his ardent fans. Imagine listening to your favorite artist’s new song, who has not released any records through the past few years, and suddenly one of your favorite artists begins to sing alongside him. This created a sense of exhilaration for his avid listeners (including me) who felt astonished to hear their new performers singing alongside Travis Scott in many of his songs.
His gigantic success is shown on many social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Precisely, many of his songs were trending in the social media “Tiktok” which includes “Telekinesis”, used by more than 800,000 people, and “Topia Twins” which was used by around 500′ 000 people.
In addition, Utopia’s success is shown through Travis Scott’s concert tour in which most of his concerts were sold out, regardless of the tragedy occurring during his Astroworld concert in 2021. Precisely 60,000 fans attended the premiere tour in Rome and it seems to be that the rest of his live performances will receive the same treatment. Unfortunately for me and all of Travis’s European fans, his 2023 tour will only be focused on the United States of America and Canada.
In conclusion, I find “Utopia” to be a stellar album, undoubtedly among Travis Scott’s finest artistic endeavors. I wholeheartedly recommend “Utopia” to all enthusiasts of rap and pop music, and even to those who might be looking to explore a fresh and novel musical horizon. In other words, I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did, and perhaps you too will find yourself impatiently waiting for his future releases.
