Travis Takeover
Jacques Bermon Webster II, who has now become known as Travis Scott, is one of the most polarizing hip-hop artists coming onto the scene in the past 10 years. This can be said for his public image along with his interesting take on the trap music scene. Now, Scott is not a new face in the rap industry. He has been around since 2013 with the release of his “Owl Pharaoh” mixtape. This did not boost him into stardom however, it did show his eclectic style of rap.
His first big hit came later with the track “Antidote” off of his 2015 release “Rodeo.” His biggest project to date was “Astroworld” which was released in the summer of 2018. “Astroworld” is one of the most popular rap albums of all time with each song having over 100 million streams on Spotify. This album solidified the fact that Scott could produce quality music that pushed the boundaries of traditional trap. Due to his rising popularity, many fans were waiting patiently for a new release which would come five years later with “Utopia.”
Album Rollout
Scott is known for his ability to hype up his fans with new music. One of his claims to fame being his album rollouts. “Astroworld’s” rollout consisted of a giant sculpture of Scott’s head showing up on top of a store in L.A. There were also many singles released and an album trailer. “Utopia’s” rollout was even grander which was needed after the five year wait. The main talking point of the lead up was the “Utopia” briefcase. This briefcase was very important as it was used to show who would be on the album as a feature. Figures who had the case at some point were Bad Bunny, SZA, The Weeknd, and Mike Dean who all ended up on the album.
Scott also released alternate covers of the project every day for a week leading up to the drop. There was also a concert that was set to take place inside of the pyramids at Giza. Along with these things, Scott even made a feature film to showcase his vision and mindset during the creation of “Utopia” called “CIRCUS MAXIMUS.” Showcasing his higher level of promotion. With all of these factors in mind, the hype for the record was through the roof and definitely translates to the sales of the album.
Scott’s Success
Scott is no stranger to strong appreciation and large amounts of listenership in response to his projects. “Utopia” in particular debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. He also sold 496,000 physical units with help from the alternate covers and extras that came with the vinyl. The entire album debuted on the Top 100 Billboard charts which means that Scott has reached the milestone of having one hundred of his songs chart. Due to these numbers, “Utopia” is the biggest album of 2023
Unusual Utopia?
For many, this was a breath of fresh air for hip-hop with very unique sounds and samples that came together to construct a well-crafted experience. On this album it is very clear that Scott takes heavy inspiration from Kanye West. Regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 21st century, West’s LP “Yeezus” was clearly on Scott’s mind when he was cooking this record up. On songs like “CIRCUS MAXIMUS” or “MODERN JAM” he directly takes beats from the 2013 record by West. At a recent concert in Rome, Scott brought out West causing a very controversial outburst from the rap community and beyond.
Due to West’s anti-semitic remarks during many interviews in late 2022, he is now seen in a negative image and did not help Scott’s cause. Many fans who are more interested in the drama of the music scene really wanted to hear some sort of apology from Scott after his most controversial moment in 2021. The famed Astroworld tragedy in which 10 people died during the mosh pits at one of his shows in Houston, yet is up for debate whether or not this was Scott or the concert organizers fault.
Either way all eyes were on him to talk about the situation on the album. He did mention the incident many times on the album such as on “MY EYES” where he states, “If they just knew what Scotty would do to jump off the stage and save him a child.” This is a direct reference to the tragedy as there were many child casualties. Many fans are still agitated as they wanted even more from the Houston native in regards to the accident.
As for subject matter, the album was full of references to christianity and Scott’s religious beliefs. On tracks like “THANK GOD” and “GOD’S COUNTRY” he leans into his faith and gives praises to the Lord which is uncommon for a mainstream release. This record gave some fans exactly what they longed for while others were left disappointed wanting a more simple and safe experience. However the response to the album, Scott’s creativity cannot be ignored.
