Travis Scott has been through it since the release of his seminal album Astroworld, and he really kept his fans waiting for its follow-up. The odds were against him this time around, but Scott managed to rise above them and craft another sensational hip-hop record with Utopia.
It’s impossible to talk about Utopia without addressing everything that led to it. Astroworld elevated Scott to the status of one of the best rappers of his generation when it came out in 2018, but its name is now mostly associated with the tragic Astroworld Festival that claimed the lives of ten people in Houston, Texas in 2021.
Scott was mostly absent from the public eye in the wake of this tragedy, and his many collaborations existed in a strange limbo, struggling to make any real impact. The rollout of Utopia was quite messy, as well, with Scott keeping us in suspense until the very last moment and even canceling the launch event from the Pyramids of Giza earlier this week.
With all of this going against him, Scott finally dropped Utopia on July 28—and managed to exceed everyone’s expectations. He solidified his reputation as one of hip-hop’s biggest stars with this 19-track colossus of an album, which is a worthy addition to the rapper’s opus.
The production of Scott’s music was always strong, and he took things up a notch with Utopia. A group of producers led by Mike Dean helped him craft his most polished work to date, with the scope and ambition that matches his Astroworld days.
The best thing about Utopia is an impressive list of A-list collaborators who agreed to join Scott for the ride. Bad Bunny and The Weekend were featured on the album’s lead single “K-Pop”, while “Meltdown” with Drake quickly went viral thanks to its diss-heavy lyrics. “Delresto (Echoes)” ft. Beyonce, “Telekinesis” ft. SZA and Future, and “Skitzo” ft. Young Thug are also among the album’s standouts.
Even though it’s a worthy successor to Astroworld, it’s not all peachy and perfect in the world of Utopia. It’s pretty clear that Scott was attempting to create his own version of Kanye West’s Yeezus with this album, without daring to tackle heavy subjects that made this album great.
Utopia also lacks club-ready hits that match the quality of Scott’s signature songs, such as “Sicko Mode” and “Highest in the Room”, but it works as a whole and manages to hold attention for 74 minutes straight.
