In the five years Travis Scott has been active in the industry, he’s wholeheartedly played a part in shifting the culture of new-age rap and changing the sound of Houston’s roots in rap. More so focused on being the trend instead of following in the shadows of his peers, Scott has earned the notoriety of being one of the best in the game right now and in the process created his own identity. He’s been consistent with his music and sticking to his unique sound. From Owl Pharaoh, Days Before Rodeo, Rodeo, and Birds in the Trap Sing Mcknight, Scott has set himself up to surrender another great body of work to us. However, the stakes were much higher this time around. With a reputation for outdoing himself on each release, the pressure was on for Scott to live up to the hype of Astroworld.
Before the release of Astroworld, Scott was extremely vocal about the inspiration behind the music. As a Houston native, he made it very clear that the album was an ode to his hometown and inspired by the real-life Six Flags Astroworld theme park that closed down in 2005.
When he spoke to GQ last year about the album, he said “It might be the best music that I made… They tore down ‘AstroWorld’ to build more apartment space. That’s what it’s going to sound like, like taking an amusement park away from kids. We want it back. We want the building back. That’s why I’m doing it. It took the fun out of the city.” Astroworld had a prominent influence on his adolescence, so it was only fitting that he created his next album based on the importance of it to Houston culture.
THIS IS FOR HOUSTON TEXAS. MO CITY MY HOME.
— TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) August 3, 2018
He stuck to his Houston roots for this album and that is what makes the effort so commendable. However, the finished product doesn’t compare on the same level as his previous albums - on a larger scale Astroworld is a great project, but not a sound album. His effort to reach for the stars on this album is undeniable, but the results don’t match the attempt. The first five tracks of the album are what we expected to hear and he delivered promising results, but he fumbled on the last portion. Only a few of the later tracks bring you back around, but they aren’t enough to save the whole album. Astroworld was a gamble from the start since fans were betting on Scott to give us another timeless album, but unfortunately he dropped the ball on this one.
To understand the purpose behind this album and Travis Scott’s approach to Astroworld, it’s only right that we follow his logic in the same fashion that the album was constructed around. Astroworld is a journey through a portion of Travis Scott, inspired by an amusement park that was a staple in his childhood and Houston culture - so is this review.
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Mechanics
Let’s be real - most of us are Travis Scott fans because the production on his projects is something out of this world. Astroworld is no different, as always the production is the highlight of the album. The album got assistance from a ton of producers and contributors (29 to be exact), many of which we’re familiar with. Mike Dean shared executive producer duties, but other famous forces include Sonny Digital, Tay Keith, Boi-1da, TM88, Murda Beatz, and many more.
The exceptionally-melodic album spared no expense when it came to production. Scott snagged the best of the best to help bring his vision to life. Sonically speaking, he accomplished what he set out to do. The good thing about Astroworld is that it flowed together well, but it flowed a bit too well. The album had less climaxes and more one-note songs that failed to create that feeling of excitement throughout the entirety of it. Astroworld had Scott’s signature sound written all over it - a futuristic atmosphere, hazy effects, psychedelic features, and melodious auto-tuned vocals - but it didn’t push the envelope. The furthest Scott has traveled outside of his comfort zone as far as sound is inserting a lot of start and stop tracks with a mesh of two/three-in-one songs. Other than that he hasn’t shown a lot of growth that makes this a monumental album for his career.
Entrance (Intro)
A lot of the excitement that occurs when listening to a new album for the first time is credited to the opening and closing tracks that bring it all full circle. Intros can honestly make or break an album, so it’s crucial that artists create the order of their tracklists strategically to have the greatest impact possible. The opening track shouldn’t overwhelm listeners too much, but offer just enough to get them hooked onto the project. On a scale from 1-10, Travis Scott assembled a solid intro relative to that of a 7. Compared to his last two albums, “STARGAZING” could’ve been a lot better. When listening to any of Travis Scott’s projects, I think of it as a euphoric experience that gets better each and every time you listen. “Pornography” off Rodeo was great, but he outdid himself with “the ends” on BITTSM. “STARGAZING” should’ve been the track to welcome us into Astroworld, but it was a lulled beginning to a less than perfect album. Nonetheless, it was an interesting way to introduce us to the unpredictable ride Astroworld would take us on.
Main Attraction
Time to get to the star on the album - Travis himself. He has his highs and lows on Astroworld, but he for sure drew a lot of inspiration for the album from his aspirations for how he dreamed his music would sound. He played it safe on Rodeo and upgraded his sound on BITTSM, but Astroworld is a bit more experimental. He fused his rockstar lifestyle with his free artistic talent to create the worthy offerings on the album.
As usual he sticks to the topics he’s comfortable with - sex, drugs, money, and women - but a pleasant surprise on the album comes from Scott opening up more about his personal demons and his life outside of music. Specifically he reveals a lot about his relationship with Kylie Jenner on his most standout track, “COFFEE BEAN.” The track is the most exceptional song out on the album solely because Scott’s voice is bare without auto-tune and he’s actually rapping with substance.
He also ventured outside his normal range with his song “STOP TRYING TO BE GOD” adding a hint of wisdom to his repertoire. His vocals shine the brightest on this song while preaching about the God complex and staying true to your roots. It’s one of the few tracks off the album that slightly deviates from what we’re used to hearing from Scott.
What attracts most of us to Travis Scott’s music isn’t his lyrical substance, but he makes up for that with his ability to manipulate sounds to create something fresh and new. The empty spots that seem like they’re missing something on the album are then filled with Scott’s Houston references and tributes to old Southern rap. “R.I.P. SCREW” is the most obvious salute on Astroworld which directly paid homage to chopped-and-screwed originator, DJ Screw. He also showed love to a couple other Texas and Southern legends on the album like Big Tuck who appears in the beginning of “CAROUSEL.” More samples infused on the album include a reference and plug of Uncle Luke, the leader of Miami’s 2 Live Crew, shouting a signature line on “SICKO MODE.” Scott also recruited his Cactus Jack Records signee Sheck Wes to spin the hook on Three 6 Mafia’s 1995 record “Tear Da Club Up” for “NO BYSTANDERS.”
The most disappointing thing about the album is that it isn’t consistent with bangers back to back. The first five songs act as the incline and peak at “STOP TRYING TO BE GOD” then after that it falls off. Similar to the analogy of a roller coaster, but it peaked entirely too soon. Following that there are only but a handful of tracks worthy of replay value which is quite sad to say the least. As the main attraction for Astroworld, the Houston rager worked wonders but still he didn’t breakthrough.
Featured Attractions
For a solo effort, Scott did his thing on Astroworld, but the assists on the album are what really tie it together. The heavyweight feature on the entire album comes from an unexpected promising newcomer who lended some impressive vocals on “CAN’T SAY.” Houston native Don Toliver came in the clutch and elevated a track that would have otherwise been overlooked had Travis took over the whole song. Scott made a good call on that one and it looks like he’ll be betting on him more often now that he’s signed him to his Cactus Jack label. A valuable takeaway from this for Scott should be to invest more in the young talented artists in Houston who clearly have a lot to offer.
The second best feature on Astroworld of course goes to Drake for bodying his portion of “SICKO MODE.” What’s worthy of being released as a single, “SICKO MODE” shows the Drake and Travis Scott energy at its finest. The track switches gears four times total and each time they turn up the heat a little more. The highlight of the track is both the up-tempo beat switch after one minute and the catchy hook on the third portion (“Like a light”).
The rest of the star-studded supporting cast on the album includes Frank Ocean, Migos, 21 Savage, The Weeknd, Pharrell Williams, James Blake, and Stevie Wonder on the harmonica. The list of guest vocalists on Astroworld is truly stunning, but the features on BITTSM were nothing short of magical, each artists sounded like they were destined for their respective track.
Best Rides
As previously stated, Astroworld wasn’t 100% solid but it had a good number of tracks that were still great. If I had the choice of eliminating some tracks, the new track list would look something like this.
- STARGAZING
- CAROUSEL
- SICKO MODE
- R.I.P. SCREW
- STOP TRYING TO BE GOD
- NO BYSTANDERS
- SKELETONS
- 5% TINT
- YOSEMITE
- CAN’T SAY
- HOUSTONFORNICATION
- COFFEE BEAN
Exit (Outro)
The closer for Astroworld was supposed to bring everything full circle and for what it’s worth Scott managed to get it done. “COFFEE BEAN” helped bring Astroworld to a close in the best way possible. The vibe for the track is similar to the end of a long day - the sun has set and the drugs have worn off (auto-tune) and you’re left all alone to reflect. The album, seemingly on a constant incline until it hit its peak, finally falls and hit the bottom for the final track. The song gets very real personal when speaking on Kylie and the Kardashians as his in-laws.
“Shawty, we can be mad cool/Just hit me if anything past due/Your family told you I’m a bad move/Plus, I’m already a black dude.”
The mood change in the album falters on “COFFEE BEAN” where we see a glint of vulnerability from Scott. What’s arguably the best track on the album is coincidentally the most simple of them all.
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Travis Scott had the pressure of two amazing mixtapes and albums on him to top it all off with Astroworld. Unfortunately, the album wasn’t anything transformative to his discography and honestly it probably won’t stand the test of time. For the moment, Astroworld will satisfy us but give it a few weeks and it’ll be forgotten along with the other albums released this year that didn’t have what it takes to compete against the big giants. A 5-song run for a 17-track album is awful and I wish Travis would’ve chopped some of these tracks off, maybe then it would’ve been just as great as his previous work.
Astroworld didn’t have the wow-factor it needed to make his album run 3/3 and for that let’s hope Travis pulls out something astounding next time.
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