In the same way that Travis Scotts debut full-length Rodeo polished the sound of his early mixtapes, Utopia rejuvenates Travis Scotts discography. Years in the making, the album expands his sound without drastically changing it hes still using his MPC and his vocals are just as distorted as they were ten years ago but now the stakes are exponentially higher. Then, he was a fast-rising Houston rapper now, hes a global superstar whose image was badly tarnished by the deaths at last years Astroworld disaster. As his first release since then, Utopia couldnt afford to be anything but a major musical advancement, and hes delivered.
With 19 full songs over almost 75 minutes, its features and/or contributors reads like a dream Grammy-albums-of-the-year nominees list: Beyonce, Drake, the Weeknd, Bad Bunny, SZA, Kanye West, Future, Pharrell, 21 Savage, Daft Punks Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Young Thug, Dave Chappelle, Playboi Carti, Bon Iver, Swae Lee, Kid Cudi, Mike Dean, Metro Boomin, James Blake, Noah Goldstein and a couple dozen more. But the real advancement here is in Scotts artistry hes the sole credited producer on three songs here and it shows a musical versatility and adventurousness thats rare for an artist on his level.
Having said that, its often reminiscent of his musical mentor and ex-de-facto-brother-in-law, Ye. Scott, along with a number the above artists most notably Kid Cudi, the Weeknd and Future are members of the 808s Heartbreak generation, rappers crooning amid synthesizers, fusing electronic music with hip-hop. Fifteen years after that album and ten years after Yes equally culture-shaking Yeezus (which features Scott on three songs), Wests greatest pupil touches on key moments from his mentors discography while updating and advancing his own. The biting screams on Gods Country call to mind Yes shrieks on I Am a God, the thunderous drum line of Circus Maximus mirrors that of Black Skinhead, and Cudi even makes an appearance at the end of Looove, just as he does on the back half of Guilt Trip.And where West sampled British prog-rock group King Crimson, Scott does the same with British prog-rock group Gentle Giant. Like 808s, Utopia advances melodic hip-hop into new terrain.
Where Astroworld plays like different rides and thrills at an amusement park, Utopia is more vague much to its advantage. Scott successfully challenges himself as he joins the frontlines of East Side Buffalo, indulging his love for boom-bap by trying his hand at coke rap, alongside Westside Gunn and the Alchemist on Lost Forever. He even calls on Frank Ocean collaborator Buddy Ross to move him toward tender melodies on My Eyes and Parasail, supported by the Swedish folk of Yung Lean and a spoken-word bit from Chappelle.
Utopia is at its best, however, when Travis fosters the collaborations that hes cultivated over the course of his career. Whether its Playboi Carti unveiling a new, Atlanta trap-inspired flow on Fe!n, or the Weeknds velvety croons on Circus Maximus, replacing the thick basslines of Rodeos Pray 4 Love with prismatic synthesizers, Utopia updates and reimagines his past. Even the albums closer, Til Further Notice, continues the low-frequency trip-hop of Mile High, James Blake, Metro Boomin and Scotts last collaboration all together on Blakes 2019 album Assume Form.
In a 2021 interview, Variety asked Scott what hed been listening to and who hed like to work with. He said Bjork and Houston instrumental alt-rock trio Khruangbin, and said hed like to work with them, Beyonce, Coldplays Chris Martin, British drum-n-bass vet Goldie and warped singer-songwriter King Krule. That musical adventurousness and diversity is vividly on display here. Where Astroworld brought spectacle, Utopia brings subtlety and innovation.