The long-anticipated album, Travis Scotts Utopia, came out on July 28th. Now that it has been out for 2 months, how has it held up looking back on it?
This album starts with the song Hyaena. Hyaena starts with a sample of Proclamation, which is a song by Gentle Giant. It describes how Travis is feeling in this moment, and that he is in a challenging mental state: “The situation we are in at this time. Neither a good one nor is it so unblessed.” This gets the listener into the same mindset as Travis, starting the album off on a good hook. The rest of the song follows up with a catchy beat, and Travis raps about women, money, and his resilience to harsh conditions. It’s important to mention that the name Hyaena is used to show his ability to survive in harsh conditions, and how he overcomes those conditions, as hyaenas are known to do that in the wild.
The 2nd song on the album, Thank God, is a chill rap song. This song is about thanking god for helping him achieve all of his goals. By expressing his gratitude for his attributes and possessions in life, he realizes that he is starting to slowly be engulfed in his idea of a utopia. In the middle of the song, there is a beat change, to change it to more modern rap from chill. This is one of the few tracks on this album with 0 features on it, as he tackles this subject by himself, thanking god personally.
Next is MODERN JAM, which samples the beat of Kanyes I Am a God. This song also features upcoming artist Teezo Touchdown. A very hype song, this song is a staple of the album. This is considered by many the best song of the album. This does not have to do with the utopia concept too much, but it raps about more stereotypical stuff, including physical encounters with ladies. This song also goes off the rails a bit, rapping about how he can get a crowd hype, which is very fitting for this song, as it is a hype song. Teezo Touchdown’s verse ties this song together with a good conclusion, also rapping about the same ideas as Travis.
My Eyes, the next track, is very psychedelic in the first half. Another song with no features, the topic of this song he wants to tackle himself. Sampling the song “Over There,” this song is emotional towards Travis, as he talks about his struggles in life, including addressing the guilt that he feels from his Astroworld concert. Around halfway through the song though, it switches from psychedelic to rap. He raps about life through his eyes, including the normal drugs and alcohol, and mentions some of his struggles.
GOD’S COUNTRY is next. This song is only a snippet of the full song, which never got released. But, what we do know is that it is about his struggles with mental health, and finding a higher power to help. This song has a very unique-sounding beat. Some fans say that it sounds like Mort from Madagascar in the background. This song is one of the more unique songs in the album, almost dystopian sounding.
The next song, Sirens, is an important part of the album concept. It goes further into his utopia, where at the end of it, Drake is talking about how he will take a girl to utopia, but she does not see the utopia, as they are in a hotel room. This is one of the most critical moments of the album, as through this little skit, we realize that a utopia is not an objective reality, but more so a subjective reality, and how you perceive life. This song also puts forth the idea that a utopia is not where you think you would find it, as seen by his advertisements stating “Do you find utopia at the liquor store?” meaning that not everyone’s utopia is in the same place. This idea is important for later in the album. This song has another unique-sounding dystopian beat, with a hectic background providing importance for the overall meaning of this song.
Meltdown, the most streamed song, is up next. This is also considered by many to be the best. This song has a catchy Drake verse, and it goes back to Travis and Drake rapping. This song appears to be about Kylie Jenner’s fling with Timothée Chalamet, and dissing him. On the other side of this song, in Drake’s verse, he takes shots at Pusha T and Pharrell Williams. This song is the most stereotypical-sounding rap song out of this album, with a high energy yet chill beat. Drake and Travis rapping back and forth at each other make this song a staple for this album.
Playboi Carti and Travis team up for the next song, FE!N. This is a very Playboi Carti-sounding song. This song is a very hype song, being a very good song for a concert/mosh pit. FE!N also dives into the utopia concept. With such a lyric as, “I be flyin’ out of town for some peace of mind,” this suggests that he gets out of his lavish party lifestyle to get into his utopia, where he is peaceful and relaxed.
The next song, Delresto Echoes, has Beyonce and Travis Scott working together for this song. This song strays away from his normal topics of rated R topics and instead is more of a love song. This psychedelic song was one of two that was released before the album’s release. One lyric stating, “waiting in an echo” could be a reference to the utopia concept. It could be inferred that he is waiting to understand what his utopia is at this.
I KNOW? Is a chill psychedelic song. This song is a portrayal of what his life is like for him when he takes drugs and drinks. This song is chill and laid-back. This song’s catchy beat sets it up as a good solo song, but it does not have much impact on the overall utopia concept.
Topia Twins goes back to classic rapping, with many features including Rob 49 and 21 Savage. This song is also considered by many the best song, as it has more textbook rapping in it. This song is about the usual guns, drugs, and sexual activities. Sexual themes are another subtheme in this album, besides utopia. The catchy lyrics and beat make it another staple of the album that listeners keep on coming back to.
Going back to the hype, up next is Circus Maximus. This song has features of both The Weeknd and Swae Lee on it, but most notable about this song, is that it remixes Black Skinhead by Kanye West. Many fans consider this to be the next song in the Black Skinhead series. This song is interesting, as it does not have a chorus, yet it has an introduction, then an interlude, and then a conclusion. This strives off the path of many modern songs. This song does really follow the utopia concept, a certain lyric saying, “waiting in an echo” could be a reference. This song mirrors a lyric from Delresto Echoes. It could be inferred that he is still waiting to find out what his utopia is.
Parasail is a psychedelic song. The whole song is very psychedelic and a bit dark, featuring Yung Lean and Dave Chappelle. This song is about his very go-with-the-flow attitude, and this matches with the song name Parasail, as when you go parasailing, you are going with the flow, just like Travis. There are mentions of obstacles in this song, which alludes to his struggles, mainly the Astroworld concert where people died. This song mentions how other smaller artists would have “wiped out,” but Travis pushed through it, going back to the same theme of Hyaena.
Young Thug and Travis Team up for the next song, Skitzo. This song goes back to more chill rap. This is one of the longer songs, at 6 minutes and 5 seconds. The song’s name is a shorter way to say schizophrenic, which is what this song is about. Throughout the verses, he depicts himself as a person who acts in a strange and sometimes violent way, which mirrors the definition of schizophrenia. In Young Thug’s verse, he raps about the typical drugs, money, and sexual interactions. This song mentions the Utopia Concept, as the schizophrenic metaphor could hint that he is going through a rough time, meaning that he could be in a dystopian throughout this song.
Another psychedelic chill rap song is LOST FOREVER. Featuring Westside Gunn on it, this song raps about more stereotypical stuff. With a catchy beat to it, this song is another staple of the album. This song is about being lost forever in an enviable lifestyle. Although he is “lost,” he is referring to being lost in exotic islands and with girls, explaining his exciting lifestyle. It could also be interpreted that he thinks that he lost his utopia forever. But, on the feature, Gunn raps about rated R subjects, like drugs and money and girls.
LOOOVE featuring Kid Cudi is the next track. This song has a very catchy intro, with Travis rapping to a very high-energy beat. This song is considered by some to be the best song on the album. The chorus of this song goes to show how much Travis’s fan base loves him. Besides that, Travis and Cudi rap about more stereotypical stuff, mostly about making love to girls. Overall this song is a staple of the album, and even if it does not mean too much lyrically, it is very catchy.
The song that was first released to tease the album, K-POP. This song has some notable features, including Bad Bunny and The Weeknd. This song is considered by many fans as the worst song on the album. This chill yet high-energy song has a catchy beat, yet again. This song is all about their lavish and party lifestyle. The name, K-POP, is used to describe a lollipop that contains drugs inside of it, hinting at the meaning of this song.
Telekinesis, featuring SZA and Future, is another psychedelic, chill song. This song is also one of the longer songs on the album, coming in at 5:53. This song is all about not caring about anything, and getting high. This song uses the name as a metaphor for their desire to shape their lives. It also tackles the subject of all of their past struggles in life. This song is where Travis realizes his utopia as well, and he perceives it as “in eternal lasting life.” This means that throughout the album, Travis has had personal growth, and was able to find his real utopia, not fake ones, like the liquor store. On SZA’s feature though, the beat switches from chill to very high energy fast, tying off the song in a thrilling ending.
Coming to the last song of the album, Till Further Notice, featuring James Blake and 21 Savage, this song is very psychological. This song is a straight-up love song at face level. 21 Savage raps about how he should have treated his ex better, and he did not realize how much he loved her till they broke up. This song can be interpreted as not realizing how good you have it till you lose it and always valuing what you have. This song also ties together the end of the utopia concept, leaving the listener with a very hard-hitting idea. Now that you have found your utopia, what will you do in it? Where will go now? This song hints at the idea that your utopia is not the final destination, but rather the journey to it. It also hints at the idea that you create your utopias and the fact that your utopia is different from everyone else’s, and your utopia could be someone’s dystopia.
In conclusion, this long-anticipated album has something for everyone, whether you are into rap, chill, or psychedelic. With a complicated concept, the overlying idea is that you make your utopia, and others don’t make it for you. With hit songs such as Meltdown and K-POP, this album has seen commercial success, all while being an important personal album for Travis.
