How "Utopia" is much more than Donda 2 1/2? Travis Scott Album review 

21:02 Travis’ fan base loves him more for what he does sonically and how he’s shifted the culture than being interested in him personally or what he has to say. Rodeo was kind of to trap music what MBDTF was to hip hop, in the sense that it took the genre and made it more orchestral, more grand, more sprawling, more cinematic, more IMAX. He built on that with Birds, Astroworld and now Utopia, making albums that operate more on feeling than substance. He invites you into his world but it’s more like experiencing the trippy colour part of 2001 Space Odyssey without experiencing the rest of the movie. It’s just stylistically interesting enough, paired with catchy songwriting and immersive sounds, to get you invested in him as an artist

JUNYAVAA WATANABE ON MY WRIST

You must listen to rodeo and birds in the trap. Travis is not just imitating Kanye. Ye understood his distinction and movement, and that’s why he would want to get Travis involved on Donda and what not

was waiting for this welcome back prof !

I've been waiting for this. Gonna watch it instead of studying for Law School. AVAA. Edit: 54:10 I think it's unfair to say I KNOW ? is a Drake song, because it's actually the most Travis Scott song on the album. Listen to Astroworld in full. Listen to Birds In The Trap. Listen to Rodeo and Days Before Rodeo. You'll see that I KNOW ? is really really really quintessential Travis in his melodic trap bag.

Great video Professor. (AVAA) I've been listening to this album for the past two weeks and I feel like a lot of people are missing the actual "themes" of Utopia, which is something I feel that you did not touch on as much, and seems to be the points of the album you dislike the most. I feel like while lyrically Travis doesn't outwardly state it - he is not HAPPY. This can be seen in song after song - the dreary delivery of "I got a rollie on my wrist" In My Eyes, it almost seems like self parody. This happens multiple times during the album - the whole existence of Topia Twins for example. (My least favourite track though) The existence of I Know? is Travis dealing with being drunk at 5am, asking if he still able to indulge in his vices, and he "knows" it's because of the drugs. The question mark in the title is there for a reason! He "knows" but does he? (And Topia Twins following that song overrides any potential self awareness he may have found in I Know? aka, the cycle continues) Lost Forever is also a PERFECT track to fit in this theme, "Do you ever feel lost, Forever?" and the beat switches to the darkest on the album, with Westside Gunn, again, talking about sex, watches, etc. Drake at the end of Sirens talking with the woman asking about Utopia is his hotel room - again almost a self parody. The lifestyle of a rich black celebrity is often described as "you have nothing to worry about, your life is perfect" and these artists are STUCK in this mindset. It's almost like they FIND "Utopia" (the place that DOES NOT EXIST) in vices, drugs, sex. Dave Chappelle saying he forgives himself on Parasail, I don't believe this is in reference to his views - but more of a gratitude towards what he DOES have, conceptually in relation to the album. This monologue is present on the same song as Travis reflecting on his memories and trying to make this lifestyle last. Saying he forgives himself is forgiving himself for his "sins" and his addictions. Keeping the comparisons going, I feel like this is ALSO The Life of Pablo. "Thank God" and "Topia Twins" existing on the same piece of work. The manic style lyrics. Side note, in "Modern Jam", Teezo Touchdown starts of his verse with "this the remix" and I wonder if that is an actual reference to Utopia BEING a remix of Donda/Yeezus/TLOP. Ending the album with a return to spirituality and God in Telekinesis, and also Future describing this perfect lifestyle as lonely and loveless, while Travis exclaiming "He can see the future" - you can tell some part of him is fighting to reclaim himself in some spiritual way. Which I think Ye is pushing these artists towards. SIDE SIDE note, there is a reoccurring mention of "Sirens" and "Echoes", not only the lyrics of Sirens but SOUNDS of Sirens which can be heard in multiple songs. I feel this could represent the cycle of addictions starting up again. Echoes can be the echoes of Ye, or the "real life" Travis has strayed from. So while he may not be open in lyrics, the overall soundscape of this album is DARK, foreboding, with almost no hope. But in this space, there are the echoes. There are moments of reflection. I could say a lot more, I usually don't write essays but I find this album very very interesting that a not a lot of people are viewing it in this way, and maybe whoever is reading this can relisten to the album and "feel" these themes playing out.

AVAA Mr Professor! Lots of new perspectives and ideas i didn't hear on other reviews of this album! Keep making such insightful and fun content!

Just found this channel. Already loving the content!!

the corny lines are perfect, fits into the trippy and dark circus theme Travis is portraying, it’s not meant to make sense like a trip wouldn’t either

AVAA Professor Skye!!! You always come through with apt analysis and analogies on whichever album you are talking about🙏

Been waiting for this

Awesome video as always. I have still never heard a bad take from your mouth and the way you articulate the nuances of this album is IMPECCABLE front to back

I've been subscribed, and I didn't see ANY of the different format videos you put out! None of them were pushed to me. This is the first I've seen in a while, so I imagine this video will do well and more in line with what you expect. It sucks how the algorithm can box creators in at times tho!

Thanks for reviewing this, you're great

AVAA LOVE YOUR VIDEOS. Especially the Yves Tumor ones. You break down their music so well and get me so excited at his mere existence. This album was decent. It’s no ‘Let’s Start Here’ which IS the best album of the year, love your video on that one too.

a lot of the reason people draw comparisons to yeezus is because travis had a hand in the making of yeezus and he produced multiple songs on yeezus. AVAA

At 1:04:42 - Cactus Jack is his label that Travis founded. "Cactus" is the aesthetic theme Travis follows, like how Ye follows the theme of "Pablo". Then "Jack" meaning Jacques which is Travis's first name.

Omg , I'm so excited to watch this!!!!!!

I think ive already said it but im from Serbia and I always love when you make little nods or references to the balkans in these

Hey man I always look forward to your reviews. AVAA

Comment for the algorithm! I hope you'll get more exposure again, love your videos :)

I could hear you talk about Ye & Ye-adjacent artists all day. Great video!

this is the one. welcome back professor, AVAA

Avaa (probably idk im only 3 minutes in) Glad to have you back !

44:00 it’s Drake saying that, not Travis. On another note though, I actually like this part because I think Travis is trying to paint a dark, sleepy view of living a famous life and Drake saying that to the woman is perfect for that.

glad you’re back :)

AVAA! I think what i got most from this is that i want ye back 😭. Some great songs on here tho

Great review professor! Lost forever has been teased since 2021 with Westside Gunn. It sounded a little different.

Travis takes a lot of inspiration from Ye and kid cudi, but he also has shifted Kanye’s sound to some extent (through his production credits). I’d say utopia was a slight return to the sound of rodeo and some of the sounds from yeezus. While it isn’t terribly original, it does hold it’s own in my opinion. With the context of the rest of his discography, it’s interesting to see Travis’ trajectory up to this point

AVAA! Good to have you back. Quick question if that's okay - have you got any philosophy book recommendations? I feel like you'd have some groovy niche picks ;) Thanks for all your vids, they've really helped the way I think about music

You get a sympathy 👍 from me. I think you lay too much in to it. I love your channel… You’re the best music review channel om YT. Hope the algo’s lift you up where you belong again👍

AVAA Professor! Best of luck with the kitty cat!

Love this video! It's insane how kanye has always managed to be ahead of his time when it comes to crafting albums.

Awesome video as always, If you look deeper into Travis' history you obviously have to draw the comparison to Ye. Firstly because Ye and Cudi were his biggest inspirations and secondly because Travis had his first large job being a producer on Yeezus. So it is very obvious Travis is influenced by Yeezus. Gods Country is a Ye song and Telekinesis also way a Kanye demo named "Future Sounds". Unfortunately Kanye "fell off" and Travis removed him from the production credits (not the writing credits) and removed his verse. This must be the reason why Gods Country is such a short song... But anyways, the great thing about Travis Scott, for a long-time fan like me is, that he has a great feeling for bringing the listener into an entire new world. Before Rodeo, Trap music mainly wasn't very album listenable. You had some great tracks on these albums but I wouldn't call any of these albums art. With Rodeo this changed for Trap music. Travis had this awesome mix of rap, production and a lot of features and variety on Rodeo to introduce us into his world. Also you had T.I. on this album to narrate us into the "lost tale about jack". Perfect album, you have to listen to it I think you would love it. Astroworld kinda did the same thing where he introduced us into this Theme Park called "Astroworld" where you have these huge loud banger bop rap songs alternating to slower songs, which in some way represent a roller coaster. So Travis always had a good feeling for this kind of world building. The second great thing about Travis is, that he always surprises the listener with something new. On every album since Birds he hid the features from the listener. So at your first listen you always had some sort of surprise, similar to cameo apperances in marvel movies (or something similar). While Astroworld surprised the listener with awesome verses from Drake and Frank Ocean during the first songs, when you didn't even expect features to be on there... this was just awesome. Also "Stop Trying To Be God" had hidden features from Stevie Wonder and Earth Wind And Fire... like you would never expect something like this and for me these surprises really add something to the experience. Same goes for Utopia. While I expected that Travis wants to stay relevant and put artists like Young Thug and Drake on there, I was very surprised to get features from Yung Lean, Sampha, Bon Iver, James Blake and Teezo Touchdown. All these artists arent really your typical Trap artists. Yes Travis collaborated with some of them before but still, these inclusions are very genre shifting just like normally only a few rap artists like Kanye, Young Thug or lately Lil Yachty can. So for me Travis was never the greatest rapper or lyricist and always a mini-ye, but as you said, you have to be very talented to follow Kanye's footsteps. Just like Kanye influenced literally everything, any trap artist back in 2018/2019 tried to replicate Astroworld. Rodeo also 100% influenced the rough trap genre and made it way more mainstream back in the days too. And Utopia maybe also helps to shift the current mainstream rap to be more experimental and artistic. Also something to add while watching: Travis has most of the production credits on there but I guess you have to give very much credit to his team and mostly Mike Dean, who always does great mixing / mastering on his albums. And yes Travis Scott's name is from his uncle Travis, and Scott because of Kid Cudi If you want to listen to a "non-joking" 21 Savage, listen to Savage Mode II, it's a great, kinda dark concept album

3:00 the cat slander will not be tolerated skye AVAA

"afraid of the 6" reference to meltdown lyrics 🤣 took me a while to get it

AVAA Absolutely adore your videos professor! I’m a college student in Oklahoma & ur still my fav professor I’ve ever had. I love Ye just about as much as you do too. Q: what do you think the new Ye album will be like? Aesthetically, Sonically, thematically. Also: do you think Ye will actually make cities & homes like he said he was during a TMZ interview in fall of 2022?

Avaa. In a weird way you answered a few of your questions with the mini Thomas more/utopia rant. The utopian alphabet from that book was used on screen at Travis’ last concert before this album came out, and it spelled out some of the tracks that ended up being on this album. The fact utopia cannot exist I think gives the black cover art purpose, specifically (in my opinion) having to do with his “Rodeo” album cover. The utopia album cover looks like he’s falling off the monster truck from Rodeo. Why that matters would require a lot more text. At the very least I interpret the album cover as floating nowhere quickly. Btw, the utopia bedroom small talk skit is drake talking lol. Nevertheless, Travis does at least have a decent understanding of what utopia means and has created his own interpolation of it. Giving new meaning to how the album starts, the sample immediately stating this isn’t utopia. What it is? Who knows, because… With all of this being said, there is no doubt Travis lacks in lyricism. His biggest fans would all agree. I think many of his fans view it as a testament to how great his ear for sound is. He conveys themes with almost zero lyrical content or ability, it almost seems like he is doing it on purpose. But his song structure is some of the most creative of the young generation. I say listen to rodeo and astroworld, those two along with utopia sound very different from each other but they all sound like Travis Scott. I think then you might compare him less to Ye (which is not unwarranted)

Welcome back bud

AVAA!!! THANK YOU for referencing Circus Maximus being the almost IDENTICAL sample to Black Skinhead! Wow, how can you NOT hear that! I will say I was not a fan of Travis Scott UNTIL this album, because he is daring to be different, outside of the box, give us a body of work that is art, but let's be clear... no where near YE, or my beloved K. DOT. Fantastically done Professor Skye, always learning something from you!

Finally let’s go👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

I would be very interested in hearing Professor Skye talk about Dave Chappelle. Which videos can I watch?

AVAA Hi professor ! On your point of what Travis Scott stands for as it isn’t clear in his lyrics: I think a useful lens to take into account is that Travis Scott may very likely be on the Autism spectrum. It’s a common speculation that’s thrown around as if you watch many of his interviews it’s obvious that he struggles to communicate to some degree. He often struggles with his words and to get across his points, doesn’t make eye contact, and sometimes has strange emotional reactions. Usually I think it is extremely inappropriate to speculate if someone has autism, but like with the case of David Byrne it may be insightful in understanding why this music is so good yet also unconventional in a sense. I think there is a case to be made; that because travis struggles to fully articulate emotions with his words, instead he communicates his emotion through the production. This might explain why the production feels so emotionally full yet the lyrics are very shallow and empty. Most Travis Scott fans will say it’s the energy and emotion of the production that they feel connected to as the production almost hyper emotionally rich compared to a lot of trap beats. He also uses others to communicate for him through spoken word. On Rodeo we see TI have a spoken word narrative throughout the album about Travis story and emotions, and on utopia we seem Dave Chapelle possibly doing the same thing(though in a more abstract sense because it could also apply to him). Travis also communicate through the samples(new concept for him). On this album all the songs he samples from maggot brain to lost forever to drug song by David bixby all are centered around this theme of the soul being lost and confusion. (Also side note check David bixby out, he is such an exceptionally talented folk artists, I was shocked when you didn’t recognize him). Also compared to the other Travis Scott projects this albums sounds very confused and lost in emotion (in a good way). Rodeo is very driven and aggressive, Birds is very melancholy and drugged out, Astroworld very optimistic. All of his projects production are very cohesive in the emotions they conjure from song to song so this might help. ( dude go listen to rodeo. I almost wrote my thesis on it. It’s a major part of hip hop history. It’s like a baroque industrial trap opera narrated by TI Integral to art rap as you would call it. ) Anyways I know this comment might get hate or memed on because I mention autism. But as someone who has worked with and been around people with autism my entire life I think it’s important that we consider their perspective and take it seriously.

One thing that adds a lot of context to this album is the fact that Travis Scott started his career as a producer for kanyes yeezus album, so they have probably inspired each other as opposed to Kanye just blankly being The influence and Travis The influenced

AVAA What did you think of Teezo Touchdowns feature? Many people said that it reminded them of Freddie Mercury. I think he will become very big

Not review related, but our cat experiences couldn’t be more different haha. My cat always runs to the front door and rolls over when i get home. regardless, AVAA!

I think you may have skipped commentary for Track 2 "THANK GOD"

Ye does say get off the gram on Closed on Sunday. Also Modern Jam feels so much like I am a god bc the beat is the original demo

Reese’s McPieces is a slept on thing you said here

FYI a bunch of these songs are actual throwaways from earier versions of Donda. Thank God, God's Country, and Telekenisis are all from Kanye's vault. The drums from Modern Jam were originally produced for Yeezus (I Am a God) supposedly by Travis.

u should listen to the new blp kosher album, its such a fun listen i think u might enjoy it! avaa

not sure if you go into this by the end of the video but didnt want to forget to comment this. another reason why being a kanye clone is a little better in taste on utopia is because of how it links back to his beginnings as a musician. ofcourse the album that thematically goes into the pressure hes experienced since his break through into the music industry heavily includes "influence" from his first experience IN the industry, ye. i mean he literally uses the good morning drum on “FE!N”, an old “I Am a God” instrumental, two scrapped ye songs, a “Black Skinhead” interpolation the ye influence seems really intentional. if i wasnt so keen on finishing the video i could go into how that ties into the importance of the "future sounds" he explores on telekinesis and how thats symbolic of his acceptance of self and a new wave he wants to embrace for himself - but i am keen, so maybe ill reply to this comment after im done. luv u professor skye

Your Sza take is wild! Imo she’s the best feature on the album

the interstitial point of dialogue (44:15) is actually a woman and Drake conversing !

I'm so happy you've reviewed this. It's a massive cultural event and more of a blockbuster album. Please review/talk about Astroworld. The cohesion in Astroworld's tracklist is amazing, and where Utopia lacks.

AVAA Professor GOAT

Professor Skye is back kitty kat

AVAA Professor! Loved the opinion

Yeah this Ye thing is weird. Professor please listen to Travis earlier work especially Rodeo. This has always been Travis sound, it’s really weird hearing you say that. I guarantee your review would be different. Travis has always contributed to genre including Yeezus.

HEY, I like remote control!

Prof is scared of the 6😂 AVAA

Welcome back from your trip! Also Day 158 of Asking you to Review Achilles Come Down by Gang of Youth

Do you think westside gunn featuring on this album will be a catalyst for westside gunn becoming a more mainstream artist? Or do you think his sound is too unique for casual listeners to appreciate? AVAA

He's back and talking about Ye and Trav! we are eating!

You likely are getting a vinyl. Which cover are you getting?

Way ahead of u, got onto sampling those 'expensive's before u finished the sentence 😅

Professor Skye goat

36:54 the french professor just say bon - iver WRONG how did this happen?! omg he just said it wrong again omgg

That was Drake being corny at the end of Sirens

Here for the 21 savage impersonator AVAA

I think you're forget about tlop, that was kanye first really long album, so arguing tbst set this path would make more sense (especially since it was a much better album than donda, possibly yes best)

👍👍

interacting interacting

Avaa!

Since I'm a dog on this channel, I say that it'd be an utopia if the algo-cat could imagine to sleep undisturbed all the time while I'm barking! Cat, wake up! I don't know anything about Travis Scott, and honestly I don't get why everybody is talking about this album so much. I tried to listen to it, and I just don't get it. But tomorrow I will continue watching your essay and I'll try to figure it out better.

I know you mention this a few times in your review, but the lack of any actual themes or consistent thought in any of these songs really turned me off. Other than the general idea of a “hype” song or a “sad” song or a “rager,” their really isn’t any consistent message in any of these songs. With that being said, I might be looking at it from the wrong angle. I appreciate your positive perspective and I’m probably gonna try to revisit the album with a less-critical eye… Perhaps it’s this years largest “turn your brain off” album and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Bloated Masterpieces are like Carl Havoc: THERE’S TOO MUCH F’in S ON ME! AVAA

Love the review as always! I find Utopia an incredibly interesting album sonically. Then an incredibly dull album lyrically unfortunately. If Travis Scott could spit bars wow what an artist he'd be

AVAA!!

AVAA I will interject that his attitude towards safety at his event was an issue we need accountability period. I could go into the behind the scenes stuff but its just sad

I saw someone else say this and it reflected how I felt about this album scarily accurately: “The new Travis Scott sounds amazing, it's as exquisitely curated as ever, but the vacuous emptiness at its core where a real person should be is now so glaring it's almost unnerving. He creates these massive, expensive canvases and uses them to express literally nothing. It's honestly eerie, how Scott manages to avoid conveying any actual thoughts, opinions, insights, or even really basic humanity. There's no worldview in a Scott verse, no perspective or lived experience. Every verse is an empty stream of predictive text."

First way to long Mega-Album in this time was Drakes Scorpion I guess

Bon eye-ver 😭😭😭😭😭😭

15:55

I will let this album age and play it when I get old and even let my grandkids know that this is what hiphop sounded like back in 2023 lol. No like fr. This album is something else.

AVAA!

the outro on sirens is drake not trav and i think hes leaning into how corny he is so i didnt think it was that bad i thought it was kinda funny hahaha

kitty cts fed

skye! AVAA, you have to, HAVE TO, cover travis scott’s rodeo, it’s his seminal work and more original and better than utopia by far

19:00

Hi

I think the drake feature was very good

40:10 Im a producer haha Ill remix that into a beat, but where can I send it for you to hear it?

AVAA professor

Me doing something! avaa

Cactus Jack is a hardcore wrestler aka mankind, mick foley

Feed the cat

W

I believe nobody in hip hop can create a deeper and more psychadelic atmosphere than Travis Scott. His music has a grandness and melodic complexity that is unmatched IMO. The production has a LOT to do with it. He takes just enough risks to be real needle mover in the hip hop sound. He’s continuously evolved his sound over time. And refused to taint his discography with something forgettable.

travis and tom brady are friends that's why he mention him a lot