In light of the anger I and many others felt from Travis Scott having to postpone the Circus Maximus concert in Chicago, I’ve decided to do an honest review of UTOPIA and report how excited I was to see it. UTOPIA is Travis Scott’s fourth album and it was released on July 28 . After a difficult five years since the release of ASTROWORLD in 2018, UTOPIA was made to show the world “that Utopia is real,” according to Scott himself on PINUP Magazine. First revealed in a post on instagram in early July 2020, UTOPIA is unique and very cool to listen to, and it’s one of my favorite albums ever released overall. I’m going to review [what to me are] 10 key songs on the album since there are so many to go through.

HYAENA

I really love this song. I think it’s a good opener for an album like UTOPIA. “The situation we are in at this time / neither a good one, nor is it so un blessed / it can change, it can stay the same” right at the start of this song tells us the base story of this album; despite being trapped in any sort of state, you can always find utopia. This song explores themes of chaos and gives a feeling of being trapped and having to fight your way through it, as explained by lines like: “This sh*t is outta control / I’m driving through Hell and I done brought snow” at the start of the song, and the ending narration of: “For I knew I had to rise above it all / or drown in my own sh*t.” This song was produced by Scott and very well known producer Mike Dean and samples Proclamation by Gentle Giant and Maggot Brain by Funkadelic. I rate this song a 8.5/10 normally, but in terms of the excitement of this being an opener for the concert, I would give it a 9/10.

MODERN JAM (featuring Teezo Touchdown)

This is in my top 3 favorite songs on this album, and is also #3 on the track list. I absolutely love the drums and the production on this song, which uses an original version of rapper Kanye West’s song I Am A God and draws much influence from West’s album, Yeezus. At first, I didn’t like this song. When I first listened to this album in July, I actually kind of hated this song, but it wasn’t because of Scott; it was because of Teezo Touchdown’s verse. Touchdown is a fairly new rapper on the scene, with his first album, How Do You Sleep at Night, only having been released September 8th, 2023, which was a month and a half after the release of UTOPIA. His vocal performance on MODERN JAM is annoying to me. It’s shrill and something jarring on first listen. But the more I was forced to listen to it by my boyfriend, the more I started to like the song as a whole, including Touchdown’s verse. Although it’s not my favorite, I can vibe with the feature when I listen to it. In terms of concert excitement, I’d rate this song a 8/10, but overall I’d give it an 8.5/10.

MY EYES

Immediately following MODERN JAM, this song is one that didn’t originally catch my attention, despite being one with a more somber, slow instrumental that switches into a fast paced instrumental in the second half. This song starts off with Scott discussing his struggles and things he’s had to overcome in life, talking about sensitive topics like love and personal issues. The faster half of the song talks in an almost bragging tone about his perspective on life and his childhood. The beginning half’s vocals were done by Justin Vernon, the frontman of the band Bon Iver, which helps Scott convey the feelings of lovelessness he feels despite having lots of money. This song samples Over There, which was made by Amber Mary Bain, who is professionally known as The Japanese House. Bain’s name is a reference to the home she stayed in as a child during the summer, where she spent a week posing as a boy and had a romantic experience with a girl next door. On repeat listens, I realize that I actually like this song. The instrumental is unique and enjoyable to listen to, I just wish that there was a more fluid transition. The slow music fades and the beat of the fast instrumental starts, quickly followed by the fast rapping and the rest of the music. Solid 7/10 in general and a 5/10 for concert excitement.

GOD’S COUNTRY

GOD’S COUNTRY is the shortest song on the album, actually being a long snippet of an unreleased song. It’s a psychedelic-trap-rap song that seems to be talking about Scott’s mental issues and his problems with addiction. He seems to be saying that God is in control through the line: “It ain’t up to you no more / God’s Country, this is war.” He references his issues with alcohol through the line: “Wakin’ up, I see the light / I been drunk and it’s alright.” I don’t like this song. It’s not my taste in instrumental and delivery. I don’t have a problem with the topic or that it’s a snippet, but I simply don’t like the song itself. 4/10 in general and 2/10 in terms of anticipation for the concert. 

MELTDOWN

MELTDOWN is the third most streamed song on the album on Spotify, likely due to the feature: Drake. Drake, born Aubrey Drake Graham, is a 37 year old rapper and singer who rose to fame on the 2001 show Degrassi: The Next Generation, who presently has nearly 83 million monthly listeners on Spotify. MELTDOWN is divided into three parts. Both Scott and Drake rap about being on top in the music industry as well as having shots thrown at artists like Pharrell Williams and Pusha T by Drake. In the third part of the song, the instrumental is slowed and has no lyrics. I like this song’s “bad-bitch” type of energy. It’s full of flexing and takes shots at competitors, which I normally would think isn’t a great move, but this song just evokes a certain energy in me. I’d give this song a solid 8/10 for both concert excitement and general thoughts and feelings towards it.

FE!N (featuring Playboi Carti)

FE!N is a high energy and aggressive “rage” song about success and risk taking, with the word “fein” meaning to depend on or greatly want, most often referring to drugs. This song was produced by Scott and Jahaan Sweet, and was co-written by Scott, Sweet, and Sheck Wes, who provided guest vocals on the version of the song shown in the movie Scott made alongside UTOPIA called Circus Maximus. FE!N charted at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Scott’s 14th song to reach the top 10 and is Carti’s highest-charting track. “The career’s more at stake when you in / your prime” talks about the fragility of success and the pressures you face having so much fame, and reminds me of the intense backlash he faced from the ASTROWORLD catastrophe not even two years before. In contrast, Carti’s verses express his more carefree approach to his fame, talking about living in the present and having a risk-taking and confident attitude. Wes’s cut verse contains a rap about rising to fame and obsession from those around him and elaborating on those ideas. I think FE!N is a cool, shouting-type of song. For me, you go big or go home when singing this song. This song is a solid 8.5/10 for me. Even though it’s not one I’d normally listen to on a day to day basis, it’s a fun and enjoyable song that I’d happily listen to off this album. In terms of concert excitement, I’d give this track a solid 9.5/10 because of the aforementioned high energy and shoutability of this song.

I KNOW ?

This song talks heavily of drugs and getting drunk. The repetition of “I know” implies that he knows it’s bad for him, but he simply doesn’t care. This song is slow and somewhat sad. It talks about being so heavily addicted to alcohol and drugs that Scott doesn’t care that it’s hurting his health and brushes off all of the people that care for him, even when it means that he’s hurting them too; “tellin’ you just how I feel right now / you say it’s just the drugs, and I know / […] I lied too, way before, before / before I had you right inside my arms / then again, I could be drunk.” He talks of a girl who “ain’t really even [Scott’s] type” that he seems to sympathize with because she seems to be “losin’ herself, and [he gets] it.” Majority of this song is about his mindset while drunk. This song seems to be personal to Scott. He expresses a side of him that many are embarrassed to admit: drugs and hurting those around them as a result. It reminds me of an abusive, alcoholic/drug addicted partner that recognizes they have a problem, but “can’t do anything about it.” “Am I picture perfect or am I fried / All of that green and yellow, that drip in your eyes is tellin’” is a reference to his ex, Kylie Jenner, who he was with for four years and has two kids with, Stormi and Aire Webster. For me, this song is a 7/10 overall and 3/10 for concert excitement.

CIRCUS MAXIMUS (featuring The Weeknd & Swae Lee)

This song was a very exciting one to me. I love The Weeknd’s verse and Swae Lee’s vocals on this track. Both Weeknd and Lee’s vocals sound angelic and complement the more harsh vocals from Scott. CIRCUS MAXIMUS shares a name with the movie of the same name that was also produced by Scott that was released alongside the album. This track draws much inspiration from Black Skinhead on West’s album Yeezus. As the name suggests, this song seems to be about the entertainment industry, performers, and humanity. “A walkin’ distraction” seems to suggest how he feels like a walking attraction. Before and after many of his tours, fans have been recorded on video running after and up to Scott’s chauffeur car and banging on windows, reaching their hands inside trying to touch him, and taking pictures and videos of him without his consent. The Weeknd saying “but do you care if I was alive? / Or do you wanna be famous?” suggests that a common issue faced by those with fame is fake relationships and fame-hungry partners. I like this song a lot. The vocals are beautiful and the instrumental is similar to that of Black Skinhead, which is another song I really like. Both overall and concert excitement rating is 9/10.

LOOOVE (featuring Kid Cudi)

I really like this song. Kid Cudi is one of my favorite artists and has an amazing albeit short verse in this song. I think that this song is the most underrated on the album. This song has a more positive take on fame and the fanbases possessed by Scott and Cudi. The production of this song actually dates back to Scott’s 2014 mixtape, Days Before Rodeo. Rodeo is Scott’s first official album released in 2015. LOOOVE’s unique and amazing sound was produced by Scott, Williams, and Buddy Ross and was written by Scott, Cudi, and Ross. Scott talks about “feelin’ the love” and being confident in himself in lines like: “They love me, love me, love me, yeah, they love me long time,” “never-never stressin’, no, we always hit the numbers,” and Cudi’s line, “we raise our glasses, the madness,” talks about how it can be overwhelming to be so loved. This song is amazing in my opinion. I love both Scott’s and Cudi’s vocal performances and production on this track. 9.5/10 for overall rating and 8/10 for concert excitedness.

TELEKINESIS (featuring Future & SZA)

This may be a basic take for a girl, but this song is my favorite on the album. I love the gospel-y, almost angelic vocals from Scott and the (in my opinion) beautiful instrumental this song has. This song was passed around from artist to artist, originally being written as a gospel song titled Future Sounds for West’s album DONDA. The names it had are Future Bounce, Future Sounds, Ultrasounds, and eventually became TELEKINESIS when passed to Scott. This song touches on themes of resilience, determination, drugs, success, and empowerment. This song is one that talks about the future and how you can shape it yourself and overcome any obstacles that come your way. “I can see the future, it’s lookin’ like we level through the sky / I can’t wait to live in glory and eternal lasting life,” refers to looking toward the future and being hopeful for success and glory. SZA’s lines, “I got money on the line, I can’t lose if I tried / let no bitch break my stride” and “chosen, I’m gon’ bet’ on me, […] frozen, I can’t feel no heat, diamonds dancing on me” show SZA’s determination to reach a state of success and glory and fighting through the obstacles she has to face to get there. The track ends with the line, “I can see the future, I can see the future,” which looks hopefully at the future. I love this song. It sounds beautiful is an empowering song that talks about continuing on, even when it feels like you can’t anymore. Solid 10/10 for both excitement and overall.

Final Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this album. I have many favorite songs off of this album that I listen to daily, with the notable ones being TELEKINESIS, LOOOVE, and MODERN JAM. This album had a variety of sounds and features that made each song unique in its own way, whether it was high energy like FE!N or slower like I KNOW ? Overall, this album gets an 8/10, with very strong songs like TELEKINESIS, but also weaker songs like GOD’S COUNTRY. In terms of excitement, I’d give this album an overall 8/10 omitting the 2/10 and 4/10 I gave two songs on this list because other songs I didn’t cover are ones that I would be very hyped to see live like TOPIA TWINS and LOST FOREVER.