The highly anticipated return of rapper Travis Scott came with his album, Utopia, this summer. The album has been regarded as the album of the year. While many view his return as one of his best albums, others think the project was too abstract and unlike his other music. Two Saint Paul’s students have now sparked debate on if the album was good or bad.  

Saint Paul’s junior Vincent Cruise believes Utopia was a hit:

When listening to Utopia, one can only be amazed at the creativity of the project. On top of this, the production is through the roof. Some critics, including NFR podcasts, have gone as far to say that it has the best production out of any hip-hop album released in the 2020s. According to Saint Paul’s junior Liam Dannel-Smith said, “It has the best production of any album this decade for sure.” 

Scott’s ability to sing and rap on any beat shines in this album. Utopia features some of the most unique beats of Scott’s discography, and his talents help turn the songs into certified bangers.

Some of the best songs are Scott’s most unique. For example, the song My Eyes is the best track on the album and features a beautiful melody that showcases Scott’s singing talents. 

The second best track on the album, Skitzo, features four different beats in one song. Scott has amazing verses on every switch of the flow and is never lacking. The feature by Young Thug is also phenomenal.

Rounding out the top 3, the song Thank God is a haunting, beautiful track in which Scott gives thanks to God for his success and fame.

All in all, Utopia was a phenomenal album that showcased Scott’s creative rapping and singing abilities on top of incredible production.

Saint Paul’s junior Andrew James believes Utopia was disappointing:

When Travis Scott said he was dropping his first album in five years, many of his fans expected to hear a style similar to Rodeo or Astroworld. However, many of the songs were far from that, as Scott took a different approach. Many of his biased fans incorrectly think the album is good, but some thought it was almost too creative. 

For example, Scott tried too hard on many of his songs, one in particular being Delresto, which featured Beyonce. It seemed like he wanted to put so many different beats in the song, which disrupted the flow in a big way. While Delresto has been pretty universally disliked, another song many were not fans of was Topia Twins with Rob49 and 21 Savage.

Like many of the songs in the album, Scott was carried by his features. In Topia Twins especially, 21 Savage was the focal point. In this song, Rob49 was extremely disappointing because his lyrics were very basic and boring. Also, Scott’s small part in the song didn’t do anything to improve it. Savage also played a significant role in the last song of the album Til Further Notice. 

Some more features that saved the album from being Scott’s worst were, Teezo Touchdown, SZA, Young Thug, Kid Cudi, and Drake. These artists should receive credit from saving the album from being an absolute flop.

Additionally, some big news that came with the album’s release was Scott’s Utopia concert, which was held at the Circus Maximus Stadium in Rome. Most of the show was awful, outside of when Kanye West came out and a 1.3 magnitude earthquake was registered. 

Saint Paul’s junior Cole Mire expressed his frustration over Scott trying to be someone he’s not. “His friendship with Kanye West was the downfall of Utopia. While West’s style of music is great and inspired a generation, Travis Scott does not know how to make that kind of music.”

As stated, Travis Scott’s newest release was, unfortunately, a bad one because of his odd approach, some disappointing features, and even Scott’s terrible performance. 

While many wrongly state that Utopia is the album of the year, there were many far superior albums this year. Just to name a few, Austin by Post Malone, or Rocket Power by Quavo.