By: Dylan Gandee

Over 500,000 copies of his latest album sold in the first week alone! He has worked with extremely famous and respected artists like Drake, The Weeknd, Migos, Pharrell, Frank Ocean, and many more! Not only did his latest album, Astroworld, hit #1 on the the Billboard hot 200 album charts, but his other albums, such as Rodeo and BITTSM, hit the charts at very high numbers as well. He has put out hit songs like Sicko Mode, Stargazing, and Antidote. Travis Scott is a giant figure in the hip-hop industry, and an artist who is not disappearing anytime soon.

Although I mentioned more than one Travis Scott album in the previous paragraph, I will only be reviewing Travis Scott’s debut album, Rodeo (the deluxe version) in this article. Travis Scott has two mixtapes and three other albums currently out, but our focus will be on Rodeo for now. I am definitely open to reviewing more Travis Scott projects in the future, however.

If you are coming into Travis Scott’s music thinking it’s just bland and basic hip-hop, you’re completely wrong, because it is anything but that. Though it only sold 85,000 copies during its first week of being released in 2015, Rodeo certainly put Travis’s name on the map as a force to be reckoned with in the music game, which caused his sales to only go up from there for his future projects and releases. Although only 16 tracks long, the album seems like it is the length of 20+ songs; in the best way possible.

Rodeo blends elements of trap with very experimental sounds that are not typically used in hip-hop, like heavy piano melodies, lots of electric guitars, and unique, sometimes rock-influenced percussion. On songs like “Apple Pie”, “90210”, and “Never Catch Me”, Travis uses very powerful and strong electric guitar sounds, which really separates his music from his contemporaries. On quite a few songs, he also uses very strong, spacey, and melodic pianos that add to the atmospheric feel that some of the tracks possess. To go along with these very spacious instrumentals, Travis uses a bit of autotune to harmonize with the feel of the tracks, which he does to perfection like no one else.

On other tracks like “Antidote” and “Maria I’m Drunk’ however, he implements more of a traditional hip-hop sound, but adds his own twists to the generic sounds that we here in most hip-hop music nowadays, by making use of his extremely unique vocal sounds and effects. When on tracks where he is strictly rapping, Travis almost always stays on beat and incorporates good rhythm. When on more melodic songs his vocals do not lack either, which is seen in tracks like “Impossible.”

To make his album very unique when it comes to modern hip-hop, he also basically incorporates two songs into one on some of the tracks. Many of his tracks have beat-switches, where the song seems to transition into a completely different vibe. This is executed to perfection on two songs in particular: “Oh My Dis Side” and “90210”. Both of these songs feature extremely spectacular transitions into the second parts of their respected songs that cannot be matched by anything else I have ever listened to by a hip-hop artist.

Rodeo wouldn’t be a hip-hop classic without a few tracks that are straight bangers: songs that you can throw on and listen to while working out, playing sports, or doing something else of that nature. Songs like “I Can Tell”, “Nightcrawler”, and “Antidote” are perfect for those moments. Travis knows just how to get his audience hyped, which is perfect for when/if you decide to see him live in concert.

Although there are a lot of high points in this album, Travis also has a few tracks (not many at all, though) on this album that feel a bit “out of place”, like “Flying High”, which features sounds that are audibly very cluttered, vocals that are sort of annoying and not very re-playable. There are also a few other dull moments on this album as a whole, specifically when Travis has other featured rappers laying down their “verses” over him during certain points, like how Schoolboy Q does in the song “Ok Alright” during the chorus, even though the song as a whole is still a pretty solid track. Another small criticism I have is that the track “3500” is a bit lengthy, coming in at almost 8 minutes long, which makes it sound a bit repetitive. Other than fairly minor issues, mostly all of the tracks are solid and have a lot of replay-value.

Some of the standout tracks on Rodeo that are definitely classic Travis Scott songs are:

• 90210: The first half of this song contains very catchy Travis Scott vocals, mixed well with the featured artist, Kacy Hill, and her beautiful voice harmonizing on top of the mellow but mesmerizing synths and electric guitars. Then, the song goes through a steady transition that still leaves me with awe, when the slow instrumental is turned into a nice sounding piano rap instrumental, where Travis starts to rap on with great success. Travis’s rapping on here is so consistent and mesmerizing; it is definitely something that hip-hop fans have to hear.
• Oh My Dis Side: This is another song that Travis basically turns into two songs. The first part of the track is “Oh My”, and the second “Dis Side”; combining to make “Oh My Dis Side”. “Oh My” samples a slow guitar that one is bound to remember. Travis raps/sings with autotune on this track, with the help from Migos member Quavo, where they rap about their come up in the rap game. As the song transitions, we get to hear beautiful ambient noises that give the track a very nice atmospheric feeling. On the second half of the track, the “Dis Side” part, the duo seem to rap about being humble, or rather dealing with the fame of being a rapper, which is a great sequel to their lyrics about coming up during the beginning of the track. Overall, this track has solid verses from both Travis and Quavo, over a blissful instrumental, fused together with a transition that is executed fantastically.
• Impossible: This track is a slower song that features Travis Scott rapping/singing about his struggles with a girl, and how his struggles make him feel trapped and stuck. The chorus of this song always gets stuck in my head: “Nights like this, nights like this, I wish I could do the impossible.” If you are going through a rough time, or just want a track to lay down and think about life to, then Travis has got you covered with this amazing song.

Talking about the album as a whole, Travis’s vocal melodies, as well as his rapping and overall flow are executed very well throughout the whole project. Ontop of just Travis, the features on this album are something to be in awe about as well, since he has people like The Weeknd, Kanye West, and Justin Bieber featured on records. Overall, Rodeo is an extremely great album that is definitely worth a listen.

Rating: 9/10

If you have already listened to this album, leave a review of it in the comments. If you have not listened to it yet, I strongly recommend that you do, especially if you are a hip-hop fan.