Travis Scott – Astroworld

After the release of the acclaimed Rodeo back in 2015, it seemed like Travis Scott was the on his way to become one of the best in the buisness. Three years and two albums later, it looks a bit different. Neither one of those follow-up releases came even close to matching his debut. Astroworld was meant to be different: the big, ambitious album that proves that Rodeo wasn’t a fluke, and establishes Travis as a major player on the scene. Well, it did one of those things.

The biggest flaw of Astroworld is that it sits on the fence between artistic credibility and the desire to top the charts. Travis took the Drake route: the album has 17 tracks, is almost an hour long and features a ton of features (Frank Ocean, Kid Cudi, The Weeknd, Quavo and Takeoff… and the list goes on and on). It looks kind of exciting on paper, but in reality the album offers very little to justify such a long runtime. The best tracks here are the two opening and two closing tracks (especially Houstonfornication). But among 13 tracks inbetween these, it’s really hard to find anything compelling. Skeletons and 5% Tint are pretty dope, and so is Stop Trying To Be God (a James Blake feature automatically makes a song 100% better), but the rest is mostly filler (Butterfly Effect or NC-17). Luckily, there are almost no songs that are complete trash, with the exception of Wake Up. So yeah, you can say that Astroworld keeps a somewhat steady level. But the same thing could be said about Drake’s Scorpion, so I guess that’s not really a compliment.

There are some cuts here that could potentially make a decent 6-7 song EP, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that there’s a shitload of filler on Astroworld. Listening to it in its entirety feels like an exhausting chore. It’s a shame really, because I still think that Travis Scott is an extremely talented rapper. I would love to hear him do a focused, short but sweet album in the vein of Kanye’s most recent efforts. Meanwhile, Astroworld could very well be Travis’ most commercially succesful album, but that bloated mess of a record feels like an artistic flop.

5/10

Denzel Curry – TA13OO

There was a lot of pressure on Denzel before the release of his new album – after all, it’s really hard to follow an album like Imperial with something equally brilliant. The bar was set really high, but Curry met all the expectations – TA13OO is among the best releases of the year, and showcases an artist fully aware of his potential (and making the most of it).

While TA13OO is a concept album, it doesn’t really mean it’s very cohesive. That’s my biggest issue with it – the tracklisting seems a bit chaotic and weird, and I’m not sure it was really necessary to divide the record into three “acts”. Although to be fair, there is a bit of a concept present here, as the songs get more and more dark and agressive deeper into the album. So yeah, it feels a bit chaotic (maybe it was intentional), and that’s really the only problem I have with this record. Because the songs are executed perfectly – it’s one banger after another.

The opening title track features a gorgeously catchy chorus. The beautiful melody is contrasted by the rather disturbing lyrics to create a jaw-dropping effect. It’s one of the best things I’ve heard all year, but it’s not even the best track on this album. That title belongs to Black Balloons. The Kendrick Lamar influence is obvious here (the song would be a perfect fit on TPAB, both in terms of sound and quality), but Denzel has enough personality and character to give the track a unique twist (the features are great as well). Cash Maniac has great vocals delivered by Nyyjerya, while Curry’s verses are perfectly on point. The following Sumo is a track that we’ve known for a while, and it still totally slaps – a model example of a trap banger.

Act Two opens up with another banger, but Super Saiyan Superman might be actually the worst track on the album, as it feels a bit mindless. Luckily, the following streak of three songs is so damn good – especially Switch It Up, where Denzel’s delivery comes close to perfection –  It’s focused, manic and sharp. Clout Cobain is a take on emo rap, and while Denzel does it much better than most of his contemporaries, it still comes off as one of the weakest tracks here.

The third act is the most brutal and disturbing, sometimes it sounds like borderline industiral. Percs is the obvious highlight here, and so is Vegneance, featuring a frantic verse by JPEGMAFIA. On the other hand, The Blackest Balloon is the closest thing this album has to a filler track, and I’m still not quite sold on Black Metal Terrorist (although it works brilliantly as a closer).

Just like Imperial was, TA13OO is a must-listen. In case any of you are still sleeping on Denzel – you’re making a huge mistake. Dude has released two albums that are bound to be future classics, and he’s still only 23! It’s frightening to think just how good he’s gonna be in a few years’ time.

8/10

Lil Yachty – Lil Boat 2

Alright, here’s the deal with trap rap: it has to stop. The industry is totally oversaturated with releases that are simply bad and underwhelming. That’s the general opinion and I totally agree with it. That being said, every once in a while an album comes along that balances everything pretty well and is actually quite enjoyable. And Lil Boat 2 is that album.

Of course it’s far from being a masterpiece, but it definitely doesn’t deserve all the hate and negativity. Yachty’s lyrics ain’t profound and the production isn’t groundbreaking, but he never aimed for that. This record is filled with short bangers, full of catchy hooks, heavy basslines and hillarious ad-libs (seriously, it’s getting ridiculous now). It’s a party record, and it serves its purpose great. Yachty can obviously rap really well, the features  are on point (especially 2Chainz and Quavo). Within 45 minutes it encapsulates everything about modern rap, the good and the bad. BOOM!, Talk To Me Nice and NBAYoungBoat are among the highlits here, and are quite representative of the entire album’s quality. If you didn’t like these tracks, don’t bother listening to the whole thing.

I can perfectly understand all the hate towards trap (and I genuinely hope the genre will start to fade away soon). However, I will defend Lil Yachty at every occasion, because he truly is one of the better artists that the genre has to offer. Lil Boat 2 is not a decade-defining record, but it’s well-made and it serves its purpose well. Go check it out, it’s definitely a worthy listen.

7/10