Rapper/ Producer Travi$ Scott has been gaining a lot of hype in the past couple of years. It all started with him having a couple producer credits on Kanye West's last LP, Yeezus, an album I didn't love, but did enjoy the beats that Travi$ brought to the table. He then followed this up with a couple of mixtapes and guest appearances... all of which I was thoroughly unimpressed with. Still, I was eager to see what Travi$ would bring to the table on his major label debut, and I've gotta say, I'm really digging it.
This has a lot to do with how well this album flows, Travi$ has a really good handle on how to pace an album, going from more energetic tracks like "Piss On Your Grave" to "Antidote", for example. Also, his production, and just the production in general is fantastic on Rodeo. To the point that this is probably my second favorite production on any hip hop album this year, second only to Kendrick's latest album. It is also worth noting how some of these tracks have complete beat changes; such as the excellent one on "Oh My Dis Side" a track that I absolutely adored both sides of.
On top of that, Travi$ has even given us a bit of a concept to untangle. Periodically, T.I. provides narration, which seems to paint the picture of a youth, who by some need to escape dives into a life of hedonism, which the songs do wonderful job of describing and bringing to life. A track like "Nightcrawler" for example, with it's refrain of "We want money, we want hoes, we want alcohol/ All these hundreds all these thousands Imma spend it all" shows how deep this character is in the midst of his mindless desire. Or, even the slightly goofy "Piss On Your Grave" shows how this lifestyle can make a person a lot more violent and irreverent.
I may be looking to far into this album, after all, a lot of people will look at this album an just see yet another trap/ southern flavored rap album with autotuned vocals and a rapper who sounds a lot like Kanye. But I couldn't help but get swept up in this album's intoxicating beats and well written hooks.
I know a lot of people won't (and aren't) enjoying this album, and that is understandable, it is a pretty big shift from the last two projects, and some of the songs run pretty long; however, I think the people saying this album lacks ambition are really not giving it the time it deserves. Because if this album is anything, it's ambitious, and to me at least, well worth listening to.
8.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment