Travis Scott’s “Astroworld” dips into “psychedelia trap”

Julian Balboa/Staff Writer

“They took AstroWorld away from us in Houston.”

Houston rapper Travis Scott had been teasing “Astroworld” for a while now. In May of 2016, he hinted at tracks before the release of “ Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight” was released that same year. Scott opened for Rihanna during her “ANTI” tour when he acknowledged Astroworld’s existence by title alone to a crowd of thousands also in 2016, yet it really shows you how long this album has been in the back burner.

The title is taken from the defunct Six Flags amusement park that used to reside in Houston throughout Scott’s upbringing. You could say this album is his way of filling the void left behind when the park closed.

“Astroworld” is an experience that changes colors from song to song. Travis Scott’s brand of trap music is glossed in psychedelia. His hazy take on autotune, his reverb-drenched adlibs, the soaring synths all over the instrumentals, all these aspects make for a kaleidescopic listen.  

While he isn’t the one producing the music, he is the one with the vision. This vision of a nebulous theme park with twists and turns at almost every song, and makes “Astroworld” one of the most unique trap releases to come out in a year where the glitchy trapscape of JPEGMAFIA’s Veteran was also released. Even on album’s weaker cuts, this element remains present. “R.I.P Screw,” “Can’t Say,” “Wake Up” and “NC-17” are examples of this.

Though, the moments where the psychedelic influence is full-frontal is on the album’s opening track, Stargazing. It exceeds every expectation one would have for the opener to an album. It lays down the groundwork for a very spacey trap album, it introduces new elements that weren’t present on previous work such as the autotuned falsetto, and it’s damn good fun from start to beat switch to end.

“Astroworld,” while a longer project like previous ones from other rappers, but more it contains hits than misses. I couldn’t pick one half of the album that goes without its highlights since its faults are spread across both sides of the record. For example, the incredulous momentum created by early highlights “Stargazing,” “Carousel,” and “Sicko Mode” make for the best succession on the album.

Unfortunately, “R.I.P. Screw” stops that momentum dead in its tracks. The next songs, “Stop Trying to be God” and “No Bystanders,” builds it back up again, but it’s an easy cut that could have been made. Moments like these are  scattered on the record: “Stop Trying to be God” to “No Bystanders” to “Skeletons” to “No Sleep,” to “5% Tint” to “NC-17.” Not to mention the transition from “Astrothunder” to “Yosemite,” which are both slow cuts that also add to the psychedelic atmosphere on the album.

The guests on “Astroworld” also provide the kinds thrills on songs where Scott cannot. Frank Ocean on “Carousel,” Drake on “Sicko Mode,” 21 Savage on “NC-17” and the Weeknd and Pharrell on “Skeleton”—almost all the guest performances excel. While good guests are scattered all over, that doesn’t mean they can save a bad song.

Swae Lee’s crooning on “R.I.P Screw” can’t save how boring the song is. “Wake Up” might as well be a Weeknd song with how much of his contributions are on the song. Nav’s verse on “Yosemite” (aside from sounding like someone noodling on a synthesizer) is mixed so low in comparison to Gunna and Travis’ vocals and the instrumental itself that whoever was responsible for adding his verse should be embarrassed for letting this go out unnoticed on an A-List release like this.

I would also like to highlight “Coffee Bean” as one of the most unique entries in Scott’s evolution as an artist. It’s a clear callback to hip hop’s roots that also sees a more introspective and emotional side of the rapper not seen too often. Above all, it’s the instrumental that caught me off guard. It still has his signature tinge of psychedelia, but it takes a lengthy page from the age of boom bap era hip hop. Scott’s technical skills as a rapper are also on display here, sounding very much at home on the beat.

“Astroworld” is hands down Travis Scott’s best album and made a fan out of a non-believer. In a year of veteran artists putting out some of their best albums to date, this is the one that surprised me the most. It’s not a perfect album by any means, but it is indeed the most enjoyable trap album of the year so far.

7.5/10