Travis Scott – Rodeo 2LP

Description

WhileLady Gagawas working the avant side of pop, hip-hop was doing the same thing without a true figurehead. Artists fromKid CuditoA$AP Mobwere coming at the genre from all sorts of new angles, but with their feet firmly in the rap camp; then producerTravis Scottcame along, sounding likeChief Keefbut with a much broader brush, offering an attractive version of acid rap that landed him onKanye West‘s GOOD Music label with a debut album that’s so 2015 it features the ultra-hip trifecta ofFuture,the Weeknd, andJustin Bieber. Make those three a Venn diagram andScottis the man in the middle, wonderfully weird and as stylish-sounding as the first two, and yet with a slick appeal that crosses over likeBieber, which is the biggest problem for detractors: it’s all for show with no filling. Still, with lines like “Always kept my city on me like it was a Swatch” and “My dick longer than a Pringle box” over beats that honor and match edgy acts likeDeath Grips(the raw “Piss on Your Grave” featuringKanye West) andFuture(who appears alongside2 Chainzon the sprawling highlight “3500”),Rodeois an absurd wonder that thankfully works. That’s up to and includingBieber,Young Thug, andScott‘s bedroom brain-burner “Maria I’m Drunk,” which is the ultra sheen ofTaylor Swiftwith the lust ofMiguelexperienced via shrooms. “Wasted” sounds likeJuicy Jdid an album for Stones Throw, “Flying High” withToro y Moiborrows some ofSlave‘s “Slide” so the indie party people get an anthem, then the very big “90210” travels across decades’ worth of film soundtrack styles while sampling the latePimp CasT.I.narrates. Weird thatT.I.doesn’t rap, and weirder still thatScottbarely produces on this album, handing it over to returning and like-minded collaborators likeMetro Boomin, Ultra$ound, andMike Dean. His executive producer credit, however, is on point as the aesthetics of his early work are all here, and with “We designed our love, around these drugs” being the album’s most profound lyrical moment, he may not beNas, but he may beWarhol. AsKanyeandGagatry to bridge the gap between pop and art, this artist thrives in the chasm. LikeWarholsaid, “I love plastic, I want to be plastic,” and withRodeo,Travis Scottbecomes a designer drug. -All Music Guide