On September 4th, Travi$ Scott released his debut studio album titled Rodeo. Serving as a follow up to his past projects Owl Pharaoh and Days Before Rodeo, the 16-track LP takes us on a journey through La Flame’s lifestyle and his come up. The record also includes some heavy features from Quavo, Future, 2 Chainz, Juicy J, The Weeknd, Kacy Hill, Swae Lee, Chief Keef, Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Young Thug, Toro y Moi & ScHoolboy Q. Below is a track-to-track review of the full album. Enjoy.
1. Pornography
Travi$ starts his album off right, which is with production from Metro Boomin and Sonny Digital. Including reminiscence of Kid Cudi‘s Man On The Moon, La Flame croons over some trancing production, T.I. gives a speech, and then Scott ends the track with a more upbeat verse to kick the versatility of this album right off.
2. Oh My Dis Side (feat. Quavo)
After the amazing instrumental known as “Pornography,” La Flame blesses us with a dark trap-esque “Oh My” and then shifts into the trap ballad known as “Dis Side.” With both tracks featuring Quavo, the combination may be the greatest song on the album. The transition between the tracks is very swift and unnoticeable, how it always should be. These tracks are just very fun to listen to, which many other artists today lack. You can’t help but get goosebumps while listening to Oh My, and you can’t help but get jiggy to Dis Side.
3. 3500 (feat. Future & 2 Chainz)
3500 was the first single released off of this album. You can tell it was released to grab the attention of fans, considering it includes some of the heaviest features on the album, Future and 2 Chainz, and includes the catchiest hook hands down. 3500 is undoubtedly a high point of the album, and also did a very good job garnering attention from new people.
4. Wasted (feat. Juicy J)
The 4th track of the project is all over the place, but in a good way. It’s a flute filled trap ballad. With heavy bass on La Flame’s first verse and Pimp C‘s outstanding posthumous hooks, this one can definitely hold it’s own against the rest of the albums offerings. Juicy J also lended his talents to the track, but his verse was nothing that outspoke Scott or Pimp.
5. 90210 (feat. Kacy Hill)
Travi$ starts this song off slow but with a menacing synth creeping in the depths of the track. Jacques tells us that he’s looking for a drug connect in the alleys of Beverly Hills from a pornstar. Then we get a beat switch to a grand piano filled-instrumental that leaves us with a heavy verse from Scott to end the song off.
6. Pray 4 Love (feat. The Weeknd)
This is most definitely a fan favorite, because of The Weeknd’s feature. The 2 artists compliment each other very well. Abel’s voice is very capable of doing a great job on it’s own, so sometimes the auto-tune and effects were almost too much on his vocals. Other than that, this song is very solid as is. Scott and Abel take part in a bridge about 2/3 through the song, and it is absolutely amazing. The two harmonize perfectly.
7. Nightcrawler (feat. Swae Lee & Chief Keef)
This is a very high point for the album. Equipped with heavy features from Swae Lee (1/2 of Rae Sremmurd) and Chief Keef, Nightcrawler quickly became a fan favorite for many reasons. Swae’s bridges of crooning harmonize really well along with La Flame’s heavy hook and Keef’s realistic verse.
8. Piss On Your Grave (feat. Kanye West)
This song garnered a lot of attention and hype because of the rare Kanye West feature, however, a lot of fans seemed to be let down by his performance. The song is undoubtedly very hype, but Kanye’s contributions are so minor and mediocre that they almost go unnoticed. Nonetheless, this song is still very fun to listen to and can definitely get shit lit if ever needed.
9. Antidote
Ahhh, the song that basically defines Rodeo as a whole. The single single-handedly (no pun intended) garnered the most attention and hype for this LP. The song is put together flawlessly. Clocking in at 5 minutes in length, La Flame managed to accomplish a song that possesses hype as well as being a club anthem. Definitely a high point on the project if not the highest point. It really depends on the listener.
10. Impossible
This song is the perfect balance between mildly hype and super chill if that makes any sense. Over some chill Allen Ritter and Mike Dean production, Scott starts off the song very slow and it picks up at about 45 seconds in with a heavy back beat to support the catchy synth. This song is undoubtedly one of the most underrated songs on the project, as it usually goes unnoticed opposed to the tracks that possess heavy features.
11. Maria I’m Drunk (feat. Justin Bieber & Young Thug)
This song is probably the second most known song off of this album simply because of Justin Bieber’s and Young Thug’s heavy features. The trap ballad begins with a chilling intro leaving you amazed, and then transitions swiftly into the “I’m Drunk” part of the track, where you get “call your friends let’s get drunk” stuck in your head thanks to Scott and Thugger’s contributions on the hook. Overall, this is a very high point on the record.
12. Flying High (Toro Y Moi)
With some rare production from Pharrell as well as production from Mike Dean and Allen Ritter, Flying High is almost like an interlude in it’s own way. It differs heavily from the rest of the project, with it’s more upbeat and happier production. Toro Y Moi and Scott go hand and hand on this hook and hold it down properly. This is also a song that goes very unnoticed.
13. I Can Tell
As we close in on the last few tracks of the record, Travi$ turns it up a bit. “I Can Tell” is another trap ballad. Travi$ sings his absolutely heart out on this one, hitting notes that are unusual for the boy, yet still killing them. In my opinion, this song portrays La Flame at his best, but not his full potential. For me, this was a very high point on the album.
14. Apple Pie
Serving as the last song on the album not including the bonus tracks, “Apple Pie” is the track that leaves us hanging and wanting more. The title is a metaphor as the apple pie represents his mother’s protection, support, and identity. Travi$ explains how he doesn’t need his mothers apple pie anymore, and that he can handle everything on his own. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that just 2 years ago Travi$ wasn’t relevant or famous by any means at all. He’s new to the fame and the money, and this song portrays his emotions perfectly at this time in his life.
BONUS TRACKS:
15. Ok Alright (feat. ScHoolboy Q)
This is another one of Travi$’ two songs in one deals. The song is mixed into two halves, the first being “Ok” featuring ScHoolboy Q, and the other being “Alright,” an emotional solo ballad. With another heavy Kid Cudi influence, “Ok” is an absolute banger. With the catchy hook and heavy verses, this song is heavily underrated. Then there’s “Alright,” a very powerful track portraying the bad memories La Flame has of when he was still in the streets.
16. Never Catch Me
On the deluxe album, this track serves as the final off the LP. In my opinion, Travi$ couldn’t have ended the project any better. This song is amazing in so many ways from the production to the flow to the lyricism and all of that. The song begins with a heavy build up and breaks out into an extremely heavy verse followed by a nasty hook leaving you with chills.
Overall, this album was very well put together and definitely tops his past two releases of Owl Pharaoh and Days Before Rodeo. The main thing I took from this album is that Travi$ has drastically progressed since he came out in 2013, and he also can hold his own facing corporate studio production. I think La Flame has a very bright future because his sound is so different from everyone else’s. Great Job Travi$.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Przybyla
