Despite being part of some of the biggest anthems in rap over the past five years, Travis Scott's music has always contained some mesmerizing levels of depth and darkness. The haunting sense of a deeply troubled conscience always rests underneath the surface of his songs, and this quality is what makes us so infatuated with his work. Though his brilliance has been well affirmed on many occasions, we still haven't received a start-to-finish classic from the 26-year-old Houston artist, that is, until now, with his unprecedentedly anticipated new body of work here. There are essentially no lapses throughout the seventeen-track behemoth that is ASTROWORLD, and that is an especially remarkable feat considering this current trend of either shorter and sweet projects (Ye, Kids See Ghosts) or overly lengthy albums (Scorpion). Travis enlists superstars (Drake, The Weeknd, Migos), up-and-comers (Juice WRLD, 21 Savage, Sheck Wes), modern geniuses (Frank Ocean, Tame Impala, James Blake, Kid Cudi), and even the legendary Stevie Wonder for the project, and this diversification of collaborators brings out his best on all these works. (Executive producer Mike Dean helps ensure fluidity and coherency throughout the active, erratic sonic ride as well.) There is much to be said about this record, but, overall, ASTROWORLD is the Travis Scott album we've been waiting for for years, and it has absolutely raised the bar for rap in 2018. Stream it now.
Travis Scott