Travis Scott – Rodeo

Let's, for a second, set aside all the rumors and accusations surrounding Travis Scott. About him stealing music from studios in Houston or his a little too quick rise to prominence. After two mixtapes, packed with literally the biggest names in music, and now this debut album, it's fair to say Travis Scott has literally zero value as a rapper. He can just barely put words together and there's a slight chance they technically rhyme. Nine out of ten times his rhymes make no sense. Take the hook on "Skyfall." It's like madlibs with material from (Atlanta) rappers that actually matter. The track lists on his projects read like vision boards for 15-year-old hypebeasts – "Drugs, You Should Try It," "Pornography". His entire shtick is nearly impossible to grasp.
But there is an evident aspect to his music both from a distance and even to Scott's detractors that is audibly appealing. His music has some of the biggest, cleanest, crispest basslines and 808s in rap history. It's hard to not enjoy. He works with the biggest producers in Atlanta, but they're stuff doesn't sound like this on their own. He also has quite the ear for melody. Again, the words don't make any sense but it's hard to get a tune like "Mamacita" out of your head. This is also where his music differs from all the artists critics complain that he rips off. Scott's style is entirely mechanical. When you lay his vocals over bass that's already destroying subwoofers, it's just going to work. But that's not what makes Future Future. That's not what makes Young Thug Young Thug. When Future's voice curls into a whimper on "Now," you can feel the pain in his voice. It literally takes a couple bars for you to connect with him on an emotional level. That doesn't even come close to happening with Scott. Scott's music barely scrapes the top level of the hip-hop fan's pyramid of intrinsic values.
The weird thing about Rodeo that even if those are the only type of songs you expect, it's a very underwhelming listen. The songs, again, make no sense together, alone, in whatever combination. His rolodex is impressive especially considering he has copied every guest on this album's steez to a tee. The beats are lackluster. The guest verses are equally unimpressive. If anything, maybe not so much given this album but his entire career, he has quite the ability to A&R. From placing WondaGurl beats on a Jay-Z album to bringing together Quan, Migos, Longway and Thug to literally having Justin Bieber and Young Thug on a song together. He'll probably never grasp what he's doing wrong musically, but his ideas look good on paper. It doesn't help that he doesn't seem to be a good person, but it might be the best idea for him to quit trying to be an artist at all. He doesn't make beats. He's not a strong writer. He's kind of funny looking. He may, however, be the right last minute ingredient for many a rapper's albums today.