Album Review: Astroworld

Album+Review%3A+Astroworld

Giovanni Quintal, Sports and Entertainment Correspondent

Coming in as easily the most hyped up albums of 2018, I rate Astroworld an above average score of 7.5 out of 10. Travis Scott’s third studio album, Astroworld, released on August 3, 2018. The album, which was first announced in 2016 was easily the most hyped release of 2018. Travis Scott, a Grammy-nominated artist, features some notable names such as Frank Ocean, Drake, Gunna, Swae Lee and many more on his 17 track album. Astroworld saw a release, unlike any other Travis Scott album. The album topped off at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and all tracks charting on the Billboard hot 100 at the same time. Even with all the notable features and hype surrounding this album, I do not believe that Astroworld is even Travis Scott’s best album, let alone rap album of the year. However, Astroworld is not a bad album by any means. A few of the tracks on Astroworld are lead by other artists. For example, the highest charting song of the album at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Sicko Mode”, sounds more like a Drake song for more than half of the track. I think this is because in Astroworld, Travis Scott goes for more of a mainstream sound, as evident in a Drake featured song. Travis Scott also features a few upcoming artists like Juice WRLD and Sheck Wes. There really is something for everyone in Astroworld. From the start, the album’s pace is set with the track “Stargazing”. Astroworld has a lot of energy throughout its tracks. However, the album ends with a few slower tracks like “Coffee Bean”. The way the album progresses is, in my opinion, the best part of the album. It’s easy to listen to the whole album all way through, as the tracks lead into each other very well. There are enough decent songs to tell that Astroworld was not rushed. Astroworld features many iconic songs that listeners will not forget. Travis Scott shows a lot of versatility in his songs, going from a hype club track like “Sicko Mode” to a slower intimate style in “Coffee Bean”. My favorite song on the album is Yosemite, which features Gunna and Nav. The beat in “Yosemite” is simple yet effective in creating a nice vibe that has a lot of replay value. Yosemite does everything right in creating a catchy rap song that involves all three rappers that are on the track.

 

In my opinion, the worst song on Astroworld is easily “NC-17”, which features rap artist 21 Savage. “NC-17” just sounds like it would have been better left off the album. The song’s flow is borderline annoying to listen to, and 21 Savage’s verse sounds incredibly boring and flat. This does not take away from the scope of Astroworld. There are many reoccurring themes in the album that remind you that this is Travis Scott’s album, such as the numerous shoutouts to Houston, Scott’s hometown. These personalized themes of Houston and Travis Scott’s life create a special feeling in Astroworld. You can tell Scott cared a lot about putting out a good album, and he did. Travis Scott succeeds in putting out an album that fans, old and new, can appreciate and love, as evident in the number one spot on the Billboard charts. In my opinion, Travis Scott is one of the best artists to hit the mainstream. He is a genuinely talented artist who has proven himself as one of the best artists of today, and Astroworld encompasses Travis Scott’s vision. As one of the most relevant faces in rap, Travis Scott is definitely deserving of the praise that he gets.