Five whole years fans have waited for Travis Scott to release UTOPIA, and on July 28, 2023, the wait was finally over. Travis Scott is easily one of the most famous rappers in the industry as of right now. His newest album, UTOPIA only adds to his already solid discography, alongside ASTROWORLD, and Rodeo, both widely popular albums made by Travis Scott. But how does UTOPIA compare to these? How does it compare to the modern-day landscape of albums released this year?
Without a doubt, UTOPIA is considered a great album by many people, not just in the rap industry but throughout the entire music industry. Fans love it, admiring the production that went into it and the quality of the songs. “The album was inspirational; it was a perfect blend of Kanye West’s production and style with Travis Scott’s own spin on it.”- Anonymous. Containing a wide variety of features, melodies, beats, and creativity when it comes to Travis Scott. Most fans of Travis Scott can agree that this is equally as good as ASTROWORLD or Rodeo, if not better when it comes to the overall album. Some notable features include Drake in MELTDOWN, 21 Savage in both TOPIA TWINS and TILL FURTHER NOTICE, Playboy Carti in FE!N, and The Weeknd in CIRCUS MAXIMUS. But when it comes down to the actual best songs from the album, there is a massive variety in opinions, but the most popular ones, in no particular order, are FE!N, MELTDOWN, HYAENA, and I KNOW?.
Along with the fantastic production, there is a heavy Kanye influence. Anyone who has ever given a good listen to Kanye and his music, could easily sense the presence of his influence. Even one of Kanye’s own songs, GOD’S COUNTRY, is on the album, which he gave to Travis for him to work with.
Now let’s look at the competition UTOPIA faces in the contest for Album of the Year. First off, Pink Tape, by Lil Uzi Vert. A highly anticipated album that let down pretty badly. With a wide range of reviews, Pink Tape is one of the most interesting albums released this year. Some people love it, and some people hate it. But in comparison to UTOPIA, it really isn’t close at all. UTOPIA has it beat overall. In comparison to UTOPIA, Pink Tape looks very weak and will most likely not be in serious running for AOTY.
Next up is Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). Is this even allowed to be in the race for AOTY? Who knows. But Swifties made sure to make it one of the most popular of this year, even with it being a re-recorded version of Taylor Swift’s Speak Now from 2010. In comparison to UTOPIA, it falls short on production but has its own special features that UTOPIA doesn’t. The thing is, these two are both vastly different albums that have their own downsides and upsides. Therefore, UTOPIA is still in stride to win.
Finally, another pretty highly anticipated album is Austin, by Post Malone. Austin is a unique album, with Post exploring a bit of the country genre. It doesn’t really feel like stuff Post has put out in the past, but rather his own experimental project that he had fun with. However, it is not hugely popular, giving UTOPIA a better cause at winning.
UTOPIA has the best case so far at winning Album of the Year, not just because of the lack of other good albums, but because of how good and unique it is. Overall, UTOPIA is a juggernaut in this year’s running for AOTY. Anyone who released an album this year better have made it good or hope for a miracle if they want to beat it out.