R&B/Hip-Hop
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Kanye West has kept a low profile for much of this year after spending the latter part of 2022 on a bizarre media tour in which he repeatedly made antisemitic remarks that led to the near-total meltdown of his once formidable fashion and music empire, and, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a rise in antisemitic […]
Hip-Hop is turning 50 this year, and so am I.
I grew up fully immersed in the world of Hip-Hop and, like many other people, I don’t know anything else. Fifty years on, our culture rightly reminisces about and celebrates the iconic songs, performers, and cultural moments from over the years – but for me, and so many others, Hip-Hop is about more than just the music.
For me, it is the lens through which I view the world. I am a student of KRS-One. “Rap is something you do. Hip-Hop is something you live,” KRS famously said. That expansive view of the word, the sound, the dance, the visual art, the fashion, the business politics, philosophy, technology is what defines me.
Hip-Hop to me is, of course, the foundational “Four Elements” that we all recognize: MCing, B-Boy/B-B-Girling aka Breakdancing, Graffiti and DJing. But beyond these core tenants of the genre, it’s about so much more. Hip-Hop is about the energy and will of the people that cannot be stopped or controlled by any external system – and how we define and create the Culture on our own terms.
It is also how A.I. (Allen Iverson) played basketball. How he arrived at the games, with his hair braided by his mother. How the league changed the dress code to control his expression only to birth an even more powerful expression of fashion and expression we see today.
Hip-Hop was how Barack Obama moved on stage with Michelle and the family. The syncopation of his voice and the pregnant pauses caused the world to hang on his every word with the way he delivered a speech – it felt like rhyming. If he wanted to, Barack would have been an ill MC. Just as I imagine if Hov wanted to run for office he could be Mayor. It is this energy – that multifaceted, multidisciplinary power of Hip-Hop that BRIC looks to celebrate this year and for years to come.
2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop, a huge moment for the Culture. But what happens after the big weekend of celebrations planned for the summer? At BRIC, we’ve been having thoughtful conversations about our own contributions to this moment, particularly with my background as the founder of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop festival and BRIC’s rich history as a place for artistic exploration, incubation, and presentation. As a leading Brooklyn arts and media institution whose work spans contemporary visual and performing arts, media, and civic action, BRIC is uniquely positioned to plug into this moment across the spectrum of arts and culture. For over 40 years, our institution has shaped Brooklyn’s cultural and media landscape by presenting and incubating artists, creators, students, and media makers. As a creative catalyst for our community, we ignite learning in people of all ages and centralize diverse voices that take risks and drive culture forward.
I’m excited to share that, this fall, BRIC is launching a new curatorial lens called BRIC Hip-Hop. Across the organization, we’ve united around an ethos and a mission of creating an evergreen home for the education, expression, and evolution of Hip-Hop. Our programmatic focus will join others in the space by giving Hip-Hop a home for incubation, debate, and development not just during anniversary years, but for many years to come.
In many ways, Hip-Hop culture is built into the DNA of BRIC. For decades, it’s been central to how we operate, how we coordinate, how we curate. On the surface, we may not be here B-Boying or bombing trains, but we operate under the same tenets and philosophies that have fueled Hip-Hop culture for half a century. The fundamental idea is that we use arts, culture and education to communicate and build with our community. It is how we show up for the people—of all races and spaces, of all ages and means—every year, not just this year. Hip-Hop is how we grow, why we adapt, and what we hope to embody in the future. We institutionalize the spirit, diversity and beating heart of Hip-Hop into BRIC’s programming and through BRIC’s team.
We do this because it matters. Hip-Hop is innate to us, but it is also a choice. It is a choice to be multidisciplinary, to embrace art and creation in its many forms. It is a choice to be anti-racist, to embrace people from all walks of life who have found comfort and possibility in the enduring strength of community. It is a choice to be feminist, not to be ageist or transphobic or limit access because of a disability, but to view and operate with a goal of equality and equity of power, purpose and possibility.
By institutionalizing Hip-Hop, by ingraining it into everything we do, we’re seeking to build on its legacy and protect it for generations to come. We are celebrating the past by making entry points for creation in the present to better our collective futures. Maybe you’re a teenager. Maybe you’re a toddler. Maybe you’re grandparents. Maybe you’re from Flatbush or Park Slope or Bed-Stuy. It doesn’t matter. All are welcome.
New York is the birthplace of the Culture and we want to make sure people don’t forget about Brooklyn’s contributions to the story of Hip-Hop, both past and present. Many people walked up and down Fulton Street, from Masta Ace and Big Daddy Kane to Yasiin Bey to HOV himself for clothes, fame, and inspiration. And like those that came before us, we want to come together, cut through the madness of the world and do something real.
We’re beyond excited to share this new vision for BRIC’s contributions to the Hip-Hop space with our communities this fall and in the years to come. BRIC Hip-Hop will be a waystation for scholars, tourists, and artists this year and well into the future. Come join us at the Lena Horne Bandshell or at BRIC House, come down to the stoop, and find your place, whether it be something familiar or new. We can’t wait to have you be a part of the BRIC Hip-Hop conversation.
Wes Jackson has over 25 years of experience as a leader and innovator in entertainment and academia, previously working at Emerson College, The City University of New York, and consulting for Jazz At Lincoln Center. He is a Trustee of the Brooklyn Public Library and Board Chair of the Brooklyn Crescents, and has been leading BRIC — a multi-disciplinary arts and media institution anchored in Downtown Brooklyn — as its President since July 2022. On August 11 & 12, BRIC will commemorate Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary with free music performances, screenings, and more in Brooklyn at Prospect Park. Visit here for details.
The Sunday of summer is right around the corner and as the season begins to wind down, we’ve got a mellow roundup of Fresh Picks this week to help usher you into August. There’s an even mix of rap and R&B this week with Amindi, tobi lou and Frsh Waters representing the former while Tyla, Hamzaa and Josiah Bassey slow things down a bit. Regardless, you’re bound to have at least one of these songs on repeat to help power you through the week.
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Don’t forget to check out our July picks in the Spotify playlist, linked below.
Freshest Find: Frsh Waters feat. Ohana Bam & Benjamin Earl Turner, “Grace look good”
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Frsh Waters has been giving himself grace. Sampling Omar Apollo’s “Evergreen,” the Chicago rapper recruits Ohana Bam and Benjamin Earl Turner for a boom-bap rap song about “a combination of overdue compassion and damage control,” Frsh tells Billboard. “It’s checkin’ to let folks know we all need grace. Benjamin set the perfect scene [and] me and Ohana took up the challenge to fill in the details.”
Amindi, “diddy crop”
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Amindi’s new single “diddy crop” is inspired by her fondness of the mogul’s habit of cropping people out of photos. “P. Diddy is notorious for skillfully editing people out of his photos, and I think it’s hilarious and valid,” she shares in a press release. The Inglewood rapper-singer describes her sound as “pastel rap” due to how she pairs songwriting with her soft sound. “Diddy crop” is a perfect example of this and will appear on her upcoming mixtape Take What You Need.
tobi lou, “Some Things”
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“I am a problem, and I feel like this song reflects that,” says tobi lou. Combining an uptempo beat with witty bars, the Chicago artist releases “Some Things” a week after his Rolling Loud Miami performance, where he previewed the song.
Tyla, “Water”
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South African musician Tyla blended R&B and amapiano for her new track “Water.” “Make me sweat, make me hotter/ Make me lose my breath, make me water,” she sings. The new song is the perfect backdrop to a rooftop day party or tropical vacation.
Hamzaa, “Rush”
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Hamzaa is on her healing journey. “I don’t wanna rush/I don’t wanna get into a fuss… Can’t scream anymore, can’t feel anymore,” she sings. Produced by 1SRAEL, the song appears on her new 5-song EP of the same name. “This project was born out of a discovery phase,” she writes on X (fka Twitter). “I needed to learn about who I was all over again. I needed to understand what it is I really care about… But the one thing I knew is that as urgent as getting my life together is, I cannot rush the healing process.”
Josiah Bassey, “Here”
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According to his Instagram bio, Josiah Bassey is a sincere romanticist — and his new song “Here” is proof. The single is stripped back with soothing guitar undertones that compliment his soulful singing voice. “Who cares if the stars don’t align?/ And even if the sun stops shining/ When it gets harder to try, we’ll be just fine/ ’Cause, I’ll be right here,” he sings.
Cardi B got even with a concertgoer who tossed a drink at her during the rapper’s performance in Las Vegas on Saturday (July 29). In a video circulating on social media, the 30-year-old hip-hop star is seen hurling a microphone at an unruly audience member after they splashed their beverage on her during a performance […]
Even while Hip-hop’s 50th birthday has brought classic rap knowledge back to the forefront of everyone’s brains, Travis Scott’s Utopia has stood tall as one of the most highly anticipated releases of the 2020s. Five years ago, Astroworld’s trippy and psychedelic landscape transported listeners to a new planet, creating a hallucinatory world where John Mayer and Tame Impala could co-exist alongside Nav, Big Moe and Uncle Luke’s “I Wanna Rock (Doo Doo Brown).”
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By the time Scott cryptically announced Utopia in 2020, his rabid fandom was already at a fever pitch, led by his pack of die-hard followers who dutifully explored Astroworld’s otherworldly dimension while trapped inside during lockdown. But after the tragedy at Scott’s Astroworld music festival the following November, Utopia came crashing down to earth, and its future remained uncertain as the Houston rapper dealt with the seemingly never-ending fallout.
But after endless teasers, Utopia finally began its descent onto the world on Friday (July 28), led by the sleek summery groove of “K-Pop” that dropped last week. While a mix consisting of Bad Bunny and The Weeknd will undoubtedly dominate pop radio, the single was distinctly light considering the dark cloud that hangs over Utopia’s atmosphere. The album is at its most potent when at its most dismal, and while Scott’s detailed backdrops are some of the most impressive of his career, some tracks hit with more emotional force than others. Here are Billboard’s thoughts on every song that appears on Travis Scott’s Utopia.
19. “FE!N,” (feat. Playboi Carti & Sheck Wes)
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The surprising truth is that Playboi Carti’s marble-mouthed flow feels slightly out of place on Utopia, and the shallow drug-fueled subject matter of “Fe!n” in turn comes off like a Whole Lotta Red B-side and not like something pertaining to Travis Scott’s dystopian vision. “Fe!n” can’t help but come off like a track included solely for Carti’s equally-as-rabid fanbase.
18. “TOPIA TWINS” (feat. 21 Savage & Rob49)
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By Utopia’s 11th track, Travis has reflected on his mortality alongside Bon Iver and Sampha (“MY EYES”) and spoken about paranoia with Beyoncé (“DELRESTO”). To go from that to rapping about “Twin b–hes on a jetski” feels abrupt and misplaced. While “Topia Twins” advocates for summertime fun, Trav and 21 Savage never say anything they haven’t said already. The saving grace here is Rob49, who enters the arena wide-eyed and eager to please as he raps playfully: “Travis, what if they twins and they Siamese but they wanna f–k us both?”
17. “MELTDOWN,” feat. Drake
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“Sicko Mode” was a moment unto itself when it was unleashed in 2018. Packing four vastly distinctive producers into its five-minute runtime, the song’s breakneck beat switches gave each producer the space to breathe, all while Drizzy and Trav dodged the potholes with their slick rhymes. On “Meltdown,” Coleman, BNYX, Boi1da, Vinylz, Tay Keith and Skeleton Cartier all enter the fold, but the result instead are sedated beats that trudge through the mud at a similar pace. Drake’s braggadocious verbiage also slows to a crawl, as he offers up some hollow flexes (“Famous hoes lame but they stay on my d–k”) and cheap digs at Pharrell and longtime nemesis Pusha T. While “Sicko Mode” found joy in pushing some limits, “MELTDOWN” feels surprisingly and disappointingly one-dimensional.
16. “GOD’S COUNTRY”
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Driven by a disorienting loop of haunting children’s voices courtesy of Kanye West, “GOD’S COUNTRY” has all the eerie makings of a great Travis Scott song, but it’s just too brief to leave an impact. While the term “GOD’S COUNTRY” could take on many different meanings, Travis chooses to party instead, (“Wakin’ up, I see the light, I been drunk and it’s all right”) which is slightly disappointing.
15. “I KNOW?”
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“I KNOW?” offers a welcomed change of pace following Beyoncé’s emotional catharsis on “DELRESTOS (ECHOES),” and serves as the connective tissue to Utopia’s latter half. Operating almost as an interlude, “I KNOW?” feels like an invitation to his day one fans to just vibe with him for a moment, as if to remind them that the polished autotuned crooning they came to know and love is still very much alive.
14. “THANK GOD” (feat. KayCyy & Teezo Touchdown)
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Coming on the heels of the disorienting opener “HYAENA,” “THANK GOD” finds Travis Scott fully navigating his comfort zone. Thanks to KayCyy’s tightly wound trap beat, Scott seems to almost elevate the rhythmic drive of 2018’s “Butterfly Effect,” using “THANK GOD’s” grinding bass to accept his faults and celebrate his personal growth in the years since Astroworld. “The way we evolved and knocked down walls, this s–t’s outrageous,” Scott raps almost wistfully. While he’s full of gratitude for what came before, Scott uses “THANK GOD” to recognize the need to move forward.
13. “TIL FURTHER NOTICE” (feat. 21 Savage & James Blake)
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To be clear: “TIL FURTHER NOTICE” is a great song. Metro Boomin and James Blake’s kaleidoscopic production serves as a stellar layout for Scott and 21 Savage, who use the galactic beat to ruminate on their complicated love affairs, but it doesn’t quite serve its purpose as a closing track for an album filled with so many emotional highs. With that being said, knowing Travis Scott listens to Coldplay feels significant.
12. “SIRENS”
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Having Travis Scott rap vigorously about “juggling” sexual urges after sampling New England’s “Explorer Suite” is the type of chaos that made the Houston polymath such a compelling talent in the first place. “SIRENS” glitchy drive make for a disorienting listen, but it will leave you dazed and satisfied if you’re able to stomach it. Not to mention Scott’s energy on the microphone will make you wanna beat your chest.
11. “K-POP” (with The Weeknd & Bad Bunny)
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Arguably the lightest song on Utopia, “K-POP” feels like an intermission, a joyful romp that gives Bad Bunny and The Weeknd the space to highlight their talents. The Weeknd’s closing verse is especially playful, as he diverts away from his current brand of post-apocalyptic storytelling for the fun, drug-fueled antics of Starboy and even Kissland-era Abel, in a way that brings on feelings of nostalgia.
10. “CIRCUS MAXIMUS” (feat. Swae Lee & The Weeknd)
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Serving as the namesake track to Scott’s Utopia companion film, the hustle and bustle of “CIRCUS MAXIMUS” does its job of keeping the listeners engaged for Utopia’s final half. While Scott raps incredibly well, it’s The Weeknd’s uplifting hook that shoots the song into the stratosphere.
9. “PARASAIL” (feat. Dave Chappelle & Yung Lean)
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Sonically, “PARASAIL” is a drastic departure from Utopia. Driven by a muddy guitar loop and a compelling speech from Dave Chappelle, Yung Lean and Travis Scott are an Auto-Tuned match made in heaven, as the duo wail about their self-loathing and the struggle that comes with searching for forgiveness. It’s a welcomed change of pace on Utopia that takes the album from the clouds and grounds it back down to earth, as Yung Lean and Travis reflect on the harsh reality of being human.
8. “LOOOVE” (feat. Kid Cudi)
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While the joint venture between Kid Cudi and Travis (known as The Scotts) never came to fruition beyond one self-titled song, “LOOOVE” offers a compelling (and in some ways heartbreaking) look at what could have been. Both rappers elevate above Pharrell’s suffocating beat, resulting in a bouncy, fun track that bobs and weaves flawlessly.
7. “LOST FOREVER” (feat. Westside Gunn & James Blake)
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One of the most highly anticipated songs from Utopia, Scott’s lethargic rework of Check Senrick’s “Don’t Be So Nice” from 1976 provides a surprisingly perfect platform for Westside Gunn, who gives a lengthy and impressive verse focused on the spoils of fame. With added ghoulish vocals from James Blake, “Lost Forever” feels like a mismatched song that shouldn’t work but does.
6. “HYAENA”
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“HYAENA” reaffirms that no rapper can open an album like Travis Scott. While Scott spits some of the best bars of his career, his choice to open his album with a sample from Gentle Giant’s “Proclamation” is as attention-grabbing as a Scott record can get. While they officially disbanded in 1980, Gentle Giant was long regarded as ahead of their time, with their cult-like following often praising the group’s sophisticated musical structures. In this way, “HYAENA” is already a unique flex, with fans often offering the same praise of Scott. The rapper then creates even more chaos by throwing other delightfully bewildering ingredients into the melting pot: including a closing sample from Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain” and a braggadocious comparison to Chelsea Handler.
5. “MY EYES” (feat. Sampha)
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Serving as one of the deepest emotional cuts on Utopia, Bon Iver’s oozing synths and buried vocals give way to emotional epiphanies from a nostalgic Scott, who yearns for childhood more than ever despite the fame and riches. While Sampha sounds amazing, it’s Scott’s grace as a rapper that carries the song. Even when the beat switches to something more upbeat, every word feels thoughtful and dutifully chosen. The track gives space for Travis Scott the human to say his peace and in turn, he offers one of the only direct lines referencing the Astroworld Tragedy.
“If they just knew what Scotty would do to jump off the stage and save him a child,” he raps. “The things I created became the most weighted, I gotta find balance and keep me inspired.”
4. “DELRESTO (ECHOES)” (feat. Beyoncé)
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What can truly be said about how great “DELRESTO” is? It’s admittedly a stuffed song, filled with backing vocals from Bon Iver and production from Allen Ritter, James Blake, Mike Dean, Hit-Boy and Beyoncé herself. But while “DELRESTO (ECHOES)” could have been a bogged-down mess, the song takes flight thanks to Beyoncé’s Renaissance-era groove, which fit in well with Utopia’s dystopian vision. Scott seems happy to give Queen Bey the reigns and offers his own hazy Auto-Tuned speculations, while the latter keeps the good times rolling.
3. “SKITZO” (feat. Young Thug)
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Thugga and Travis Scott have always been an incredibly menacing duo, and sonically feel almost like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. “SKITZO,” with that being said, offers some of the best production on the project — but its sole issue is that Young Thug isn’t around that much. To hear them trade off even more flexes in the track’s back half would have been insanely rewarding, but Scott elevates his lyricism to impressive length, and carries it through to the finish line nonetheless.
2. “MODERN JAM” (feat. Teezo Touchdown)
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Revamping a decade-old rendition of Kanye West’s “I Am a God,” the Yeezus cut tees up one of Utopia’s most exciting moments. “MODERN JAM” – thanks to a relentless and seedy beat from Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homeme-Christo and Mike Dean – sounds like a bad molly trip, and finds Travis Scott serving as pastor “roof shaker” and “annihilator” to a crowded dancefloor. The result is a Travis Scott who sounds like he’s having the time of his life, while Teezo Touchdown also offers one of the best verses of his career, adding to the chaos by channeling a coked-out André 3000.
1. “TELEKINESIS” (feat. Future & SZA)
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Not only does Ye’s “Telekinesis” beat push Travis Scott fully outside his comfort zone, but it’s Future’s verse that really steals the show, and is arguably better than anything that appeared on his last few albums. He reflects on his relationship with Ciara without being petty, speaks on his paranoia without any glint in his eye, and in turn offers the most candid portrayal of King Pluto we’ve seen in years. Throw in an equally emotive closing verse from SZA, and you’ll leave “TELEKINESIS” with tears in your eyes.
Latto is officially bringing some big energy to the small screen. The 24-year-old rapper made her acting debut in a new episode of the final season of Grown-ish, playing a wine sales representative named Sloane alongside a number of other musical guest stars. Fans can get a taste of Latto’s character in a clip from […]
Families that make music videos together, stay together. In the self-directed visual for Offset‘s new song “Jealousy” featuring his wife, the one and only Cardi B, one of hip-hop’s biggest power couples works through their issues onscreen while keeping hold of what’s most important: their kids, each of whom makes a cute cameo in the project.
After walking out on a screaming match with Cardi, Offset indulges in some boy time with their almost 2-year-old son, Wave, while playing mini-basketball and riding bikes with his sons Jordan and Kody from previous relationships. Kulture, his 5-year-old daughter with Cardi, and 8-year-old Kalea, whom he shares with Shya L’amour, are later captured giggling adorably together in the front seat of a car.
But just because the video was a family function doesn’t mean it was strictly PG. One scene, for instance, featured Cardi crouching down to mimic a NSFW action on ‘Set, who is leaning against a vintage convertible.
All the while, the two superstars take turns getting things off their chest, both of them using their respective verses to call out haters who speculate on their relationship.
The couple first started teasing “Jealousy” earlier this week, enlisting Jamie Lee Curtis to play a reporter questioning their relationship drama in a spoof on James Brown‘s memorable 1988 CNN interview. Later, Cardi shared a video co-starring Taraji P. Henson, in which the “WAP” rapper rants about Offset’s past infidelity and Henson encourages her to stay with him.
“Jealousy” may or may not be Cardi and Offset’s response to their own recent real-life relationship issues, which went public last month after the Migos rapper accused his wife of cheating on him via Instagram Stories. Shortly afterward, Cardi jumped on Twitter Spaces to emphatically deny the accusations.
But based on a few public appearances in the weeks since, and now, their new collaboration, it definitely seems like the two have resolved the conflict. Plus, an insider tells Billboard that Offset’s family is “his No. 1 priority,” adding, “He’s making sure they are involved.”
Watch the “Jealousy” music video above.
Drake was the topic of conversation on Friday (July 28) after he linked with oft collaborator Travis Scott on La Flame’s fourth studio album, Utopia. Social media hummed when he unleashed shots aimed at Pusha T and Pharrell on the track “MELTDOWN.” Drake fired scathing bars targeting Pharrell’s newly appointed position as men’s creative director for […]
After a five-year album hiatus and a deadly festival tragedy in 2021, Travis Scott is back in the public eye with his long-awaited new album Utopia out today (July 28).
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Scott originally planned a grand entrance for the album via a concert at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, but the event was officially canceled earlier this week (July 26) due to “complex production issues,” according to a statement from Live Nation Middle East. However, Scott took to Twitter to reassure fans that the show will happen at a later time. “Egypt in the pyramids will happen but due to demand and detail logistics they just need a bit a time to set lay on lands. I will keep up posted on a date which will be soon love you alllll,” he wrote.
Between briefcases, billboards, and pyramids (or lack thereof), the 32-year-old showed off his knack for going above and beyond for his album promotion with the Utopia rollout. Earlier this summer, artists like Bad Bunny and The Weeknd (who are both featured on the album’s first single “K-POP”), SZA (who is featured alongside Future on “TELEKINESIS”) and Mike Dean (who mastered the album) had been spotted with brown Utopia-marked briefcases. Cryptic billboards promoting the album were also seen around Los Angeles last month. This past week, Scott also revealed five grainy album covers featuring men wearing white colored contacts — who, fans suspected, might represent song features due to their loose resemblance of Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, the Creator, Juice WRLD, Baby Keem and Lil Baby. (None of these artists are on the album.)
Beginning last night (July 27), Scott premiered an album film titled Circus Maximus in select AMC theaters. Directed by the musician along with five additional directors, Scott “takes his audience on a mind-bending visual odyssey across the globe, woven together by the speaker rattling sounds of his highly anticipated upcoming album Utopia,” reads AMC’s website. “The film is a surreal and psychedelic journey, uniting a collective of visionary filmmakers from around the world in a kaleidoscopic exploration of human experience and the power of soundscapes.”
Billboard attended the film screening last night. Here’s what we gathered.
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Free merch
Fans were gifted free Circus Maximus t-shirts upon checking in at the theater. The shirts are black with the Cactus Jack and film’s logo on the front and back, respectively. Scott also revealed that some of them were hidden in theaters, sending fans on a scavenger hunt.
Scott’s inner thoughts
Circus Maximus begins with Scott being choked by an octopus, before transforming into a new version of himself. He then climbs a mountain to meet with producer Rick Rubin, who engages him in a conversation about his feelings as of late. Rubin tells Scott that he’s come a long way and acknowledges that the rapper has experienced tragedy, seemingly alluding to the deadly crowd crush that killed 10 people at his Astroworld Festival in 2021. At times, Scott seems flustered. He quickly deflects the topic, saying he didn’t visit Rubin to discuss that, though he shows remorse about the situation later on when asked, “How’s home?” “Home ain’t been the same in a while,” Scott replies. “I hear echoes half the day.”
Scott’s conversations with Rubin occur in the first half of the film, and are sandwiched between cinematic music videos of him in different countries. In one clip, he’s a part of what looks like an acrobatic trick, where people are standing on each other’s shoulders to help a child climb out of a hole. The camera shows a close-up of Scott straining under the pressure, a possible metaphor for the weight he’s felt over the past few years processing his grief and figuring out how to move forward with his career. However, other scenes are more jovial: One scene sees him DJing a party to Utopia‘s “MODERN JAM” while in another, he’s seen riding camels and dirt bikes with people in Nigeria to the set’s “HYAENA.”
The world-building and meaning of UTOPIA
Travis Scott has become exceptional at creating worlds around his music. Whereas 2018’s Astroworld was more straightforward in concept, UTOPIA is a bit more loose in meaning and open to interpretation. For Circus Maximus — which he directed, wrote and starred in — the artist traveled to Iceland, Nigeria, Denmark, France and Italy to make sense of his personal utopia. When asked about the album, the Houston artist explains that his concept of a utopian world “is not all that pretty and confrontational,” but rather, he’s trying to transfer his energy without breaking or disrupting it along the journey. He also mentions that he’s trying to find a new way to rage.
Scott seems the most in his element during the last half of the film, when he performs a handful of UTOPIA songs at an amphitheater in Pompeii, Italy. At this point, Circus Maximus pivots from a collection of music videos and Rubin conversations to a concert film. Dressed in white and backed by a wall of speakers, dusk turns to dawn as Scott rehearses some of his new catalog in the empty historical venue.
Special guest appearances
During his performance, special guests — some of whom are also featured on the album — joined Scott to perform. Teezo Touchdown (“MODERN JAM”), Sheck Wes (“FE!N”), Yung Lean (“PARASAIL”), James Blake (“TIL FURTHER NOTICE”) and model Jazzelle all joined Scott and were thanked for their participation in the closing credits. Other artists featured on the 19-track album include Beyoncé, Drake, Young Thug, Future, SZA and Sampha. In conversation with director Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Spy Kids) for i-D in early 2021, the Scott said that with UTOPIA he is “expand[ing] the sound. I’ve been making beats again, rapping on my own beats, just putting everything together and trying to grow it really,” he said. “That’s been one of the most fun things about working on this album. I’m evolving, collaborating with new people, delivering a whole new sound, a whole new range.”
Cactus Jack and gamma?
Circus Maximus is in association with Larry Jackson’s new media company gamma, according to the film’s closing credits. In whatever capacity that is, it doesn’t seem far-fetched, since Scott attended the company’s launch party back in March. gamma is a company that specializes in distribution, creative guidance, marketing and more. Its clientele so far includes Snoop Dogg, Usher and Sexyy Red.
When Quavo discusses TakeOff and making those delicate steps forward in life without his nephew and Migos bandmate, the grief is palpable.
“I think about him all the time,” he explains in a new interview — a “conversation for the fans,” in which he bears his soul in black and white. “Sometimes I cry myself to sleep.”
TakeOff (real name: Kirshnik Khari Ball) was shot and killed during a private party he attended at 810 Billiards & Bowling in downtown Houston with his uncle and bandmate, Quavo, on Nov. 1, 2022, an action that still weighs heavy on the rapper.
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Grief, when you’re not prepared, and who is, can put you in a “messed up place, in a bad place,” he explains. Everything, from the day-to-day, which now includes therapeutic stints of chilling out, meditating, swimming in the ocean, and gym, to the creative process, is turned upside down.
As a record takes shape, Quavo has a particular style of working. He’d cut the hook and the verse, show it to his bandmates. “Now he’s gone and I don’t have nobody to play the music for,” he recounts. Instead, “I just try to connect with the earth and just try to hear them like that.” Quavo doesn’t “really like nobody else’s opinion.”
Quavo’s forthcoming solo album Rocket Power is slated for release Aug. 4, and it’s fueled by his late nephew and former partner-in-rhyme.
With Rocket Power, his first LP since 2018’s Quavo Huncho, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, he lets it all out in one blaze of energy.
He’s been “bottling all these emotions,” he notes, “all the pain, all the hard times, all the times I cried and all the times I just made music” to cope with loss. “And to pull up and try to play songs and he’s not there, and I’m just trying to get this fuel from above and this feeling from the sky and just call it Rocket Power.”
Quavo also opened up on his favorite song on the album, “11.11,” a date that captures the moment he hit record and got to work (“It felt like it was a sign”), and talked the residual energy of his fallen bandmember.
There’s not just energy floating out there in the ether, there’s a stash of unfinished music. A lot of it, apparently.
“In this phone alone, it’s 150 songs. Every phone probably has 350 songs.” Quavo admits he’s got five phones. TakeOff had three phones. “He’s got songs I never heard, ‘I’m like, bro why you never played me this’.”
One of the standouts, he explains, is called “Put That S— On.” “The Silent Assassin, he saved it for a reason. I got you though. We’re gonna finish strong,” he enthuses, adding, “that’s just in the phone. We’ve probably got like a thousand….we’ve got a lot of songs.“
With the announcement of the new LP back in May, Quavo remarked, “This album is for the Rocket, our true fans, and also this is my therapy. This album is a true reflection of how I feel right now.”
Watch the interview below. Part 2 is said to be coming soon.
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