A Solid Listen But Not a Breakthrough

I completely rewrote this review because, in my initial draft, I didn’t feel like I was in the right state of mind. Even though it seems like there’s a competition between Travis Scott and the Clipse with “JACKBOYS 2” and “Let God Sort Em Out,” that’s not how I want to approach this album review. I reset, refocused, and did a track-by-track breakdown.

I like Travis’s rapping when autotune is used minimally, and the voice distortion/effects align with what I think sounds cool—which is sometimes the case, but not always. I enjoyed “CHAMPAIN” and “VACAY” decently, and “2000 EXCURSION” actually grew on me. I thought “KICK OUT” was good, although 21 Savage wasn’t necessary. While I appreciate some of what Travis is doing on “DUMBO,” I wasn’t a fan of the beat and how it evolved. “MM3” was a miss for me, as was SoFaygo’s feature on “CONTEST.” “VELOUR” is when the singing kicks in more, and it’s a song I’m not particularly fond of, though I wouldn’t say I hate it either. I had a similar feeling about “CONTEST,” but liked it less, and the same goes for “ILMB,” which I liked even less than “CONTEST.”

“WHERE WAS YOU” features a good beat, and the verses are solid, but I didn’t care for the hook. I’m not really a Don Toliver fan; I can see the appeal, but “NO COMMENTS” doesn’t resonate with me due to the way autotune was used. “BEEP BEEP” was solid, not great. “PBT” had to grow on me, especially because it felt kind of random in the context of the album, but it did grow on me. “SHYNE” is pretty bad; that hook is terrible and should never have made it out of the studio session. “OUTSIDE” was very average. I liked “CANT STOP,” definitely more than “NO COMMENTS,” at least. Finally, “FLORIDA FLOW” got better the more I heard it, but the flow Travis starts with is terrible. It could be the same flow as someone I love with a verse I admire, but I didn’t like the execution in that first verse.

Overall, it’s a solid enough album with some good production and standout moments. However, it doesn’t blow me away. It’s worth a few spins, but not one for the books. That said, if you want to view this as competition against “Let God Sort Em Out,” I’d suggest knocking off at least a full point from this rating.

Standout Tracks: “KICK OUT,” “CHAMPAIN,” “VACAY,” “WHERE WAS YOU“

Album Rating: 👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑 (6.5/10)