Review: At the very least, Travi$ Scott survives his first "Rodeo"

The desire to be accepted by society is at an all-time high, among the youth. An uprising of rebellious, yet misguided and misunderstood misfits has ensued, in need of someone to lead the way. Travi$ Scott has answered the call with his music and a raucous live show. Now, he has aimed to accomplish that very same feat with his debut album, Rodeo.

But does he?

Fourteen tracks in length (16, if you copped the deluxe version), Rodeo doesn’t quite build on the momentum created by lead singles like the infectious “Antidote”, as well as “3500”, which features Future and 2 Chainz. When I first heard the latter of the aforementioned songs, I remember jumping around the house yelling, “Oh shit! Rodeo is gonna be insane!” I was also basing that statement on how big of a Travi$ Scott fan I am, so I was probably being a little bias, too.

It happens.

Despite the album not necessarily being a smash, it’s not wack; not at all. There are numerous bright spots on Travi$’ debut. If “Antidote” is a club banger, then “Nightcrawler”, where La Flame is assisted by Swae Lee (of Rae Sremmurd) and Chief Keef, is that, times a million. The song is a colorful example of what happens when the DJ decides to play drill music at a rave. It’s an exceptional meshing of styles, as Keef brings about his typical auto-tuned “bang bang” sound, and Swae Lee channels his inner-Kurt Cobain, belting out a very catchy bridge.

Between songs, you’ll catch T.I. narrating the plight of Travi$ Scott, much like Common did on KiD CuDi’s first album. Given that Cudder is La Flame’s idol, one has to believe that that was by design.

What appears to be the most surprising move on the album was the verse from Justin Bieber, on “Maria, I’m Drunk”, which also features Young Thug. If you recall, this song leaked a couple of months back, sans Biebs, who depending on who you ask, stole the show with his addition to the song. There is also the very random and out of place “Flying High”, where Travi$ once again collaborates with Toro y Moi.

As for the black eyes on Rodeo? There were certainly a few.

The first half of “Oh My/Dis Side” is awesome. The back and forth that Travi$ and Quavo do over the hard-hitting beat is like a trapped out, dumbed down version of what Jadakiss and Styles P have always done so effortlessly. The second half? The second half sounds heavily influenced by Drake and that’s not really a good thing if you’re an artist like Travi$ Scott. It’s probably the one time on the album where he softens up, even referencing his “first kiss”. Ok, bruh.

When it was revealed that Kanye West would make an appearance on Rodeo, it was exciting news, but “Piss On Your Grave” is quite underwhelming. The Jimi Hendrix sample is cool, but other than that, the song is just a bunch of belligerent babbling; especially from Kanye. He pretty much ruins the song.

While there is a ton of mood music on Rodeo, one thing that has always been in question is whether or not Travi$ Scott can actually rap. He’s known to be pretty streaky, lyrically. Other than “I Can Tell”, the second half of “90210” and the song that not only sums up the album, but maybe Travi$ himself, “Pray 4 Love”, where he’s joined by The Weeknd, you won’t hear anything that makes you press rewind. What you will hear, for the most part anyway, is a bunch of singing and harmonizing, much like you would hear from his idol.

Rodeo isn’t the colossal body of work that Days Before Rodeo is, but it’s better than Owl Pharaoh. If you’re looking to learn anything about Travi$ Scott, other than he’s a rebellious kid who likes to party, do drugs and have lots of sex, don’t. There are a million times on this album where you think he’s about to tell you his story, but then he… doesn’t. As mentioned before, Rodeo is mood music; over exceptional production. If you can accept it as such, you’ll enjoy the album. If you can’t, you’ll be disappointed.