Getting out of the hood, rising above socio-economic struggles, living without boundaries: the rap dream of the post Public Enemy era is still going strong. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the rap game is stagnating.
Artists like Travi$ Scott, Young Thug and Kendrick Lamar have all been hard at work redefining the sounds of the genre. By melding elements of southern trap, warbly autotuned vocals, codeine-soaked cloud rap and the vestiges of the 2000s “bling-era,” Travi$ Scott has made a name for himself in the fast paced world of hip-hop.
Travi$’s big break came in 2015 with the release of his major-label commercial debut, “Rodeo.” The days of free album releases were over as Travi$ crowd surfed his way through a sea of stumbling drunk fans. After a one year absence and a successful tour, Travi$ returns with “Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight” following a series of release date push-backs. With a promising list of features, “Birds” seems to line itself up to be another success.
Unfortunately, something went wrong. Lackluster choruses, uninspired songwriting and lines such as “So if I make it out tonight / Let’s make it a badass time” from the opening track “the ends” (featuring André 3000), somehow made their way on to the album.
Though there are some moments of clarity, most of the album sounds like a collage of “Rodeo” b-sides. Songs like “beibs in the trap,” “sweet sweet” and “way back” are completely forgettable. The knife digs even deeper when Travi$ hitches himself to the dancehall bandwagon on the song “guidance,” and when he ruins a lush, Yung Sherman-esque beat with the obnoxiously repetitive “Smoke some, drink some, pop one” mantra on the song “sdp interlude.”
Moreover, many of the songs rise above the monotony like “wonderful” (featuring The Weeknd), are songs that have been publicly released months ago. Not to mention that, “pick up the phone” — arguably the catchiest song on the album — even showed up on Young Thug’s “Jefferey” as a bonus track.
“Outside” is the first song to uphold the reputation Travi$ has set for himself. The concise songwriting, infectious beat and rowdy attitude makes for a great late night soundtrack. Other highlights include André 3000’s verse on “the ends” where the rap royalty discusses growing up during the Atlanta child murders of the 1980s. While a couple of the other features on “Birds,” like Bryson Tiller’s crooning on “first take” fare well, others just get absorbed into mediocrity. Even Kendrick Lamar’s bars on the decent “goosebumps” don’t do much to elevate the track.
If listeners loved “Rodeo” for its ability to translate the distinct southern rap mixtape vibe into a more polished and chic commercial sound, listeners probably will not enjoy “Birds” in its entirety. Not to mention, knowing that Travi$ Scott is capable of so much more makes it rather difficult to enjoy such a mediocre project. Browse through this album, take the few standout tracks it has to offer and don’t worry too much about looking back.
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