Rodeo is the debut studio album from Travis Scott. It came following two mixtapes that are highly regarded among fans: Owl Pharaoh and Days Before Rodeo. Rodeo is an album that is highly respected by the hip-hop community. Many people praise it for its originality and experimentation and how it pushed trap music to the limit. There's even an argument that this album should be considered a classic. I am a huge fan of Travis Scott and I listened to Birds In the Trap Sing McKnight first. That album is actually criticized by many fans because Travis opted for a more mainstream sound. I actually love that album because even though Travis wasn't as experimental, he still used that dark and atmospheric aesthetic that made him stand out. On the other hand, I tried listening to Rodeo a couple times and I couldn't get through it. I've been told that this album was a slow burn, so in preparation for Astroworld, which was originally supposed to follow this album, I decided to try again.
Positives
For a trap album, Rodeo certainly sounds unique. Travis experiments with different sounds while keeping this dark aesthetic. Speaking of dark, the production throughout this album is phenomenal. I consider myself a sucker for cloudy and atmospheric beats, so this album is actually very satisfying for me. Mike Dean did a fantastic job mixing and mastering this album. Metro Boomin also produced a good amount of tracks for this album and I think he knows Travis' sound very well. I also really loved the use of autotune on this project. In this case, Travis uses autotune as an instrument to create an aesthetic rather than to mask singing flaws. On this album, Travis Scott raps more often, and I think his rapping voice sounds really cool. It's a shame he doesn't use it more often nowadays. I also think this album is very cohesive and interesting despite its 75-minute runtime.
Negatives
As much as I love how different this album sounds, it's not as original as people claim. This album follows a very similar formula and sound to Kid Cudi's Man on the Moon. I get that Travis is influenced by Cudi, but people praise it like it's this thing that hasn't been done before even though this is basically the trap version of MotM. T.I.'s narrating throughout this album is a dead giveaway that it's basically the same album. I don't really think this is a problem, but I think it needs to be brought to attention. My main problem with the album from a musical perspective is that quite a few of these hooks are a bit repetitive and weak. Most of these hooks can be catchy but I really think this shows that Travis is a little overrated as a hookman.
Features
1) Quavo (Oh My Dis Side) - This is probably my favorite feature from Quavo. This song shows that he has great chemistry with Travis and how much better Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho could have been if they made it like a year earlier.
2) Future (3500) - This is one of my favorite guest contributions from Future. The intro sounded amazing and I think he fits the beat very well. During 2015 through early 2017, Future was on fire creating some great albums and features. His verse on this song was also pretty nice.
3) 2 Chainz (3500) - 2 Chainz always kills features and can make even the weirdest lines sound good.
"Drinkin' breast milk out a lean cup"
"3500" is one of his best, most underrated features because it's a great example of how he can do brag rap well.
4) Juicy J (Wasted) - Juicy J surprisingly fits the beat very well. He has a solid verse on here, too.
5) Kacy Hill (90210) - Her vocals at the first part of the song sounded beautiful.
6) The Weeknd (Pray 4 Love) - This isn't my favorite Weeknd feature, but his part was pretty cool. I liked hearing his voice drowned in vocal effects because it added to the atmospheric aesthetic. His verse is pretty great and he starts it off with a pretty memorable line:
"Underrated is an understatement"
7) Swae Lee (Nightcrawler) - This is one of his most underrated features for sure. His intro and verse were very solid, especially this line:
"And I don't need your drank, high off life"
8) Chief Keef (Nightcrawler) - This is one of his best guest appearances. Like I said in my review for his latest project, he's not a lyricist, but he has some great quotables:
"I walked up in the gun store, order me some guns"
"I just ordered me some brunch, Korean spicy garlic"
9) Kanye West (Piss On Your Grave) - The way he starts off the song is a little off-putting:
"I use your face as a urinal, then do the same at your funeral"
I love aggressive screaming Kanye, so this feature was pretty cool.
10) Justin Bieber (Maria I'm Drunk) - Ah, the origin of Bugatti Biebz. The main reason why this song isn't on streaming services is JB. Without question, he's the best part of "Maria I'm Drunk." His verse is just so catchy and his sing-rapping sounded really nice.
11) Young Thug (Maria I'm Drunk) - He does a great job on the hook and although his verse is my least favorite, he still did a good job there, too. I love Thugger's voice on this track.
12) Toro y Moi (Flying High) - Their hook is a bit repetitive but it flows very well and sounds nice. I thought their bridge sounded amazing.
13) ScHoolboy Q (Ok Alright) - He did the ok ad-libs on the hook and his flow on the verse was really good.
4) Juicy J (Wasted) - Juicy J surprisingly fits the beat very well. He has a solid verse on here, too.
5) Kacy Hill (90210) - Her vocals at the first part of the song sounded beautiful.
6) The Weeknd (Pray 4 Love) - This isn't my favorite Weeknd feature, but his part was pretty cool. I liked hearing his voice drowned in vocal effects because it added to the atmospheric aesthetic. His verse is pretty great and he starts it off with a pretty memorable line:
"Underrated is an understatement"
7) Swae Lee (Nightcrawler) - This is one of his most underrated features for sure. His intro and verse were very solid, especially this line:
"And I don't need your drank, high off life"
8) Chief Keef (Nightcrawler) - This is one of his best guest appearances. Like I said in my review for his latest project, he's not a lyricist, but he has some great quotables:
"I walked up in the gun store, order me some guns"
"I just ordered me some brunch, Korean spicy garlic"
9) Kanye West (Piss On Your Grave) - The way he starts off the song is a little off-putting:
"I use your face as a urinal, then do the same at your funeral"
I love aggressive screaming Kanye, so this feature was pretty cool.
10) Justin Bieber (Maria I'm Drunk) - Ah, the origin of Bugatti Biebz. The main reason why this song isn't on streaming services is JB. Without question, he's the best part of "Maria I'm Drunk." His verse is just so catchy and his sing-rapping sounded really nice.
11) Young Thug (Maria I'm Drunk) - He does a great job on the hook and although his verse is my least favorite, he still did a good job there, too. I love Thugger's voice on this track.
12) Toro y Moi (Flying High) - Their hook is a bit repetitive but it flows very well and sounds nice. I thought their bridge sounded amazing.
13) ScHoolboy Q (Ok Alright) - He did the ok ad-libs on the hook and his flow on the verse was really good.
Singles
1) 3500 (feat. 2 Chainz x Future) - The production on this song is phenomenal. Zaytoven, Metro Boomin, Mano, and Mike Dean all did a fantastic job. Future and 2 Chainz were great features and Travis' rapping was great. He definitely established himself as a real one when he called for the freeing of political prisoner Robert Shmurder. However, I do think this song has a couple of weaknesses. For starters, it's one of the weakest hooks on the album because the repetition gets annoying. Also, this song is too long. The song is already long enough with every artist having a verse. There wasn't a need for a minute and a half long outro. The song being over 7 minutes long prevents further replay value.
2) Antidote - This is the single that propelled Travis into the superstar that we know and love today. This song has one of the most iconic hooks in his discography. The third verse of this song has some of the best rapping and the production from Eestbound and WondaGurl was great.
Best Tracks
1) Oh My Dis Side (feat. Quavo) - The production from Frank Dukes on this song is amazing and so is the beat switch. You can debate for a long time about which part of the song is better. This song also includes one of Quavo's best verses mostly because Travis pushed him out of his comfort zone. The "phenomenal" ad-lib is probably the best Quavo line. Travis and Quavo have great chemistry and this song is one of the best in Trav's discography.
2) 90210 (feat. Kacy Hill) - In my opinion, this is the BEST Travis Scott song. This is also the best song with a beat switch on this album. Yet again, you can debate for hours about which part of the song is better. Kacy Hill's vocals were beautiful and this song tells an amazing story. The first part of the song is about Travis meeting a "porn star girl" who sells herself to pay for her Beverly Hills lifestyle and Travis' drug use. The second part of the song is about Travis rapping about where he's gone since that low point in his life.
3) Nightcrawler (feat. Swae Lee x Chief Keef) - This is another one of Travis' best songs. I don't ever hear about it in the conversation of "Best Travis Scott Song" and that confuses me. This song has one of Travis' best hook and some great contributions from Swae Lee and Chief Keef. The production from Metro Boomin, TM88, and Southside was also great.
4) Maria I'm Drunk (feat. Justin Bieber x Young Thug) - It's a shame that this song isn't on streaming services. Justin Bieber's camp made it only available for purchase. On iTunes, you have to buy the whole album to get access to the song. In order to listen to this song, I had to download the audio from YouTube and import it to Spotify. This song is one of Travis' best. The intro is just amazing. When the song slows down and the muddy piano keys kick in, it gets even better. This song sounds exactly like being drunk. Young Thug and even Justin Bieber kill it on this song.
Worst Track
Truthfully, I don't believe there's a bad track on this album but I'd say the most meh song was probably I Can Tell. It has the weakest hook. There isn't too much wrong with it, it's just okay.
Conclusion
I can't believe it took me so long to love and appreciate this album as much as other Travis stans did. This album is amazing from front to back and I believe that it truly revolutionized the genre of trap. Is this album a classic in all of hip-hop? Not really. Is this album a classic in trap music? Absolutely.
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