Travis Scott’s Utopia Comes at a Crossroads

Travis Scott is in album mode. Utopia will be his first album since 2018, but a lot has changed since then.

The industry isn’t as hip-hop dominant, hypebeast culture has shifted, and Travis is still navigating things after the 2021 Astroworld Festival tragedy.

How will all this influence Utopia? I broke it all down with friend of the pod, Denisha Kuhlor. Here’s what we covered:

0:59 How hip-hop has changed since Astroworld
3:38 Travis sold a lifestyle to success
9:21 Why Travis attracted category-leading brand sponsors
13:13 Lasting effect of Astroworld Festival tragedy
20:11 How will the “Ragers” respond to Utopia?
22:24 Over/under on Utopia’s first-week sales
28:13 Pyramid performance in Egypt
30:04 Did Travis miss out on building out a major independent brand?

source