The wait is nearly over. Travis Scott’s highly anticipated fourth Studio album “Utopia” is expected to release this month. This coming after the frequent teasing and the CEO of Epic Records Sylvia Rhone specifically stating that: "We have a new Travis Scott record, expected to come in June"
The first mention of Utopia goes back to 8th July 2020 with a photo of Trav wearing a full Balenciaga moto gear suit. This year included a lot of big collaborations and new business endeavours including a McDonalds meal, announced his own seltzer brand ‘Cacti’, deals with PlayStation and working on the Tenet soundtrack for Christopher Nolan. All of these collabs obviously also came with hyped merch that could be bought through shop.travisscott.com
Later this year Travis released a self directed music video for new single “FRANCHISE” featuring Young Thug & M.I.A
At the start of 2022, Travis was first seen with the Utopia chain which was designed by artist Takashi Murakami and made by jeweller Eliantte. These chains were then spotted on and presumably gifted to Young Thug, Gunna, Roddy Ricch, 21 Savage and fellow Cactus Jack members (Don Toliver, Luxury Tax & Sheck Wes). There was a rumour that those who had the chain would be featured on the album but this was never confirmed and fans were left to speculate.
In February 2021 Travis Scott was the face of i-d Magazine titled ‘THE UTOPIA IN DYSTOPIA ISSUE’
On the 25th June 2021 the ‘CACTUS JACK FOR DIOR SUMMER 2022’ show took place during Paris Fashion Week showcasing the collection whilst also previewing new music to provide a soundtrack for the show matching the pieces and set design. This was the first time hearing possible Utopia single ‘Lost Forever’ a spacey track featuring Westside Gunn and James Blake.
Later in the Summer Travis posted an image of a script teasing a project with American independent entertainment company A24. The title was partially hidden only leaving ‘IA’. Leaving fans to debate the title being either Dystopia or Utopia. This information is still unknown which allows fans to create theories or even wonder if we will ever get to see this potential film project.
At the end of the year a 2-pack of singles were released ESCAPE PLAN/MAFIA. These fit more of a ‘Dystopia’ vibe as portrayed through the cover art which reads ‘THE TRUE DYSTOPIA IS HERE!” .
On 16th May 2022 Travis performed his latest track ‘Mafia’ and once again teased new song ‘Lost Forever’ at the Billboard Music Awards. This performance was very cool and showed the possible aesthetic for Utopia through the snowy theme of the stage design.
In July - Travis and Nike joined forces again to release the Jordan 1 Low Travis Scott Mocha .
On 6th and 7th of August Travis returned to performing again with 2 back to back shows at the O2 in London. I was lucky enough to go on the second night and even managed to get some of the remaining merch as most of it was sold out from the day before. It was speculated that the merchandise alone brought in £1 million in revenue. I actually saw British Radio host Julie Adenuga (Skepta & JME’s sister) in the queue but was too awkward and didn’t wanna disturb her😂
Anyway the show was great - Chase B (Cactus Jack DJ) hyped the crowd up by playing mega UK hit at the time Doja by Central Cee and getting the crowd to chant FREE YOUNG THUG!
Trav was insane performing all his hits and even previewing for the first time new track titled ‘Gods Country’ which is rumoured to be a collab with Kanye. He also interacted with the crowd getting fans on the mic to rap along to ‘Mafia’ - he probably gave them something he was wearing as a gift but I can’t remember.
At the end of the show Travis slipped up saying he’d love to perform at Wimbledon (actually meaning Wembley stadium) which was very funny. La Flame then finished the show by stating he’d be back when it’s album time.
Let’s fast forward to 12th May 2023 where the rollout officially starts to begin! Travis comments “It’s Time” on Mike Deans instagram post - this suggesting that the album is done and all that is left is for Mike to mix/master it. The day after Scott appears at the Houston Astros game and claims he played the album for the team in the locker room. This continues with rumours of Trav playing the album for other famous athletes such as Kevin Durant, Tom Brady and LeBron James.
Later in the week Mike Dean posts on Instagram a photo of him mixing a track with caption ‘TOPIA tagging Travis. The Weeknd also comments “🍭🍭🍭” . Leaving fans to speculate if this track feautures The Weeknd and what is the actual title of the album. Next is when a big part of the rollout starts - the next few days paparazzi capture photos of Travis, RaysCorruptedMind and his bodyguards with Utopia branded briefcases handcuffed to their wrists. The vehicle they entered also featured a ‘TOPIA’ number plate. The Jordans spotted on Scott’s feet also seem to include a Utopia logo on them. These may be friends and family exclusive or possibly set to rerelease along side the album. News then comes out that Travis plans to continue his “crazy rollout” with more “disruptive” events.
On the 22nd May Scott attends ‘The Idol’ red carpet at the 76th annual Cannes film festival to support Abel. He is once again seen with the Utopia briefcase, a few days later The Weeknd posts to his instagram a picture of him and his bodyguard with the briefcase along with a photo of him and Trav the same night.
Since then there has been a lot of slight teasers but nothing very clear. Expect that the album is still being mixed/mastered by Mike Dean- which in the past has been worked on right up until release.
Currently June is still expected to be a stacked month with other rumoured releases from: Drake, Chase B, Lil Uzi Vert - all frequent collaborators with Travis so if Utopia doesn’t drop expect features on these other albums as it may be part of the rollout.