Release Date: September 04, 2015
Label: Grand Hustle/Epic
A rodeo is a series of endurance tests: bronco riding, barrel racing, calf roping, and, of course, bull-riding (âthe longest eight seconds in sportsâ), and the events most synonymous with the term are timed feats of skill and endurance. Travis Scottâs Rodeo also plays like an endurance test, a 75-minute game of âspot the influenceâ that is sporadically rewarding, yet feels like the longest rap album in months.
The main issue with the 23-year-old Houston rapper’s proper debut LPÂ is that his motives are impossible to read. You donât release an album as long and self-indulgent as Rodeo without oodles of confidence, but the album doesnât feel confident so much as self-conscious. Itâs easy to tear the record apart for sounding too much like any number of artists: âFlying Highâ sounds ripped from Tylerâs Cherry Bomb, down to the Toro y Moi feature; remove the gravel in his voice and âOh My Dis Sideâ is a Drake song; numerous debts to Kanye and Cudi abound. But more subtle things too, like the piano riff on âApple Pieâ that sounds suspiciously like Meek Mill and Jeremihâs âAmen,â bubble up to the surface, and the end result is discomfiting, as if Scott believes aping these moves but not understanding how they work is simply enough. Scott never says anything memorable, yet some songs stretch into six and seven minutes, with the influences so blatant that you feel like youâre listening to, essentially, an impostor.
Rodeo does have a smattering of blow-your-hair-back moments: the part of â90210â that sounds like Castlevania, the opening breakdown of âPiss on Your Grave.â And the features leave an impression, most memorably the Justin Bieber- and Young Thug-assisted âMaria, Iâm Drunk,â the best and weirdest song on the album, anchored by Thugâs slimy âcall your friends, letâs get drunkâ hook. Swae Leeâs cherubic voice contrasts nicely with Scottâs groaned delivery and Chief Keefâs Auto-Tuned mumble on âNightcrawler,â which hits its precise aim of ominous and fun. Somewhere in the slog of â3500â is a great rap song with Future in Dirty Sprite 2–scumbag mode and a vintage 2 Chainz verse, but Scott canât reel it in. And all these guest appearances feel more memorable and vital than anything Scott himself delivers during the entirety of his own record.
For all his shout-outs to Houston, including a prominent Pimp C sample and a â25 Lightersâ reference, none of it sticks. This is a cold, calculated record lacking in personality, though it certainly tries to deliver something that Scott is incapable of. For its alleged vision and production, Rodeo has its moments, but digging them out is as challenging as attempting to ride a bull for eight seconds. Takes much longer though.