A Reflection On The Album "Rodeo" By Travis Scott

Chill crowd screams, mosh pits, drug tripping experiences, autotuned yells, and even top featured artists are only a small list of the things to look forward to when thinking of Travis Scott’s debut studio album, Rodeo. Travis Scott was born on April 30, 1992 in Houston, Texas. His debut was album released on September 4, 2015 and unsurprisingly made it to the top twenty on the billboards. According to Mendizabal, the album sold over seventy thousand copies in the following weeks after its release. “Antidote” will also be the most iconic song by Travis Scott hitting top streams. Travis Scott’s rap career is well on its way to becoming known worldwide and he will soon be a legendary rap artist for the younger generations. Throughout this paper I will be informing you on how the album Rodeo was introduced to me, the number one played single, people’s opinions on the album, and why it is my favorite album. Rodeo was introduced to me during my time in high school.

The album was first shown to me by my friend Kevin Guerrero. He played the song “Apple Pie” on our daily car ride home. The song really caught my attention with the use of autotune and his raspy voice. At the end of the song the part that stood out to me was when T. I rapped, “Will you make it? Was it worth it? Did he win? Will he survive, the Rodeo?”. After hearing that string of lyrics, it struck a thought in my head, I then turned to Kevin surprised and asked “What’s the Rodeo?”. Kevin then looked at me shocked and responded, “It’s the name of the album, you should listen to it, it is bad ass. ” I didn't take his advice until I had gone to a house party and heard another song from the album called “Antidote”. I remember thinking to myself, “how does everyone know the lyrics to this song, the album was just released. ” The way everyone was rapping along with the song and just into it gave me the chills. I then felt like this was something I needed to listen to. Rodeos highest played single was “Antidote” hit the billboard hot 100 at number six-teen and became the best-selling record. The single was created with the intent of giving you a drug trip experience with the use of instruments and autotune voices used in the song. The original sound was coming from Lee Fields song called, “All I need” but was then sped up to a 131 beat rate.

Another component to “Antidote” giving you a drug like experience is the ticking time design. “Which was created with a one-two-three-four high hat pattern and attached with a snare sample that pitched which rolls down”. “Antidote” is overall a number one hit on the Rodeo album and was a catchy song to rap to but it doesn’t change the fact that most people don’t know the meaning behind the song. Travis Scott’s album Rodeo has mixed reviews but it explains the different opinions people have when listening to it. “You don’t come to a Travis Scott project looking to be blown away lyrically. You come for the unique, gothic sound, the one he help Kanye West craft on Yeezus” according to Frazier. “Doesn’t rap so much as scream, moan and yelp like he’s fronting an eighties hardcore band. ” according to Turner. “The main issue with the twenty-three year old Houston rapper’s proper debut LP is that his motives are impossible to read. ” And “Rodeo does have a smattering of blow your hair back moments” according to (Ramirez). These reviews from various sources were saying that Travis Scott is lyrically not talented but better known for his insane sounds that are clear when hearing the album. Rodeo can appeal to many different people, but it all depends on personal taste and the liking for the new rap sound. Travis Scott is an inspiring rapper in my opinion; Travis’s album Rodeo can show you how to listen for new sounds that are hidden in each song, or even give you an idea what he was feeling when producing this album for fans. Travis might have some negativity against him, but this shows how different he is form other rappers, and how he is just going to grow to get better at what he does best.

Overall, I believe Travis Scott is a great artist and he has given me creative motivation. He is very different from any other artist with his unique style of rapping, I even feel his autotune voice is catchy at times. Travis has many people that view his album Rodeo as a negative because of his lyrics not being eye catching. Although Travis Scott has some hate behind him he is overall one my favorite artist. One of my favorite quotes come from a song off of the album called Apple Pie “Will you make it? Was it worth it? Did he win? Will he survive, the Rodeo?”. I believe Rodeo is the best album that Travis has produced, and I feel he will continue to blow me away with every other album he puts out.