By Thomas Cottingham
Features Assignment Editor
Travis Scott’s sophomore album, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, brings back the exciting but atmospheric alternative trap sound that he established in his debut album, Rodeo, but with a few more twists and surprises. The uncanny title of the album was described by Scott as a homage to his “social trap,” or group of friends, while growing up in Missouri City. This message remains as the major theme of this tape: keeping it real, expressing yourself and living the way you want to live. In this context, Travis Scott enjoys living as the life of the party.
The production and beats in Birds is as expected just from other Travis Scott projects. This includes heavy auto tune, dark, crisp beats, high synths, echoes, dense basses, horns and addictive ad-libs. Another noticeable addition to the production of the album is the electrifying guitar riffs. This is especially noticeable at the end of “way back” which also features Kid Cudi and Swizz Beats.
Kid Cudi has a strong presence in this project, which would normally sound like a bad thing considering his streak of awful projects. However, Cudi sounds as good as ever in Birds. In one of the standout tracks, “through the late night,” Cudi not only sings the hook but absolutely kills a verse for the first time since his Man on the Moon days. Travis even makes a reference to Cudi’s hit song “Day N Nite” on the track.
The best track off the whole record has to be “goosebumps,” which features Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar. In this eerie song of heartbreak, saudade and lust, Lamar strives with excellent word play and insane flow. This just goes to show that Kendrick Lamar is still on top of the rap game.
Another fantastic track, “pick up the phone,” is a hit for this album. Released during the summer, the tropic beat and ad-libs from the trio of Travis Scott, Young Thug and Migos member Quavo makes the song a feel-good reminder of summer.
Travis Scott also loves experimenting with different genres of music in his trap/hip hop vibe. For instance, the song “guidance” is heavily influenced by the dancehall wave that hit America hard this summer from artists such as Drake, Sia, Fetty Wap and Justin Bieber. The Jamaican trap beat and ad-libs similar to “Panda” celebrity Desiigner that is featured in this song is quite interesting. It is strangely a great song for dancing. Scott also includes alternative R&B in his record. The song “first take,” which includes a feature from platinum artist Bryson Tiller, sounds similar to Tiller’s debut T R A P S O U L, but is a little overproduced.
The Weeknd makes an appearance in the song “wonderful,” which was released in Dec. 2015. The lead single brings the Toronto sound and Scott’s icy production together to form a great track; simple lyrics but effective sound.
Speaking of effective sound, “lose” is the best produced songs on the tape. This track includes triumphant horns, piano and heavenly, high pitch synths. The song is about keeping your cool and staying true to yourself, but the addictive aspect of this track is the unique use of auto tune to change the mood of the melody.
Another song that is worth mentioning, “sweet sweet” is Scott’s favorite track on the project. The abstract instrumental with Travis Scott’s ad-libs “straight up!” and “it’s lit!” help the song grow into a party favorite. The guitar solo at the end played by multi-instrumentalist Mike Dean is also a treat.
With a few other small features of Andre 3000, Kanye West, Black Youngsta, and 21 Savage, the most surprising feature came from NAV. NAV is a SoundCloud rapper that Travis Scott uses in his song “Biebz in the Trap,” who makes it sound like Justin Bieber is rapping straight fire. The quick flow and sharp wordplay made this track and feature completely off guard.
With the addition of Bird in the Trap Sing McKnight, Travis Scott furthers his unique identity of an alternative trapper. This project is not for everyone, especially if auto tune and trap beats are not a desired taste. For others who do enjoy hip hop, Birds was definitely worth the wait.
Birds was one for the books.
cottintf14@bonaventure.edu
