"Don't You Open Up That Window"

The anticipation had been at an all time high for the 23 year old Houston native Travis Scott. The artist who often will go by La Flame has gotten high praise in the rap game by notables such as T.I. and Kanye West so the first album comes with a lot of expectations. His first two mixtapes; Owl Pharaoh, and Days Before Rodeo were solid efforts which only added to the appeal of his first album.

Rodeo  is laced with 14 tracks (16 counting bonus songs) with enough features (13) to go around. The protege of Kanye West definitely shows some signs of his mentor with the heavy 808 kicks and futuristic crashing sounds. Very reminiscent to Yeezus in sound at times but also pulls from a page book in Kid Cudi's arsenal by way of a narrative. T.I. narrates throughout but honestly isn't needed and there aren't many memorable quotes from him while speaking. Scott starts the album off differently with the song Pornography. Scott raps "I'm way too antsy, cause my ambition's too frantic/
I might need to move to Atlantis, cause my mind's too outlandish. One accepts this but asks the question of why isn't there more verses? Like this song there are others (Flying High/Piss On Your Grave) on the album that only have one solid verse which irks rap fans at times. Wasted, I Can Tell, & Impossible are very forgettable tracks which could have been left off the album. Pray 4 Love, My Oh Dis Side, & 90210 serve as records that really show the in depth feelings of the rapper/producer. Drugs, as for most rappers is very prominent in Scotts life. "He might pop him a pill, pop him a seal, pop anyone,pop anything, pop anything to find that alley" he raps on 90210. Maria is Drunk is actually a pleasant surprise as Justin Beiber (Yes Beiber) absolutely kills his verse. The self proclaimed "Leader of the Youth" sounds almost like Ye himself harmonizing at the end of Apple Pie. The two hits off the album are 3500, and Antidote which honestly relay their purpose to turn the clubs up. The energy that comes from Antidote is amazing. Look no further than the live performance below...

As far as my favorite cut off the album it would actually be Night Crawler which features Swae Lee and Chief Keef. Not lyrically sound its more of a turn up party song. Very catchy to say the least and the beat is official.

Overall I genuinely like the album for what its worth and think for a debut it wasn't bad. I would've liked to here more rapping and less talking from T.I. but hey beggars can't be choosers. The rating would be higher but at times the album lacks direction as a whole.


Rating 7 out of 10...