UTOPIA is the fourth full-length studio album from the Houston, Texas native, Travis Scott. It is the follow-up to his 2018 third, highly-acclaimed studio album, ASTROWORLD.
The album released to a flurry of various receptions. Many noted the obvious Kanye influences on the album, with a general consensus calling it “Travis Scott’s Yeezus.” Not only does he channel the broken down production on “MODERN JAM” and breathy flow on “CIRCUS MAXIMUS,” but two of the tracks were directly repurposed from the original demo of DONDA (“TELEKINESIS” and “GOD’S COUNTRY”). However, a similar affinity for guttural sound makes sense, as Travis was a vital collaborator in the production of Ye’s controversial sixth album.
Others praised the more experimental direction that Travis was taking, while involving a slew of different A-lister and up-and-coming artists within his production.
The album was first teased through an Instagram post on July 8, 2020, with a simple caption, which displayed “Utopia.”
On August 3, 2020, during the second anniversary of Travis' previous album, ASTROWORLD, he would post a note thanking his fans for the support of his previous album on a tweet — at the end of the note, there would be a sentence that would refer to the rapper’s next project, which says:
See you in Utopia.
Following the release of his September 2020 single, “FRANCHISE,” the word Utopia would appear again within the CD’s banners and cover of the official single with the quote “Live From Utopia.” Later, in October 2020, Travis would send a letter to all his DJs thanking them for their work in the process of several of his projects; the rapper would end the letter with another final sentence again, saying that he was going to see everyone in 2021 in “Utopia”. That same month, Travis spoke about the album in a series of tweets, as well as changing his bio from promoting ASTROWORLD to UTOPIA
In January 2021, iced out Elliante-UTOPIA chains were seen worn by a wide variety of rappers and producers such as Young Thug, Chris Brown, Mustard, Wheezy, and many more. In June 2021, Scott described to WWD the sound of Utopia, stating that the album would have a psychedelic rock sound.
It was reported on August 2, 2021, that Travis Scott signed a production deal with the film company A24, with Travis posting on Instagram the first draft of the script, which revealed that UTOPIA would also have a film adaptation.
Despite the album being rumored to be released in late 2021, it had been put on hold following the tragic Astroworld Festival crowd crush where 8-11 people ended up dying on the night of the festival.
Billboards of the album appeared in California in April 2023, to which it contained a message that states: “PSST……. Looking for UTOPIA? WRONG WAY!” Another billboard also had the Cactus Jack logo.
In May 2023, Scott revealed that the album was in the mastering stages. Shortly after, photos surfaced of Scott wearing an unreleased Air Jordan 1 low-top sneaker with the presumed UTOPIA logo and his bodyguard holding the UTOPIA labeled briefcase. Mike Dean would also share his involvement online later that day.
On May 23, 2023, Mike Dean spoke on Twitter about the album’s progress, in which he states:
UTOPIA WILL BE DONE WHEN TRAV AND I SAY ITS DONE DO NOT RUSH LET US COOK
The album was announced alongside his Great Pyramids Of Giza show for July 28, 2023, on July 10 through Travis' Twitter.
Just days before the album’s release, it was speculated and reported that originally Egypt banned Travis from performing at the Pyramids, arguing that it contravened respect for the “traditions of the Egyptian people, Travis' manager David Stormberg and Nike both confirmed that the reports were false, however, the party did not take place.
Not long after “K-POP”’s release, on July 22, 2023, Travis confirmed the release of UTOPIA to be paired with the release of his movie Circus Maximus, hitting theaters on July 28, 2023, during his Rolling Loud Miami set at the GoPuff stage.
Two hours before the album was released, he revealed the tracklist without listing the features, similar to his previous two studio albums.
