It is coming up on five years since Travis Scott put out his most recent studio album ASTROWORLD (2018).
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Now 4x platinum certified by RIAA, ASTROWORLD sat atop the Billboard 200 chart for three weeks and saw its third song “SICKO MODE (feat. Drake)” peak at No. 1 on the Hot 100. Following this up, Scott has had his fourth studio album Utopia in the works for up to three years.
Originally slated for fall 2021, the album was derailed due to Scott’s catastrophic Astroworld Festival fiasco in Houston in November 2021. Now back on track, Scott’s Utopia continues to creep up closer and closer.
On Monday, just before the Houston Astros were set to play the Chicago Cubs at Minute Maid Park in Scott’s hometown, the 32-year-old rapper played an unfinished version of Utopia for the Astros players in their locker room. Speaking with local reporter Mark Berman for Houston news station Fox 26 afterward, Scott explained that the album is still in its mixing stage, but expressed excitement about its impending arrival.
“You know, just fresh from Utopia, you know what I mean? Live from Utopia,” Scott proclaimed. “It’s on the way now, Mark. Had to come here [and] play the Utopia for the boys down in the locker room. Had to get ’em right for the game… Finish the master, Mark! You know how we do it Mark, from the clubhouse to the [studios]. Welcome to Space City.”
This news comes just a few months after Scott shared a similar update in Minute Maid Park. During a charity celebrity softball game on February 16, he told a fan “that motherfucker on the way” in regards to Utopia. So, while projecting it to drop sometime in 2023, it seems that Scott has been reluctant to nail down a release date for Utopia.
But, in a January interview with Billboard, Epic Records chair and CEO Sylvia Rhone shared that Utopia is in fact slated for June. “We have a new Travis Scott record, expected to come in June,” Rhone said.
Every album in Scott’s career thus far has been released under Epic Records, so this information from Rhone seems particularly relevant. Additionally, Monday’s news is not the first time Scott consulted with an athlete or athletes regarding Utopia. During a March episode of his podcast The ETCs, basketball star Kevin Durant revealed a recent conversation he had with Scott about the album.
“I didn’t hear it, and I want to ask for some songs,” Durant said. “But I know for a fact he won’t send them, so I might have to catch him in the studio one of these days before it comes out, but he’s telling me that it’s fucking insane.”
Although none of the Astros players commented on the quality of the album as Durant did, their 6-4 victory over the Cubs Monday may be indicative of Utopia being a motivator or a good luck charm. So, if Rhone’s previous comment about the LP’s release date is accurate, it should only be a couple more weeks until fans can experience the same thrill that Houston’s professional baseball team got to before their recent game.
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