Sunday (July 9) was a massive day for Travis Scott fans, as he revealed quite a bit of crucial information about his upcoming album Utopia. Before yesterday, the Houston rapper’s updates regarding his impending fourth LP had mostly been subdued and enigmatic, such as his cryptic billboards in Los Angeles and his mystery briefcase with the album’s name etched on it. After Sunday, though, the hip-hop community now has a clearer image of a potential release date for Utopia, as well as Scott’s plans for the cover art and the official listening party.
Videos by American Songwriter
Starting off the day, the widely-rumored Utopia party, allegedly slated for July 28 at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, was finally confirmed via the Egyptian ticketing website ticketsmarche.com. Uploading the event page for “Travis Scott at The Pyramids,” ticketsmarche.com went live with multiple seating options for the event, which have all already sold out. However, they also initially mentioned in the event description that Scott planned to release the album on July 28, the same night as the show. Soon after, ticketsmarche.com edited the description to remove this tidbit, considering neither Scott nor his label Cactus Jack have finalized a release date.
A few hours after tickets in Egypt went live, Scott finally broke his silence on social media. Starting off by uploading three different trailers for the album to Instagram, which show him crafting the LP in cities like Houston, Miraval, and Malibu, Scott then promoted his Pyramid party, while also directing fans to the shop on his website.
Upon visiting the store, Scott gave fans five different options for merchandise packages, all of which include a physical copy of Utopia as well as either a long sleeve T-shirt, a baseball cap, or a hoodie.
Then on Scott’s Twitter account, he sent out a tweet that read “Damnnnnnnn I misss yall,” which comes 11 months after an August 8, 2022 tweet where he said, “I’ll be back when it’s album time.” Needless to say, we are likely days, if not a handful of weeks, from Scott’s full-length return.
To add to the flood of information on Sunday, Scott announced via press release that the long-awaited album will come with five different cover art, none of which have been made public yet. “The five album artworks remain closely guarded for now,” the release reads. This tactic closely mirrors Scott’s mentor and hip-hop idol Kanye West, who used five different artworks for his 2010 studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
Building on this connection with West, Scott also said recently that Utopia‘s approach is similar to that of early projects of his like Rodeo in 2015 and Owl Pharaoh in 2013, which came out the same year Scott helped with production for West’s sixth album Yeezus. Ultimately, with this upcoming LP being five years in the making, it seems like Scott will look to put a fresh spin on older concepts he’s been fond of throughout his illustrious career.
Photo by Erika Goldring/WireImage
