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Travis Scott releases his long-awaited album Utopia

‘Utopia’ features vocal contributions from Beyoncé, Drake, The Weeknd, SZA, Kid Cudi, Future, and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon

Peony Hirwani
Friday 28 July 2023 02:36 EDT
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Travis Scott gives first interview since Astroworld tragedy

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Travis Scott has released his fourth studio album Utopia.

The 32-year-old American rapper dropped the long-awaited album on Friday (28 July) at midnight, five years after his 2018 album Astroworld was released.

Comprising 19 tracks, the album includes vocals from a range of artists including Beyoncé, Drake, The Weeknd, SZA, Kid Cudi, Future, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, Swae Lee, Young Thug, and Sampha.

The album also features credited contributions from James Blake, Metro Boomin, the Alchemist, Boi-1da, Kanye West, Vegyn, and more.

The album drop comes after a tumulous week for Scott as the concert he planned at the Great Pyramid of Giza, where he intended to unveil his new album, faced cancellation due to challenging production problems.

Two days before the scheduled event, Live Nation officially announced the cancellation of Scott’s Utopiashow, which was scheduled to take place on Friday.

According to Forbes, the scheduled concert also received resistance from the Egyptian Musicians Syndicate, which is responsible for regulating the music industry in the country.

In a widely reported statement, the group said earlier this week that it decided to cancel Scott’s permit as it would have contradicted Egypt’s “authentic societal values and traditions.”

TEXAS-FESTIVAL-DECESOS
TEXAS-FESTIVAL-DECESOS (AP)

However, soon after the Syndicate’s statement was released, Live Nation issued a contradictory message saying that Scott’s show was still on.

Scott has reacted to the news of his cancelled show in Egypt.

“Egypt at the pyramids will happen,” the “K-POP” rapper wrote on Twitter on Thursday (27 July). “But due to demand and detail logistics, they just need a bit a time to set lay on lands.

“I will keep u posted on a date which will be soon love you alllll.”

In a follow up tweet, Scott added: “But in good news I had 4 more of these type of experiences in other places. COORDINATES SOON REACH.”

The Astroworld rapper also reacted to the news of his new album dropping on Friday.

“Cant believe it’s been this long since,” Scott wrote. “But I’m amped out of my mind. I’m actually ready to run thru wallls today. [sic]”

Earlier this week, Scott announced that Utopia will be accompanied by a film titled Circus Maximus.

The film is reportedly produced by A24, and the movie will “take the audience on a mind-bending visual odyssey across the globe, woven together by the speaker rattling sounds of Scott’s highly anticipated upcoming album Utopia”.

According to reports, the film is available to watch at select AMC theaters in the US on 30 July and 1-2 August. It’s not confirmed whether the film will be released on streaming platforms.

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