Travis Scott did not deliver this time. When an established artist generates the type of hype that Scott’s Astroworld did, they need to produce an album that, at the very least, matches the quality of their previous album. The arguably most anticipated album of 2018, Astroworld, did not have the flair and creativity that his 2016 project Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight (and even his 2015 debut album Rodeo) had.

The first thing I listened for is the quality of the biggest hit on the album. For Astroworld, that would be “SICKO MODE.” The problem with that track, is that it features Drake, the world’s most popular artist, according to Spotify. If Drake had not been in the song, it would not have been as popular as it is and would most likely be considered a very bland Travis Scott song. If the album’s set track’s popularity is not even due to the artist the album belongs to, then how good is the album? Now compare that to “Antidote,” Rodeo’s most popular track, which was popular because of Scott’s versatile and perfectly auto-tuned vocals. “Goosebumps” on Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight may have included a feature by Kendrick Lamar, but the track was heavily occupied by Scott’s faded-out, and again, very versatile vocals which contributed to its success. To top it off, his vocals were not as unique in “SICKO MODE” and sounded more Big Sean-esque. It was still the best track, which sadly did not have any competition.

Going through the rest of the album, I realized Astroworld did not have very good tracks to follow up it’s big hit. Both Rodeo and Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight had multiple tracks that I might consider better than their respective most popular track. Whereas with Astroworld, none of the songs I could put up against “SICKO MODE”. Many of the other tracks seemed generic to one another, included some average features and did not have the diversity of his previous two albums.

In the end, Astroworld lacked the diversity we expect from Travis Scott, and the features were way below the standards of previous albums. 6/10.