Travis Scott Demonstrates Dual-Threat Abilities on Darkly Captivating ‘Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight’

Matt Matasci

It is difficult to decide if Travis Scott prefers to be defined as a producer who raps or a rapper who produces. The release of his second album, “Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight,” leaves no doubt that, much like Kanye West, he is more gifted as a songsmith than a lyricist. He masterfully layers swirling synthesizers, taking them from dark and sinister to warm and inviting within the course of a single song, always avoids over-repetition and most tracks track’s here clock in under four minutes. Another plus is that, unlike so many a-list hip-hop stars, Scott shows restraint in keeping the album to a lean 14 tracks, with a 54 minute run time.

Vocoder-drenched rhymes and grinding synthesizers make “The Ends” a bleakly captivating opener. When the beat transforms midway through the song into a delicately-arranged piano figure with flourishes of flute, Scott’s ability to merge disparate sounds and themes into a single cohesive song is admirable, and, as a welcome guest performer, Andre 3000 brings his outsider instincts to the song.

If there is one major theme of Scott’s second album, it‘s his quest to make the most of fame without falling victim to the pitfalls that accompany it. Two songs deal with that theme in a very literal manner,  “Through the Late Night” serving as a quasi-party anthem featuring Kid Cudi and “Beibs in the Trap,” documenting an evening filled with mixing cups of lean and partying with other guys’ coke-loving girlfriends.“Sweet Sweet” transitions from haunting whistles to Scott’s digitally-enhanced falsetto. In a similar thematic vein, the rapper laments the fact that his sweetie is only interested in doing drugs.

“Outside” takes on a West Coast gangsta-rap vibe, though Scott’s rapping retains the auto-tune effect throughout. A typical boast-track, it doesn’t dig below the surface, with statements like “Hope you had a mattress when you sleepin’ on me / Hope you got some backup if you creepin’ on me / Cause just last week I rest in peace’d a homie.”

Kendrick Lamar, perhaps the most respected name in modern hip-hop, contributes to “Goosebumps.” A warped beat and stripped-down instrumentation define the song’s opening moments and Scott’s drawling delivering give it a sound closer to indie rock than hip-hop. Characteristically, Lamar adopts multiple vocal approaches during his performance, moving from his standard delivery to Prince-like high notes in seamless fashion.

First issued by Scott last Jan., album-closer “Wonderful” features the Weeknd’s unmistakable delivery, and together the two produce positive results. Both inject their distinctive sounds to create a song that is both commercial and creatively forward-thinking.

“Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight” demonstrates that Scott has improved as a songwriter, producer and rapper. He still has a long way to go before he’ll rival Kanye West, but this album shows great potential.

“Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight” is available exclusively on Apple Music Sept. 2.