Travis Scott Hints at 'Utopia' Album Trailer & 7/21 Release Date

Drake and Travis Scott are both releasing albums soon, and there’s reason to believe it’ll happen within the next few weeks. Find out why below. In other news today:

• Billboard Hot 100 & album chart 📈 

• Travis Scott hints at Utopia trailer and release date 🌍️ 

• Lil Uzi Vert says new album otw instead of Pink Tape deluxe 💗 

• Why Drake had floating sperm on tour and may release an album sooner than you think 🔍️ 

• Discover new music with The Rap Index 🎵 

Hot 100 Chart & Streams

The above chart shows Billboard’s Hot 100 ranking this week and the corresponding song streams for the week of June 23rd to 29th, as reported by Hits Double Daily. Hot 100 ranks songs based on a combination of streaming activity, radio airplay audience impressions, and sales data—all measured by Luminate.

Nicki Minaj’s 2nd collaboration with Ice Spice from the upcoming Barbie movie debuts at #7, giving both artists another Top 10 hit. Gunna and Young Thug had the highest streams for rap songs last week, with Gunna’s “fukumean” moving up to #12 and Young Thug’s collab with Drake debuting at #19.

Travis Scott Takes ‘Utopia’ to Europe, Dropping Album Trailer & Release Date Hints

In Tarragona, Spain, La Flame was recently spotted spray painting Utopia on a wall in what appears to be a video shoot. It’s rumored that the album trailer will feature him looking for Utopia in different counties, and the Spain shoot was one of many. The concept aligns with Travis’ recent footsteps across the globe—London, Italy, and France, to name a few—and the theme of Utopia billboards teasing potential locations for the briefcase.

The biggest unknown is the album's release date. June came and went with no Utopia disproving early reports that it would be dropping last month. But Mike Dean hopped on Threads, the new Twitter rival, and wrote “Utopia” with a date next to it covered up. If you look closely and change the image's exposure, you can see a “7” as the first number and a “1” as the last number. All signs point to a 7/21 release in T-minus 15 days.

Milan show causes earthquake-like shakes

Amid the rollout, Travis continues to perform at festivals around the world. La Flame shows are notorious for raging, but his recent stop in Milano, Italy had the 80K crowd going so hard it shook the earth’s tectonic plates—at least, that’s what nearby citizens thought. Local news broadcasts reported that neighboring houses were shaking, causing some residents to believe they were experiencing an earthquake.

Firefighters received hundreds of calls about windows and floors trembling, but no earthquake was registered on the Richter scale, which measures the strength of earthquakes. Mosh pits and thousands of fans can be seen jumping in this TikTok as Travis performed “Butterfly Effect.”

Context for those of you out touching grass

Utopia billboards went up in LA last week featuring a combination lock, presumably to the Utopia briefcase, that read “07211” causing speculation the album will be released on July 21st. The rollout initially started with Travis teasing Utopia via a heavily guarded briefcase, presumably containing the album, that traveled everywhere with him. Playing into the game of “Where is Utopia?”, billboards were also placed above a specific location and jokingly asked if the album/briefcase was inside.

Why this matters

Utopia's literal and figurative meanings are starting to come together, playing a vital role in the album's rollout. The briefcase is the literal representation of the album that allows fans to “search” for a physical object. The concept of the briefcase also transcends the intangible era of music in a digital streaming age.

In an interview with Pin-Up magazine last month, Travis spoke about the meaning of the album title. “Utopia is something that people feel is so far-fetched and out of reach, some perfect state of mind. But you create it yourself. There are people who achieve utopia every day. They may not be the richest people with the dopest cribs, but it’s a utopia wherever they are, and that’s the most you can have.”

The search for the Utopia briefcase represents the figurative meaning of the word and the abstract search for a place of perfection. Travis made Utopia digestible for everyone. An 8th grader can understand the concept of searching for a briefcase, and a philosophy major can write a thesis on the search for a Utopia state of mind. Travis’ lyrics may not be as intellectual as Kendrick Lamar, but his album rollouts are genius—like puzzle pieces that slowly come together to paint a bigger picture.

Lil Uzi Vert Says They’re Releasing Another Album Instead of ‘Pink Tape’ Deluxe

Lil Uzi Vert’s long-awaited album Pink Tape finally dropped last week and Uzi’s already on to the next. First, they posted an IG story saying if fans get their album to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, they will drop “the album y’all really looking for”.

There are 2 options for this must-have Uzi album—Luv Is Rage 3 or 16*29 with Playboi Carti. It seems to be the former, as Uzi updated their IG bio soon after to read “luv is rage 3.” Fans are hesitant to believe Uzi will drop 2 projects back to back (rightfully so it took 3 years to get Pink Tape), but all signs point to a new album.

Using audio on Twitch streamer Kani Rose’s broadcast, Uzi answered fans' questions from the live chat. In response to a user who asked if Pink Tape will have a deluxe version, they said “No” and followed it up with “But I will drop a whole ‘nother album.” It’s unclear how quickly Uzi plans to release something else, but Luv Is Rage 2 was released on August 25th, 2017, and the same date falls on a Friday this year.

Pink Tape is projected to sell 165K album-equivalent units in the first week (according to HDD), setting Uzi up for the first #1 rap album of 2023. The album was streamed 53.4M times on its opening day on Spotify—the highest streams for any rap album this year.

Pink Tape collaborator says the studio was “horror-movie scenery”

Receptions to the new album are divided. Some praise Uzi’s genre experimentation with Playboi Carti-like ad-libs and metalcore samples, while others claim they’re washed. The screamo song “Werewolf” featuring UK metal band Bring Me The Horizon raised eyebrows, and frontman, Oli Skyes, talked Rolling Stone about working with Uzi.

Collaborating over Zoom, Skyes would virtually sit in on Uzi’s studio sessions which he described aesthetically as “crazy” and said, “It was like a crazy horror-movie scenery.”

The setting intentionally reflected the sound Uzi was trying to create, and Skyes said Uzi knew exactly the type of metal sound he wanted from the band. “When people think of Uzi, they think [Uzi] is just all over the place, but there’s a method to the madness.”

Context for those of you out touching grass

Luv Is Rage 2, released in 2017, was Uzi’s debut studio album featuring the career-defining hit “XO Tour Lif3” and set the stage for them to become one of rap’s biggest stars. The album was punctuated by yelps, heartfelt singing, drug-drenched melodies, and spaceship pop beats that soundtracked a breakup in a distinctly Uzi way. Tracks like “The Way Life Goes,” “444+222”, and “Sauce It Up” are fan favorites to this day, fueling the cries for “the old Uzi” in comment threads about Pink Tape.

Why this matters

There are risks whenever an artist departs from the sound and style expected of them. Pink Tape doesn’t tiptoe into unknown territory or take influence from rock and metal music—it dives fully into the deep end. Taking a hard left can result in losing fans and decreased album sales. The 165K projection for first-week sales is over 100K less than sales for Eternal Atake, Uzi’s last album.

It’s possible Uzi planned this from the beginning, to release a polarizing album and follow it up with the safer bet that meets expectations. It would offset the risk of premiering a new sound but until Luv Is Rage 3 is released (fingers crossed) there’s no telling how committed Uzi is to wanting to rock with heavy metal.

Why Drake Had Floating Sperm on Tour & May Release ‘For All The Dogs’ Sooner Than You Think

Drake & 21 Savage opened their It’s All A Blur tour in Chicago last night, featuring some unexpected guests—floating sperm, Virgil Abloh, and a young Drake. The show opened with the 2011 song “Look What You’ve Done” marking the first time Drake’s performed it in over a decade.

As he ran through tracks from his early discography, a kid resembling a younger version of himself appeared next to him. There’s debate about whether the kid is real or a hologram, but concert videos suggest it’s an actor whose face is digitally altered on the jumbo screens. The visuals also paid homage to the late Virgil Abloh.

The weirdest flex was when floating sperm was projected as a hologram alongside inflatable sperm that swam over the audience. There’s no official context as to why this creative decision was made, but it may allude to Drake’s “baby-making music” and the popularity of his songs in the bedroom.

Drake passively addressed the old news that the Childish Gambino song “This Is America” started out as a Drake diss track. The sides of the stage lit up with red writing that said, “The overrated and over-awarded hit song ‘This Is America’ was originally a Drake diss record.”

The show’s setlist included 35 Drake songs, 21 Savage came out to perform 12 songs alone, and the Her Loss duo closed out the show with 5 collaborative tracks. Drake did an encore with his song “Legend” wrapping up the first night of tour.

During the show, he addressed his forthcoming album For All The Dogs saying it’s “coming out soon for y’all.” The hot take is that he releases it tonight after his 2nd show in Chicago, similar to the surprise drop of Honestly, Nevermind. His song “Chicago Freestyle” was also a surprise drop in 2020.

Context for those of you out touching grass

It’s All A Blur is Drake’s first North American tour since 2018’s Aubrey & the Three Migos. Besides his annual OVO fest in Toronto and a handful of festival appearances, Drake hasn’t been active on the live performance front.

Earlier this year, Childish Gambino revealed in an interview with GQ that his Grammy Award-winning song, “This Is America”, started out as a Drake diss but ended up becoming “we are the world for trap.” The track won Song Of The Year at the 2019 Grammys beating Drake, whose “God’s Plan” was also nominated. Does the “overrated and over-awarded” part of Drake’s response make more sense now?

Why this matters

The sperm visuals feel like another one of Drake’s self-parodies, similar to his recent poetry book, which is a humorous collection of petty IG captions. He knows how to play into the expectations others have placed on him.

It’s a safe bet that his album, For All The Dogs, will be released sooner than you think, building upon the promotion of his tour and poetry book. He’ll also sidestep a release date that coincides with another major album like Travis Scott’s Utopia or Lil Uzi’s Luv Is Rage 3, leaving only a handful of Fridays open for his moment in the spotlight.

The Rap Index ft. Lil Uzi Vert, Jay Rock, Lil Baby, 42 Dugg & More

The Rap Index is a way to follow and discover new music. Divided into 4 categories, describing rap subgenres, songs are placed according to their style and sound—giving you a better idea of what songs will appeal to your musical taste. Only releases from the previous New Music Friday are included to help keep you up to date.

1. “Flooded The Face” by Lil Uzi Vert (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

2. “Endless Fashion” by Lil Uzi Vert, Nicki Minaj (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

3. “One Time” by 42 Dugg (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

4. “Real Type” by Rylo Rodriguez, Lil Baby (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

5. “Eastside” by Jay Rock, Kal Banx (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

6. “Google Maps” Jay Critch, Maiya The Don (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

7. “Ain’t Even Friends” by Ryan Trey, Mariah the Scientist (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

8. “False Idols” by The Weeknd, Lil Baby, Suzanna Son (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

• TikTok launches premium TikTok Music streaming service that rivals Spotify. The new app combines “the power of music discovery on TikTok with a best-in-class streaming service.”

• 6lack partners with AI platform Endel to release alternate wellness versions of new album. Using AI, Since I Have A Lover was recreated as 2 soundscapes scientifically engineered to promote better sleep and focus.

• Nicki Minaj joins Drake and Lil Wayne as the rappers with the most Top 10 hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The Young Money trio has 23 hits each.

Like sports? 🏀 🏈 Get up-to-date analysis and unique insight that’s actually interesting to read with the Playmaker Newsletter.