Travis Scott drops 'Utopia,' his first album since the Astroworld festival tragedy

NEW YORK (AP) — Rapper Travis Scott has released “Utopia,” his first album in five years and his first major release since 10 people died at his 2021 Astroworld music festival.

The star-studded 19-track “Utopia” features Beyoncé, SZA, Drake, Sampha, Young Thug, Playboi Carti, Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Future, Bon Iver, James Blake, Kid Cudi, 21 Savage, and many more.

The LP, Scott’s fourth full-length, was originally announced back in 2020 and follows 2018’s “Astroworld.” In November 2019, 10 people died as a result of compression asphyxia during a massive crowd surge during Scott’s Astroworld festival. A grand jury declined to file charges against Scott earlier this year.

The first track from the album, the popetón -adjacent “K-pop”, was released on July 21 and features The Weeknd and Bad Bunny. The release spans genres — an eclectic mix of autotune ambient ballads (“My Eyes”), ferocious bars (“Looove”), futuristic trap (“Lost Forever,” Telekinesis"), and beyond.

In addition to the album, Scott hosted a one-night-only release of his feature film, “Circus Maximus” at select theaters on Thursday night.

“Utopia” was originally scheduled to be celebrated with a livestreamed concert at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, but was canceled due to “complex production issues,” Live Nation said in a statement.

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By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer