Utopia is here, but not without a spot of awkwardness. Travis Scott released his fourth album – and follow-up to 2018’s smash hit Astroworld – on Friday, with one song featuring a major shoutout to persona non grata Kanye ‘Ye’ West.
Ye, 46, has been ousted from the spotlight since making a series of public antisemitic comments in late 2022, but Trav’s new song, “Skitzo” with Young Thug shows where his allegiance lies when it comes to the 2024 presidential election. “Crazy how they love to talk sh*t and got no Trident / I’m loyal, b***h, I got Ye over Biden,” Travis raps.
Ahead of the release of Utopia, Genius listed some details about Travis’ track “Delresto,” saying it was produced by Hit-Boy and umro. The track was “recorded on December 8, 2020, during Utopia sessions in Mexico,” per Genius. “Kanye recorded his vocals in June of 2021 for a version that also features James Blake and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. Travis confirmed the song’s release for Utopia on July 22, 2023, at his Rolling Loud set where it was displayed along with 4 other titles in the fictional Utopian language from Thomas More’s 1516 book Utopia.”
However, when the track was actually released, Kanye’s vocals weren’t included. Instead, Beyonce was featured on the track. Kanye has writer and/or producer credits on “Delresto,” “Thank God,” “God’s Country,” and “Telekinesis.”
This album is not the first time Ye and La Flame have worked together. Travis appeared on Ye’s “Champions” in 2016, “Wash Us In The Blood” in 2020, and “Praise God” in 2021. Ye joined Travis on 2015’s “Piss On Your Grave,” on 2016’s “In Common (remix),” and on 2018’s “Watch.”
Ye came under fire in October 2022 after tweeting he was going “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” A week later, when he spoke with Piers Morgan, Ye refused to apologize. In the weeks following, Adidas cut ties with Ye and Yeezy Sneakers. He faced condemnation across the board, and his Twitter account was suspended for inciting violence. Since then, Ye has kept a low profile, save for the time he married Bianca Censori in secret (and when he was under investigation for grabbing a woman’s phone.)
Ahead of Utopia‘s release, Travis teamed up with another KarJenner-adjacent individual. Travis, Bad Bunny, and The Weeknd teamed for “K-Pop.” Bad Bunny has been linked to Kylie’s sister, Kendall Jenner, since February 2023.