Travis Scott’s long-awaited “Utopia” album has arrived, and out of all 19 songs on the set, only a small handful saw the Houston-born rapper flying solo. In total, “Utopia” features over 18 artists — and that’s not including the indomitable list of producers and songwriters that offered their hand on the album.
Among them are some of the industry’s most lauded hitmakers: Featured singers, rappers and speakers include Beyonce, Drake, the Weeknd, Bad Bunny, SZA, Kanye West, Future, Pharrell, 21 Savage, Young Thug, Dave Chappelle, Playboi Carti, Bon Iver, Swae Lee, Kid Cudi and James Blake. Behind the boards were Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Metro Boomin, Mike Dean, Kanye West, Boi-1da and 30 Roc, all of whom are credited as producers and/or songwriters, among numerous others. Pharrell, Justin Vernon, Noah Goldstein (who’s worked extensively with Kanye West and on Rosalia’s “Motomami”) and Vegyn (known for his work on Frank Ocean’s “Blond” and “Endless”) also have songwriting and production credits.
Below, Variety breaks down all of the songwriters, producers and performing artists on the tracklist that makes up Scott’s fourth studio album, “Utopia.”
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‘HYAENA’
Sampling both Funkadelic and ’70s British prog rock band Gentle Giant, the opening track to “Utopia” is one of the few tracks that Scott isn’t joined by a featured artist. Scott is also the sole producer on the record but features a long list of songwriters. The track is written by: Scott, Andy Votel, Derek Shulman, Ebony Oshunrinde, Edward Hazel, George Clinton, Kerry Minnear, Mike Dean, Noah Goldstein and Ray Shulman.
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‘THANK GOD’
‘Thank God’ features performances from Kenyan-American artist KayCyy and American rapper Teezo Touchdown. The track additionally includes a line from a young child, presumably Scott and Kylie Jenner’s daughter Stormi, who says “That’s right, daddy” after Scott sings: “The storms are minor but you know she’s living major.”
The track is produced by Scott, Kanye West, Allen Ritter, BoogzDaBeast, WondaGurl and FNZ. It’s written by Allen Ritter, Ebony Oshunrinde, Isaac Boni, Jahmal Gwin, Kanye West, Mark Mbogo and Michael Mule.
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‘MODERN JAM’
‘Modern Jam’ is driven by its bumping drumbeat and features Teezo Touchdown. It’s produced by Scott and Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and was written by Scott, Aaron Thomas, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, and Mike Dean.
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‘MY EYES’
The first slowed-down track to appear on the tracklist includes features from melodic crooner Sampha and Bon Iver (aka Justin Vernon, who also appears in the production credits). It was written by Scott, Sampha and Bon Iver along with Buddy Ross (who worked on Frank Ocean’s “Blonde” and “Endless”), Dua, Ebony Oshunrinde, Vegyn and Wesley Glass. It was produced by Scott, Bon Iver, Wheezy, WondaGurl, Vegyn and Buddy Ross.
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‘GOD’S COUNTRY’
‘God’s Country’ has Scott listed as a solo performer, although he both wrote and produced the track alongside Dez Wright. 30 Roc also produced the song and Kanye West and Samuel Gloade also appear as songwriters.
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‘SIRENS’
Track six sees Scott on his own but though he had help in production from Jahaan Sweet. Sweet and Scott also appear in the songwriting credits beside Isaac Mpofu, John Fannon, Keith Kawambe and Noah Goldstein.
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‘MELTDOWN’
Scott reunites with Drake on ‘Meltdown,’ the seventh track on the album, and is their fourth collaboration behind “Pussy and Millions,” which appeared on Drake and 21 Savage’s collaborative album “Her Loss” last year. The track was produced by Coleman, BNYX, Boi-1da, Vinylz and Tay Keith. It was written by Drake, Scott, Vinylz, BNYX and Boi-1da.
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‘FE!N’
‘Fe!n,’ a long-anticipated release in the Scott fandom, features Playboi Carti and Sheck Wes and was solely produced by Scott. It was written by Scott, Playboi Cart, Sheck Wes and Jahaan Sweet.
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‘DELRESTO (ECHOES)’
‘Delresto (Echoes)’ once again features Bon Iver, this time alongside Beyoncé. Although they don’t appear on streaming credits, Hit-Boy and umru are both credited as the song’s producers alongside Scott. The track was written by Scott, Allen Ritter, Beyoncé, Hit-Boy, James Blake and Mike Dean.
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‘I KNOW ?’
Scott is the sole performer on ‘I Know?’ and is both a songwriter and producer. The track was also written by Buddy Ross, Kobe Hood, Ozan Yidlrim, aka OZ,(who also produced Scott and Drake’s ‘Sicko Mode’) and Scotty Coleman. OZ and Coleman are also credited as producers.
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‘TOPIA TWINS’
Lousiana rapper Rob49 joins Scott and 21 Savage on “Topia Twins,” which was both written and produced by Scott, Wheezy and Cadenza.
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‘CIRCUS MAXIMUS’
Swae Lee and the Weeknd are featured on “Circus Maximus,” produced by Scott and Noah Goldstein. The track was written by the featured performers along with Jahaan Sweet, Mike Dean and Goldstein.
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‘PARASAIL’
Comedian Dave Chappelle provides the mono-toned intro to ‘Parasail,’ which also features Swedish rapper Yung Lean. It was written and produced by Scott, Jahaan Sweet, Buddy Ross, Vegyn and Noah Goldstein. Additional credited writers include Anthony Ruiz, Chapelle and Jonatan Håsted.
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‘SKITZO’
Young Thug, who still remains incarcerated for RICO charges as part of the YSL trial, features on ‘Skitzo.’ It was produced by Boi-1da, Jahaan Sweet, Nik Dean and Coleman. It was written by Scott, Douglas Ford, Ebony Oshunrinde, India Arie Simpson, Sweet, Jeffery Williams and Matthew Samuels.
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‘LOST FOREVER’
Rapper Westside Gunn and James Blake are featured artists on “Lost Forever,” where Blake’s lulled vocals introduce the track and Gunn kicks it up. The song was produced by Scott, Dominic Maker, Blake and the Alchemist. The latter and Scott are also credited as songwriters alongside Gunn, Douglas Ford, Elliot Baker and James Litherland.
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‘LOOOVE’
Written by Scott, Pharrell Williams and Kid Cudi, ‘Looove,’ encapsulates all three artists’ signature sounds for nearly four minutes of a synth-imbued bassline. The track was solely produced by Scott.
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‘K-POP’
Bad Bunny and the Weeknd join Scott over a Latin-influenced drumbeat on ‘K Pop,’ the first and only single off ‘Utopia.’ It was produced by BNYX, Boi-1da, Jahaan Sweet and the Weeknd collaborator Illangelo. It was written by all three performers along with BNYX, Boi-1da, Jahaan Sweet, Bigram John Zayas and Carlo Montagnese.
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‘TELEKINESIS’
Signaling the end of “Utopia” is “Telekinesis,” clocking in at nearly six minutes with features from SZA and Future. It also boasts the longest list of songwriters on the tracklist: Scott, SZA, Future, Edgar Nabeyin Panford (who was nominated for album of the year for his work on Kanye West’s ‘Donda’), Jahaan Sweet, Jahmal Gwin, Kanye West, Nima and Paimon Jahanbin, along with Detroit-based soul and folk artist Victory Boyd. It was produced by Scott and BoogzDaBeast.
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‘TIL FURTHER NOTICE’
‘Utopia’ closes with the vocals of James Blake and 21 Ssavage, who assist Scott over the Metro Boomin and Blake-produced track. Both producers boast songwriting credits alongside Scott, 21 Savage and James Litherland.