Travis Scott’s fourth studio album Utopia is currently in the mixing and mastering stage, per his trusted producer and engineer Mike Dean. But, instead of providing normal updates for the project via his official social media pages, Scott has taken an unorthodox route to roll out the LP.
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Over the weekend, the 32-year-old spent his time in Los Angeles visiting several different professional athletes. First, he linked up with football legend Tom Brady and multiple new NFL players who were selected in the league’s April draft. The group all attended an event hosted by Scott’s good friend Michael Rubin, founder of the sportswear brand Fanatics.
According to Page Six, Scott played Utopia for Brady, who shared in an Instagram post how much he enjoyed hanging around the rapper.
“I loved listening to and learning from @travisscott about his amazing journey as well, and couldn’t be more amazed by his incredible accomplishments, as a musician, entrepreneur, creative visionary and artist in every sense of the word (not to mention a great guy,” Brady wrote.
Along with Brady, Scott also played the album for Los Angeles Lakers basketballer LeBron James at Crypo.com Center, the site of James’ current NBA playoff series versus the Denver Nuggets. Fellow NBA star Kevin Durant heard the album this weekend too, Page Six reported.
This is becoming a common trend for Scott, who first played Utopia front to back on May 15 for the Houston Astros baseball team before their game versus the Chicago Cubs. Additionally, before Durant actually got to hear the album, he explained in a recent episode of his The ETCs podcast that Scott continued to tell him great things about the LP.
“I didn’t hear it, and I want to ask for some songs,” Durant said. “But I know for a fact he won’t send them, so I might have to catch him in the studio one of these days before it comes out, but he’s telling me that it’s fucking insane.”
On top of these private listening sessions with world-famous athletes, Scott has been walking around recently with a briefcase labeled “Utopia,” hinting to fans that he’s constantly working on it and editing it. After being caught by TMZ outside of his car with the briefcase last Thursday, he was seen with it again at Cannes Festival for the premiere of The Weeknd’s upcoming HBO series The Idol.
Always cryptic and enigmatic, we may not know Utopia‘s official track list or release date until days or even hours before. But, if Epic Records CEO Sylvia Rhone’s June prediction from earlier this year is accurate, Scott’s big moment is only weeks away.
Photo by Mauricio Santana/Getty Images
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