Travis Scott is the leader of the new school. He’s designed several pairs of Jordan’s and got a baby by a Kardashian. I think he’s who every white rap fan would be if they magically became black over night. If you cracked a Juul in half I’m 80% positive an unreleased Travis song would start playing.
Make no mistake, Travis Scott is talented, dude makes turn up music and “bond with the kid you’re mentoring” music at the exact same time. That’s really tough. He’s always evolving, always changing. I think Travis is awkward because he has new thoughts and ideas every day and it’s hard to be comfortable with newness. Imagine if you were going through puberty every day for the rest of your life, that’ Travis Scott.
So when I saw that he had a surprise EP drop with a new group, I was intrigued. So lets get into JACKBOYS.
I was confused for a while, but I think I get it.
At first I thought that this was a good EP for people who are attracted to girls in bubble coats, giant sweatpants and chunky sneakers. If you like women who dress like the niggas you beat up in Streets of Rage, you’ll love this tape from the first play. For me, it took me a little bit longer. These are songs I’d listen to on my way to the club and on my way home from the club 15 minutes later. If this tape was a person I would tell me how much it “loves Henny” and “respects Kris Jenner”. I was not too impressed, but then that Pop Smoke song hit and I had reason to care. Like every other young Boston nigga, I aspire to be a Brooklyn nigga. That Pop Smoke song is perfect for me.
I liked Gatti so much that I had to start watching the videos for the album, I knew there was something I was missing about his tape. Then it hit me, this isn’t just an “EP” this is a short film. JACKBOYS aren’t just a rap group, they’re crooks, they steal cars and raise hell. This is the soundtrack to their lives. They’re the bad guys in every Black crime drama. This is the shit Jason Statham listened to in Fast And Furious 7 after he killed Han. This is also what The Rock listened to in Fast And Furious 8 when he was working with Jason Statham...EVEN THOUGH HE KILLED HAN, but that’s an argument for another day.
JACKBOYS (I Think) is the story of how Travis Scott got lured into crime by a beautiful spanish woman and ended up building a crew that loved to get fucked up and steal cars. There’s no clear ending yet, so I think this is a prequel to something much bigger. I’m very intrigued.
Travis might be onto something really special here, it took me a minute but I’m fully invested. I give JACKBOYS 7 Northface Puffy Coats out of 8.