DAYS BEFORE RODEO

So, Days Before Rodeo was this Travis Scott mixtape that never made it to streaming services—until now. Finally, it's up, and this is actually my first time hearing it, so I gave it a spin.

The first track sets the vibe with Travis talking about chasing success, backed by this eerie beat and killer drums. He wraps it up with some trippy vocal effects for a wild outro. Then there's "Mamacita," which, honestly, let me down a bit. The drums are fire, and Travis does his thing, but the features just didn't bring the energy I was hoping for. But after that, it's banger after banger. "Drugs You Should Try It" is straight-up hypnotic, "Zombies" has this hook that's stuck in my head, and "Sloppy Toppy" is just a blast.

I noticed Travis is using a ton of vocal effects on this tape compared to his other stuff—feels like he's still figuring out his sound. And man, he throws in a "Straight Up" adlib on almost every track, which gave me some serious deja vu. The drums hit harder than I expected, super vibrant and punchy. There are a lot more bangers on here than I thought there'd be, which was a nice surprise, even though it's not perfect.

I also learned that TI was supposed to have a verse on "Quintana Pt. 2," and while the beat switch and TI's part are cool, the transition feels off and messes with the track's vibe. "Skyfall" is good, but it didn't need to be five minutes long—it would've been a much better trippy banger if it was shorter. "Don't Play" has some sick features and solid performances, but the hook didn't really stick with me. Still, the whole thing was a pretty fun listen.

Overall, it's a solid mixtape from Travis Scott. Crazy to think this led up to "Rodeo"—you can definitely see the roots of that album here. I'm just glad it's finally on streaming so more people can check it out.

TRAVIS SCOTT - DAYS BEFORE RODEO

RATING - 8.2/10

FAVORITE TRACKS - Drugs You Should Try It, Zombies

GENRE - Rap, Hip-Hop, Trap