JACKBOYS by JACKBOYS Review
Travis Scott, founder of Cactus Jack Records and member of JACKBOYS, a rap collective signed to his label
Travis Scott recently released his new EP JACKBOYS with the rap collective JACKBOYS, made up of multiple artists signed to Scott’s record label Cactus Jack Records.
The EP features a trap sound common to both modern rap and Scott’s personal sound, and the first song, “Highest in the Room” is largely a Travis Scott song, likely to get the listener on board with the EP as Scott’s name holds the most power among the contributing artists. The song itself also embodies the EP as well. The instrumental and vocal production are all good, but Scott’s verse clearly holds the most substance.
The next full song, “GANG GANG”, does not have as much going on, however. The production and rapping are all good again, but the song just does not have anything interesting enough to keep the listener’s attention. The production, while good, is too one-note and does not do enough to differentiate itself, and the vocals, again, are good but lack any real substance, largely due to its nature as a collective EP, not the EP of one specific artist.
The final two tracks of the EP, “WHAT TO DO?” and “GATTI”, feature the most dynamic and interesting tracks on the EP though. “WHAT TO DO?”, while a little long, had lyrics that pull the listener in with an interesting situation and story. Travis Scott’s name on this track further indicates that he carries the most weight lyrically on the EP.
The final song, “GATTI”, has by far the strongest beat and flow of the album. Pop Smoke’s opening verse flows naturally and creatively, making a much more interesting experience than the rest of the EP. The track is well placed as the musical peak of the EP.
Despite these good final tracks, the lack of anything really meaningful permeates most of the EP. Once the freshness of new music wears off, there are still several songs of simply more of the same. This is not a Travis Scott album, or any other artist’s album, so the EP obviously will not tell an overly personal story, but the album still leaves something to be desired.
James Martini’s interest in writing began as early as the second grade, and he has written ever since. As a senior, he began his career at the Jesuit Chronicle, writing about the numerous activities, events, and issues facing the Jesuit student body and community today. His primary interests center around art, skateboarding, and pop culture. Outside of writing, James produces music and develops video games both as himself and as part of Jesuit’s Game Design Club. He also plays a pivotal role in the Robotics team, working as its captain in the 2018-2019 school year. He worked with Jesuit’s Zero Robotics club in 2018 and 2019, successfully advancing to the international finals at MIT in Boston, working alongside teams from San Francisco and Italy. When not working on school or other projects, James passes time skateboarding, a passion he first took up when he was six, and rekindled in 2019 after a nearly five year break from the activity.
