Travis Scott and Quavo- Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho Brief Album Review

(By: Thomas Rodriguez)

Travis Scott and Quavo team up to produce one of the most anticipated rap collaborations of the year.

 

2017 has definitely been the year for collaborative rap projects; whether it be Super Slimy By Young Thug and Future, Without Warning by 21 Savage and Offset, or the countless Metro Boomin collaboration mixtapes, it seems like many of today’s biggest names in rap are taking advantage of a new desire by music fans to experience crossovers between their favorite artists. Under the moniker HUNCHO JACK (a combined effort between Travis Scott and Quavo of Migos fame), the duo have just released a highly awaited album titled Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho. Scott has already made headway into the mainstream through his two massively successful albums, 2015’s Rodeo and 2016’s Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, just as Quavo has become the face of the rap trio Migos, and made huge success being a featured artist on some of this year’s biggest musical hits. Both artists have worked together before, on some of the best songs that each artist has made in their career, with “pick up the phone” and “Oh My Dis Side” being prime examples of the quality they have made together. However, despite a solid and consistent atmosphere being made throughout this new project in its moody beats and production, Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho leaves a lot to be desired in the performances of Scott and Quavo themselves.

The largest positive that can be found in this new album is easily the vibe that it creates. Whether it be through the woozy synths in standout “Moon Rock” or the wonderful sample-heavy intro on the equally solid “Modern Slavery”, the album has a consistently nocturnal, hedonistic atmosphere that just makes your skin crawl. It sounds evil, and can be a great soundtrack to a late night drive or modern crime film. The instrumentals, however, don’t really save the album as a whole. For the majority of the project, Scott and Quavo, for lack of a better word, are on autopilot. Whether it be the incredibly half-assed “Motorcycle Patches”, or the wasted potential of the title track “Huncho Jack” with its great organs, Quavo does not consistently deliver memorable lines (something he’s known for in literally everything he does). Scott, meanwhile, just uses his same flow for the majority of the song in which he performs, wash, rinse, repeating for the rest of the track. Even after listening to these songs multiple times, I could not for the life of me tell the difference between the musical twins “Saint Laurent Mask” and “Dubai Shit”. Sometimes the performances get slightly more memorable and allow for a decent song, such as on “Eye 2 Eye” (with a great verse from the featured Migo, Takeoff) or on “Where U From”, where Scott’s melodies and Quavo’s raps go hand in hand with the luscious instrumental. With this being said, this album isn’t bad, it’s just disappointing because of how amazing we know these guys can perform together. It’s somewhat like seeing an straight A student turn in a C-grade project. We can’t get too upset at the student, but the project is still disappointing.

Score: 5.5/10

Tracks to Save: “Modern Slavery”, “Eye 2 Eye”, “Moon Rock”, “Where U From”

Tracks to Skip: “Motorcycle Patches”, “Dubai Shit”, “Saint Laurent Mask”

Did you like this album? Any comments or criticism? Comment down below and let me know! I’d love to hear what you think!