\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYeah, man, I swear these old niggas kill me,\u201d raps Travis Scott<\/a> in his typical melodic flow on \u201cChampain & Vacay.\u201d The Houston star\u2019s pushback against Clipse<\/a>\u2019s \u201cSo Be It,\u201d where Pusha T<\/a>\u2019s ripped Scott for his\u00a0 \u201clack of loyalty\u201d<\/a> towards past mentors and friends like Kanye West<\/a> and Drake<\/a>, seems relatively tame. The irony, though, is that Scott isn\u2019t young anymore, either. At age 34, he\u2019s been a star since 2014\u2019s Days Before Rodeo<\/em>, and his traits are overly familiar: the watery and slightly distorted harmonies, the insistent luxury metaphors, and the way he punctuates his verses with adlibs like \u201cit\u2019s lit!\u201d and \u201cstraight up!\u201d At his best, Scott shapes these tropes into immersive Astroworlds<\/em>, creations where the sonics are so dazzling that one tends to overlook its plasticine exteriors and lack of nuance and frisson. But a decade\u2019s a long time to spend in virtual reality.<\/p>\n \n\tJackboys 2<\/em>, a sequel to 2019\u2019s EP-length chart-topper Jackboys<\/em>, may be intended as a showcase for Scott\u2019s Cactus Jack imprint and acts like Don Tolliver, Sheck Wes, SoFaygo, and Wallie the Sensei. But it ultimately sounds like Scott and his Amazing Friends. He hogs most of the tracks alongside high-wattage guests like Playboi Carti and Future<\/a> (\u201cWhere Was You\u201d), Tyla and Vybz Kartel (the tropical-sounding \u201cPBT\u201d), Youngboy Never Broke Again (\u201cOutside\u201d), and 21 Savage (\u201cKick Out\u201d). The nearly hour-long project is threaded with quotes from UGK hero Bun B that seem designed to center Jackboys 2<\/em> as a Texas-sized blockbuster. \u201cThis shit get intergalactic,\u201d promises Don Tolliver on \u201cChampaign & Vacay.\u201d<\/p>\n