G.O.O.D. Music insider Mike Dean’s teased new music earlier this week, and that meant one of two things were happening Thursday night: a long awaited release from Astroworld — Travis Scott’s upcoming album — or the reveal of a rumored new track featuring Travis Scott alongside Lil Uzi Vert and Kanye West.
Shortly after midnight on air with Justin Credible of Power 106, Scott rewarded fans with a little of both by debuting the Uzi/‘Ye featured track “Watch” as the lead single off of Astroworld.
Opening “Watch” is Lil Uzi Vert — who we almost saw at Buku last March until he decided to no-show.
“Look at my rolly,” Uzi chimes in repeatedly, echoing the repetitive word play that’s become ever popular in today’s hip-hop with acts like Migos.
While the Philly-rapper limits himself lyrically to brags of money, cars and drugs, its hard to argue how catchy his cadence and flow are. The heavy hitting beats drive both his and Scott’s synth-y vocals, the latter of which takes over at about a minute in. Scott continues the braggadocios, auto-tuned bars and flow, spitting boasts of women and money with vague Houston references sprinkled in.
At roughly the two-minute mark, with Travis and Uzi trading bars, the song feels adequately wrapped up yet continues on with a verse from, apparently, “Donald Trump’s No. 1 fan” Kanye West.
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Ye’s part, however, feels more or less like an add-on. You can date his lines with his reference to the “Sunken Place,” a reference to the movie Get Out and more recently when Twitter-ers turned Kanye’s MAGA Hat selfie into a trending meme — meaning his feature had to have come together within the last week in a half.
While arguably the pallbearer of modern hip-hop's affinity for auto-tune, West falls flat on "Watch." His flow, comprised of inhaled gasps and nasally bars, leads to him sputtering out lines like, “I need someone else to make this drink because you don’t understand… the juice to vodka ratio.”
Kanye’s verse here feels like another unnecessary grab for spotlight, which he's done extensively just this week alone.
Uzi and Travis make for a captivating duo, with their harmonizing and polished auto-tuned vocals. The song epitomizes rap’s current trend for flow over lyrics, a goal for best hook over best verse — and save for the flatlined Kanye verse this song lives up to that mainstream appeal.
Critic's Rating — 3.5/5
Haven't heard it yet? Stream "Watch," Travis Scott's debut single off Astroworld via Spotify:
This article appears in May 3-10, 2018.