Ashton Travis - PHOENIX MODE [EP Review]
Houston hip-hop artist Ashton Travis re-emerges with his much-awaited EP ‘PHOENIX MODE’. The release is a statement of confidence, independence and honesty from an artist who has previously struggled to be heard.
Prior to graduating from college, Ashton Travis realised that he was spending more time making music than going to classes and decided that he may as well duck out early to focus fully on his passion. However, this wasn’t just some flight of fancy. He’d impressed his fellow Howard University students with mixtapes he’d created and had a close connection to another budding artist who was similarly driven to make music for a living, Travis Scott. Ashton and a pre-fame Scott had met while they were both at high-school in Houston, forming a close bond over their shared die-hard love of hip-hop and dreams of becoming rap-stars themselves.
Both were later picked up by the record label Cactus Jacks, but while Scott steadily made his ascent to fame, things didn’t come so easily for Ashton and his experiences left him feeling disillusioned and uncertain about his place in the industry. Things changed when, in 2018, he landed a new record deal with Def Jam records and was featured on the label’s ‘Undisputed’ compilation mixtape.
Following a year or so of work, Travis delivers ‘PHOENIX MODE’. Released in September, the EP consists of seven low-key club tunes for late night listening which showcase Travis’ strength as both a rapper and vocalist amidst dense electric production and trap inflected R&B beats.
The album’s seductive second track, ‘Passion & Pain!’ is a good summary for the resounding predicament that Travis’ alludes to in his lyrics. Passionate affairs, for all their heat, are a source of trouble for the artist. Tucked away behind catchy melodies and heavy rhythms, Travis is cutting to the chase, calling out superficiality and selfishness while expressing how he too is ‘playing with fire’ - another apt track title to summarise the vibe.
The Tane, TeeJ & Groove produced ‘Robbery’, a track challenging a gold-digging girl, is the most exciting from the album. It’s hooky and buoyant, with some bombastic vocal sampling and funky flourishes. The lush bed of instrumentals is a great complement to Travis’ smooth, flowing vocals.
The album also features ‘Death Row’, a cool, contemplative offering set over jittering beats in which Travis divulges his ride or die mindset when he was struggling to make headway in the industry. It’s the same track that earnt a spot on Def Jam’s compilation release, produced by Travis’ frequent collaborator GZMO, who also worked on ‘INFINITY’, ‘Playing With Fire’ and ‘Almost There’. The album also features production from Wolfe de Mchls, Timbaland, 1500 or Nothin’ and J-Mo.
Speaking on his new music, Travis said, "I’ve overthought a lot of things and I’ve held myself back from different opportunities because I’ve been living in my mind, worried, focusing on what could be. With the music I have now, it just feels like a collection of songs that scream I’m here, I’m alive, I’m happy to be alive, and I’ma talk about shit that moves my spirit, hoping that it moves the next person’s spirit that listens to it because we ain’t got all day. We could be dead tomorrow."