Travis Scott created a remix of Tyla’s ‘Water’ that created a groundbreaking musical product
Talk of a remix immediately surfaced as pop artist Tyla’s seductive Afrobeats single “Water” gained popularity in the late summer/early autumn. For the last year or so, the young South African artist had been rising gradually, but this was the opportunity she had been waiting for. On its own, the sensual hit that sounds like a late July night at your favorite backyard hangout had already garnered recognition from the always-listening set as one of the best of the summer and the entire year; all it took was a signature from a high-profile artist to send it skyrocketing.
Tyla’s ascent and the song “Water” are so innately adored that they have even sparked some vintage hoopla over who she should and should not really tap to jump on it. Would it be another female musician, such as Summer Walker, one of R&B’s current princesses, who gave Tyla a leg up on her own song “Girls Need Love”? Or would the remix include more masculine energy to intensify the sexiness? Even if listeners became weary of the 6ix God’s pranks and prayed against it, Drake remained the favorite in Vegas. The thought of Chris Brown, a very controversial person who hasn’t lost his R&B fastball and even offered Tyla an opening spot on a previous tour, elicited even more divided reactions. In any event, we would be OK as long as Trevor Jackson was kept far away from the official Pro Tools files.
So you can only imagine the general astonishment and puzzlement when Tyla finally selected Travis Scott as her artist. On a music that called for sensuality, the Lord of the Rage, lord of rowdy suburban youths, sweating and thrashing at shows? Wow, what a swerve!
Though it seems a bit out of place, I understand the misunderstanding. R&B hits with a dash of La Flame may not be his first, second, or even third go-to bag, but it has worked well in the past. The obvious example is “Love Galore,” a huge hit that gave SZA the platform to release her instantly iconic first album. It also had such a lasting effect that it forced Scott and SZA to collaborate again on her most recent effort, the underappreciated album cut “Open Arms.”
However, Travis was just as fast to lace a vibey R&B track as he was a trap hit before he became well-known. My true loves are Tinashe’s mid-2010s pre-“2 On” mixtape run, which produced the flawlessly melancholic song “Vulnerable,” which included a young Travis on his own parallel path to fame. And those with similarly refined taste won’t soon forget Travis’s addition of some spice to PartyNextDoor’s avant-garde breakup message “Juss Know” a few months later, during the imperial era. Travis’ strained Auto-Tuned warbles hardly last 30 seconds, and his lyrics are scarcely readable, yet his vocals are masterfully used, the ideal accompaniment to a headtrip of introspection and sorrow. Party’s voice is pitched up to inhuman heights for dramatic effect.
The impact is the same even if those other tunes are a bit simpler. When used properly, his loud bounce on “Love Galore” and his gothic tone on “Vulnerable” provide a little unconventional but all the more enticing counterbalance to the tunes. Although you wouldn’t expect him to coo or even deliver a slick, playboy one-liner like Drake would, Scott’s ability to remain loyal to his style and pull down the volume just a little makes him a successful R&B element when utilized properly.
To elaborate, his second album Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, which many music enthusiasts contend is his greatest, has a number of love songs masked as boisterous choruses. “Every time you visit, I get shivers;” “You have a cocoa-like sweetness;” “It’s not what I expected to see—this life without you.” —all simping and heaters translated for the angry masses. (Those who were there at the time may probably still recall the subject of those songs; if this is the case, you can’t blame him for being caught up.)”
Travis delivers a complete, well-delivered verse on the “Water” remix, which goes beyond merely his signature style and finds him in a more laid-back mood than we may anticipate. It fits in with the song flawlessly—it’s not too overpowering or ostentatious to risk detracting from Tyla’s performance. It’s not “Love Galore” per se—Tyla doesn’t really need to perform this without Travis at concerts since SZA always makes his verse sound amazing—but it works, as seen by the song’s live premiere at GQ’s Men of the Year celebration last night in Los Angeles. I applaud artists who sometimes choose to take an unexpected turn! Well done, everyone! Let’s go get Tyla that Grammy now.