Here’s 7 Things You Need To Read Before Purchasing a Franchise (Number 6 Will Shock You).
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[6.00]
Wayne Weizhen Zhang: First there was the Rosalía and Lil Baby remix to “Highest in the Room,” then there was that Kid Cudi “THE SCOTTS” nonsense, and now with this Young Thug & M.I.A. collaboration, and my resistance to Travis Scott has finally crumbled. FRANCHISE is fiery and chaotic, in the best sense of both words.
[7]
Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Travis Scott works best as the boring connective tissue between moderately outre component pieces– his catatonic affect shines when it’s undergirding the haunted house energies at work on “Sicko Mode” or “Maria I’m Drunk.” But that skillset makes Scott inherently a system player, a normie frontman only as good as the contributions of the weirdos around him. When he’s got Stevie Wonder and Kid Cudi providing his set dressing it’s great; when it’s a tired Young Thug and a lost M.I.A, it’s painful. The best part of this Travis Scott song is a verse by Travis Scott, and the man is simply not interesting enough for it to be sustainable.
[4]
Thomas Inskeep: Travis Scott makes music to sell merch; there’s no compelling artistic impulse here, none. He even manages to shave the interesting edges off of Thug on this song, and I have no clue what M.I.A. is doing here, other than cashing what I hope was a healthy check. This is nothing more than a commercial for Travis Scott, and I’m not buying.
[2]
Juana Giaimo: Even when I listened to this song several times, I’m still pleasantly surprised every time Young Thug and M.I.A. casually break in — they don’t need an introduction, they just appear out of nowhere and take the song somewhere else. The deep dark track combines really nicely with the slow and drowsy flow that the three of them use.
[7]
Edward Okulicz: Sounds as overblown and distorted and shitty-but-great on good speakers as my crappiest earbuds, so that’s a deliberate stylistic choice. Young Thug and M.I.A. are but mere accessories, in the fashion and crime senses of the word, popping in and out, ignorable if you feel like it (neither contributes a lot). “FRANCHISE” as versatile as a white tee; perhaps not made for the club precisely, but definitely ideal for a lockdown-breaking cruise through the streets.
[7]
Crystal Leww: “FRANCHISE” has the crawl and lurch of the Dem Franchize Boyz that the song pays tribute to but because it’s a Travis single, feels a lot more icy and sinister than the sunny bounce of 00s crunk. The M.I.A. verse is so “bad” that it makes the rap fanboys furious that she “ruined” a perfectly “good” Travis Scott and Young Thug collaboration and that makes “FRANCHISE,” in fact, “incredible.” DFB would have wanted rap to stay fun anyway.
[8]
Alfred Soto: This Miamian’s a sucker for these blown-woofer beats, and Travis Scott and especially M.I.A. sound impressive boasting over them. Young Thug punches his verses like a clock.
[7]