Track Review: durag activity by Baby Keem ft. Travis Scott

 

    “durag activity” is the new collaboration between exciting young Kendrick Lamar protégé Baby Keem and the everlasting psychedelic experience that is Travis Scott. The single dropped today and with an artist of such a high caliber like La Flame attached to the cut, I was extremely intrigued by this and was eagerly awaiting its release. The track clocks in at almost four minutes and it while not a perfect track by any means, it is a fantastic team-up between these two artists and is a must-add for your playlists.

  The track’s production is quite polished and mixed with an energetic, raucous nature. The song is characterized by the singular piano synth and the string chords, synthed up and looped to run alongside the mellowed percussion, giving this cut a mixture of energizing urgency and a sense of subtlety and relaxation. This track is a hindrance to itself with the two, conflicting sonic tendencies while also this characteristic being its greatest strength. The duality of this cut leaves the listener wishing for just one vibe; something to chill with or something to boost your energy. On the other side this quality makes for an extremely dynamic cut, laced with two opposite textures that further add to the variety of things “durag activity” has going for it, allowing for greater focus and an intense desire to hear everything this track contains sonically. The lyrics are nothing crazy from either Keem of Mr. Scott, but the flows are clean as hell and they are absolutely sliding over this beat, only kept down at times by the lack of emotion they provide with their lyrics. Travis changes his inflections and turns up the energy a little at the end, but not enough to compensate for their overall dull vocal performances. While there are some problems with this cut, “durag activities” is an intriguing collaboration that finds its groove by keeping the energy on the move and fluctuating the sonic nature of the cut and allowing its true identity to remain in limbo, which is either a stroke of brilliance or potentially disappointing to some who listen to “durag activity.”

Score:7/10