Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight

Untitled

Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight is the second studio album by American hip hop recording artist Travis Scott. It was released on September 2, 2016, by Grand Hustle Records and Epic Records on Apple Music, premiering exclusively through Travis Scott's radio show .wav radio on Beats 1 and iTunes Store. The album features guest appearances from André 3000, Kid Cudi, Swizz Beatz, Blac Youngsta, Cassie, 21 Savage, Kendrick Lamar, Bryson Tiller, Young Thug, Quavo, The Weeknd, K. Forest and Nav, with the production from these several high-profile record producers such as Cardo, Mike Dean, Vinylz, WondaGurl, Cashmere Cat, TM88, Frank Dukes, Boi-1da, Allen Ritter, Murda Beatz and more, including production from Scott himself.

The album was supported by two singles: "wonderful" featuring The Weeknd, and "pick up the phone" with Young Thug featuring Quavo.

Background

In an interview with Billboard, Travis Scott explained the meaning of his album title: "My next album, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight is basically about all my friends and growing up here [in Missouri City]. I'm not saying that it's a trap, we not in the fucking projects but it's like a social trap. It's a social connection trap from what you want to do and how you want to express yourself. I feel like everyone just gets constricted by their parents or just life." Scott later said during the third episode of .wav radio on Beats 1 that the original name of the album was going to be Tina, until Quavo, another rapper inspired Scott to change the album name to Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight.

Release and promotion

On January 4, 2016, Travis Scott announced the next project on Snapchat. The name of the project was later revealed down the road as Travis began to tweet the title on Twitter, first removing all his tweets, and then confirming it was the name of the album during the Anti World Tour. On March 30, 2016, himself and Young Thug announced they were going to release a song in "the next few days". But the song wasn't released. In April 2016, Scott previewed a Young Thug collaboration during a performance in Houston. Weeks after, he played the full version of the song, "pick up the phone" with Young Thug and Quavo, at the Paris Nightclub in Chicago. On May 18, 2016, Scott performed a surprise show in Atlanta and confirmed the imminent release of the album. "I'm dropping my new album in a couple of fucking days." He went on to reveal that the album will feature "some of my favorite fucking artists." On June 2, 2016, Scott leaked the song on SoundCloud, stating that “This song was supposed to go to iTunes but labels are making this more complicated than it actually need to be this was gonna be my single but now I’m giving a way for the kids. P.S. They might take this down cause they don’t want kids to eat.” The song was taken down later that day. On June 3, 2016, "pick up the phone" was officially released for sale and streaming; however, it was marketed as Young Thug and Travis Scott featuring Quavo.

During a show in the Ford Amphitheater at the Coney Island on July 26, 2016, Scott announced the release date August 5, 2016 for Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight. The addition of Scott performing an unreleased track, however, the album missed its release date due to "technical difficulties" twice. On August 12, it was announced the release date for August 26, which is two weeks after a free event named the ".wav party" in Los Angeles, California, where it showcased two premiered music videos for "pick up the phone" and "90210", which both of them later released on Travis Scott's Vevo account on YouTube. On August 12, 2016, on the same night, Scott premiered a new song on the debut episode of his new Apple Music radio show with Chase B named the ".wav radio", titled "The Hooch", which was produced by Vinylz, Allen Ritter, Boi-1da and Mike Dean. He also revealed the album would have features from Kid Cudi and Kendrick Lamar and more, with production by Cashmere Cat, among others. The song was later released in on August 15, 2016, via Apple Music Connect. He later then announced that the album would be released on August 26, 2016. Later on August 19, 2016, Scott premiered a new song with Chase B on the second episode of ".wav radio", titled "Black Mass", which was produced by Murda Beatz and Cubeatz.

On August 25, 2016, one day before the release, Dean announced that the album has been delayed again, due to the incompletion with the album's mixing. Then on August 31, 2016, Scott announced that the album was finally finished in a post on Instagram. Scott premiered the album with Chase B on the third episode of .wav radio on September 2, 2016, with guest appearances and guest mixes by Pizza Boyz and Kendall Jenner. Scott later released a song, which was omitted from the album, called "RaRa". The song features guest vocals from American rapper Lil Uzi Vert, with the production that was provided by TM88 and Cubeatz. It was cut due to not being completed in time, however, Scott released it regardless of the situation.

Recording and production

On July 24, 2016, in an interview with DJ Whoo Kid, Scott revealed his biggest musical influence, Kid Cudi, would appear on the album. This was revealed a month after Cudi announced that Scott would appear on his respective solo album, Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'.

Singles

"wonderful" featuring Canadian singer The Weeknd was released as the album's lead single. After its premiere through Scott's SoundCloud on December 31, 2015, the song was serviced to rhythmic radio on February 16, 2016.

"pick up the phone" with Young Thug was released as the album's second single on June 3, 2016. It features a guest verse from Quavo and additional vocals from Starrah. The music video for the single premiered on August 12, 2016. "Pick Up the Phone" has so far peaked at number 82 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It is also included on Young Thug's mixtape Jeffery.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"the ends"	Jacques Webster Jahmar Carter Ozan Yildirim Anderson Hernandez Ebony Oshunrinde André Benjamin	Vinylz WondaGurl Daxz OZ	3:21
2.	"way back"	Webster Carlton Mays Jr. Chaucey Hollis, Jr. Magnus Høiberg Rogét Chahayed Michael Dean Brittany Hazzard Scott Mescudi Kasseem Dean	Hit-Boy Cashmere Cat Honorable C.N.O.T.E. Chahayed Dean	4:32
3.	"coordinate"	Webster Kevin Gomringer Tim Gomringer Bryan Simmons Sammie Benson	TM88 Cubeatz	3:46
4.	"through the late night"	Webster Mescudi K. Gomringer T. Gomringer Ronald LaTour Oladipo Omishore	Cardo Cubeatz Dot Da Genius	4:46
5.	"beibs in the trap"	Webster Navraj Goraya	Nav	3:33
6.	"sdp interlude"	Webster Ricci Riera Cassie Ventura	Riera	3:11
7.	"sweet sweet"	Webster Oshunrinde K. Gomringer T. Gominger Shane Lindstrom	Murda Beatz Cubeatz WondaGurl	3:42
8.	"outside"	Webster Lindstrom Yildirim Nishanth Thayaparan Shayaa Joseph	Murda Beatz OZ Nisi	2:56
9.	"goosebumps"	Webster LaTour K. Gomringer T. Gomringer Daveon Jackson Kendrick Duckworth	Cardo Yung Exclusive Cubeatz	4:03
10.	"first take"	Webster Bryson Tiller Sy Brockington Travis Peterson Mandell Strawter Billy Garcia Melvin Hough II Rivelino Wouter	Sy Ari Da Kid TEAUXNY Illa Jones Mel & Mus	5:13
11.	"pick up the phone" (with Young Thug)	Webster Hazzard Dean Hernandez Allen Ritter Maneesh Bidaye Adam Feeney Mick Schultz Jeffery Williams Quavious Marshall	Vinylz Frank Dukes Ritter Dean Bidaye Schultz	4:12
12.	"lose"	Webster Hazzard Feeney Hernandez Ritter	Frank Dukes Vinylz Ritter	3:20
13.	"guidance"	Webster Darren Fraser Kashief Hanson	dF	3:27
14.	"wonderful"	Webster Dean Abęl Tesfaye Matthew Samuels Tyler Williams	Boi-1da T-Minus Dean Travis Scott	3:36
Total length:				53:38

Track notes

• "the ends" features vocals by André 3000.
• "way back" features vocals by Kid Cudi and Swizz Beatz.
• "coordinate" features vocals by Blac Youngsta and additional vocals by Kid Cudi.
• "through the late night" features vocals by Kid Cudi.
• "beibs in the trap" features vocals by Nav.
• "sdp interlude" features vocals by Cassie.
• "outside" features vocals by 21 Savage.
• "goosebumps" features vocals by Kendrick Lamar.
• "first take" features vocals by Bryson Tiller.
• "pick up the phone" features vocals by Quavo and additional vocals by Starrah.
• "lose" features vocals by Cassie.
• "guidance" features vocals by K. Forest.
• "wonderful" features vocals by The Weeknd.

Sample credits

• "way back" contains a vocal sample of "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)..." performed by Jay Z, Beyoncé and Kanye West.

Personnel

Artists

• Travis Scott – artist (track 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
• André 3000 – featured artist (track 1)
• Kid Cudi – featured artist (track 2, 4), additional vocals (track 4)
• Blac Youngsta – featured artist (track 3)
• Cassie – featured artist (track 6, 12)
• 21 Savage – featured artist (track 8)
• Kendrick Lamar – featured artist (track 9)
• Bryson Tiller – featured artist (track 10)
• Young Thug – artist (track 11)
• Quavo – featured artist (track 11)
• Starrah – additional vocals (track 11)
• The Weeknd – featured artist (track 14)
• K. Forest – featured artist (track 13)
• Nav – featured artist (track 5)

Technical Personnel

• Mike Dean – recording engineer
• Todd Cooper – recording engineer
• Blake Harden – engineer
• Firas Quick – Recording Engineer
• Phillip 'Dockz' Cromwell – Assistant Engineer

Additonal personnel

• Corey Damon Black — art direction, design
• Jermaine Pegues — A&R
• Sickamore – A&R

Record producers

• Boi-1da – production (track 14)
• Vinylz – production (track 11, 12)
• Frank Dukes – production (track 11, 12)
• Cardo – production (track 4, 9)
• Cashmere Cat – production (track 2)
• Hit-Boy – production (track 2)
• Ricci Riera – production (track 6)
• WondaGurl – production (track 1, 7)
• Mike Dean – production (track 2, 11, 14)
• T-Minus – production (track 14)
• Travis Scott – production (track 14)
• TM88 – production (track 3)
• Dot Da Genius – production (track 4)
• Mick Schultz – production (track 11)
• Rogét Chahayed – production (track 2)
• Sy Ari Da Kid – production (track 10)
• Allen Ritter – production (track 11, 12)
• Cubeatz – production (track 3, 4, 7, 9)
• Daxz – production (track 1)
• Nav – production (track 5)
• Nisi – production (track 8)
• dF – production (track 13)
• TEAUXNY – production (track 10)
• Maneesh Bidaye – production (track 11)
• Illa Jones – production (track 10)
• Honorable C.N.O.T.E. – production (track 2)
• Mel & Mus – production (track 10)
• Yung Exclusive – production (track 9)
• Murda Beatz – production (track 7, 8)
• OZ – production (track 1, 8)