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Modern Jam

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"Modern Jam"
Song by Travis Scott featuring Teezo Touchdown
from the album Utopia
ReleasedJuly 28, 2023
Genre
Length4:15
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

"Modern Jam" is a song by American rapper Travis Scott featuring fellow American rapper Teezo Touchdown from the former's fourth studio album Utopia (2023). The song was produced by Scott and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, with additional production from Jahaan Sweet and Mike Dean. The song was certified Gold by the RIAA in August 2024.[1]

Background

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"Modern Jam" uses the same drums from a ten-year-old beat that was created for an early version of "I Am A God" by Kanye West.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Composition

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The instrumental of the song contains synths[8] and muted yells in the background.[3] Travis Scott imitates the flow of "I Am a God".[4]

Critical reception

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The song received mixed reviews. Complex's Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo deemed it one of the best songs from Utopia, saying she enjoyed the "experimentation" and "I can see myself adding it to some of my energy-infusing intended playlists. It's not an easy listen and was jarring at first, but the chaos is almost what makes it ensnaring."[9] Tom Breihan of Stereogum praised the feature, writing "Teezo Touchdown's operatic glam-rock vocals on 'Modern Jam' seem to come out of nowhere."[10] Regarding the production, Vivian Medithi of HipHopDX commented "Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo's rounded-off 808s provide a deliciously flubbery springboard for Scott's best clunkers."[3] Rolling Stone's Andre Gee commented the song "feels like an ode to Eighties hip-hop that's subtle enough to not feel gimmicky."[11] Shaad D'Souza of The Guardian stated it "feels like an AI recreation" of "I Am a God", further writing, "the track is grand and gothic, Scott's preferred mode, but pales in comparison with its 10-year-old antecedent. A decade later, few have managed to combine abrasive electronics and dick jokes quite like West, and a line such as 'Dick so hard, pokin' like the Eiffel' just isn't as funny or as blithely stupid as anything on Yeezus".[12]

Complex's Jordan Rose regarded the moments of Scott's imitation of Kanye West's style on Utopia to be the worst thing about the album, mentioning "Modern Jam" as an example.[9] Nathan Evans of NME wrote the song "gives early signs of the record's issues with forcing invigorating ideas into dull ones. Teezo Touchdown gives a spectacularly theatrical performance that sounds like André 3000 singing in a cabaret, but this is after one of the stalest performances of Scott's career over a stiff drum loop that came from Daft Punk's Guy-Man de Homem-Christeo [sic], his first piece of music since the French duo's split in 2021."[13] Alphonse Pierre of Pitchfork wrote, "'Modern Jam' features some embarrassingly uninspired stripped-down rapping by Travis. But oooh the mildly funky beat is co-produced by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk!"[14] Vulture's Craig Jenkins wrote that the song "complains about being unable to tour without tapping into the gravity of why, which is a shame, since some of the most intriguing moments in Travis's audiovisual presentation happen when he stops flexing and offers a glimpse into the determination under the hood."[4]

Mackenzie Cummings-Grady of Billboard ranked it as the second best song from Utopia.[15]

Music video

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The music video was directed by Gaspar Noé.[a] The music video is a segment in the film Circus Maximus (2023).[16] The video takes place in a dance club, where Travis is the DJ, wearing a gold and black eye mask, reminiscent of the Daft Punk helmet formerly worn by the song's producer and co-writer Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. The video has epileptic imagery with 1980s-style transitions throughout. The video was registered in France.

Charts

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Chart performance for "Modern Jam"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[17] 27
Australia Hip Hop/R&B (ARIA)[18] 13
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[19] 23
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[20] 29
France (SNEP)[21] 33
Global 200 (Billboard)[22] 18
Greece International (IFPI)[23] 54
Iceland (Plötutíðindi)[24] 14
Italy (FIMI)[25] 46
Latvia (LAIPA)[26] 17
Lithuania (AGATA)[27] 39
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[28] 23
Norway (VG-lista)[29] 36
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[30] 30
South Africa (Billboard)[31] 23
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[32] 3
UK Audio Streaming (OCC)[33] 45
US Billboard Hot 100[34] 23
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[35] 13

Notes

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  1. ^ Stated in the end credits of Circus Maximus.

References

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  1. ^ https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=modern+jam#search_section
  2. ^ Leake, Desmond (August 1, 2023). "Travis Scott's Utopia: In With the Old and Out With the New". Paste. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Medithi, Vivian (2023-07-30). "'Utopia' Is More Boring Than Travis Scott". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  4. ^ a b c Jenkins, Craig (August 2, 2023). "Travis Scott Is Raging Into Oblivion". Vulture. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  5. ^ McKinney, Jessica (July 28, 2023). "Why Travis Scott's 'Utopia' Reminds You Of Kanye West And 'Yeezus'". Complex. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  6. ^ Cummings-Grady, Mackenzie (July 28, 2023). "Travis Scott Uses Decade-Old Kanye West 'Yeezus' Beat On 'Utopia'". HipHopDX. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  7. ^ A., Aron (August 2, 2023). "Travis Scott "Utopia" Review". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  8. ^ "UTOPIA Review by TiVo Staff". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  9. ^ a b McKinney, Jessica; Caraballo, Ecleen Luzmila; Skelton, Eric; Rose, Jordan; Breskin, Stefan; Destefano, Mike; Felderstein, Ben (July 28, 2023). "First Impressions Of Travis Scott's New Album 'Utopia'". Complex. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  10. ^ Breihan, Tom (July 28, 2023). "Premature Evaluation: Travis Scott Utopia". Stereogum. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  11. ^ Gee, Andre (July 31, 2023). "Travis Scott's 'Utopia' Is an Empty Paradise". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  12. ^ D'Souza, Shaad (August 1, 2023). "Travis Scott: Utopia review – rap superstar gets lost amid sublime soundworld". The Guardian. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  13. ^ Evans, Nathan (2023-07-31). "Travis Scott - 'Utopia' review: lofty concept, shaky execution". NME. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  14. ^ Pierre, Alphonse (July 31, 2023). "Travis Scott: Utopia Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  15. ^ Cummings-Grady, Mackenzie (July 28, 2023). "Travis Scott's 'Utopia' Album: All 19 Songs Ranked". Billboard. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Travis Scott Floods the Zone with YouTube Release of Full 'Circus Maximus' Movie, 4 'Utopia' Music Videos". Billboard.
  17. ^ "Travis Scott feat. Teezo Touchdown – Modern Jam". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  18. ^ "ARIA Top 40 Hip Hop/R&B Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  19. ^ "Travis Scott Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  20. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 31. týden 2023 in the date selector. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  21. ^ "Travis Scott feat. Teezo Touchdown – Modern Jam" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  22. ^ "Travis Scott Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  23. ^ "Official IFPI Charts — Digital Singles Chart (International) — Εβδομάδα: 35/2023" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  24. ^ "Tónlistinn – Lög" [The Music – Songs] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on August 5, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  25. ^ "Travis Scott feat. Teezo Touchdown – Modern Jam". Top Digital Download. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  26. ^ "Mūzikas Patēriņa Tops/ 31. nedēļa" (in English and Latvian). LAIPA. August 8, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  27. ^ "2023 31-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. August 4, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  28. ^ "Travis Scott feat. Teezo Touchdown – Modern Jam". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  29. ^ "Travis Scott feat. Teezo Touchdown – Modern Jam". VG-lista. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  30. ^ "OLiS – oficjalna lista sprzedaży – single w streamie" (Select week 28.07.2023–03.08.2023.) (in Polish). OLiS. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  31. ^ "Travis Scott Chart History (South Africa Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  32. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 31". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  33. ^ "Official Audio Streaming Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  34. ^ "Travis Scott Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  35. ^ "Travis Scott Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
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