"Modern Jam" is a song by American rapper

Travis Scott Jacques Bermon Webster III (born April 30, 1991), known professionally as Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had five number-one hits on the U.S. ''Bil ...

featuring fellow American rapper

Teezo Touchdown Aaron Lashane Thomas (born October 31, 1992), known professionally as Teezo Touchdown, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. On September 8, 2023, released his debut studio album, '' How Do You Sleep at Night?'', and em ...

, from the former's fourth studio album, ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

'' (2023). The song was produced by Scott and

Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo Guillaume Emmanuel "Guy-Manuel" de Homem-Christo (; born 8 February 1974) is a French musician. He is known as one half of the former French house music duo Daft Punk, along with Thomas Bangalter. He has produced several works from his now-def ...

, with additional production from

Jahaan Sweet Jahaan Akil Sweet is an American record producer, songwriter, and pianist from Jacksonville, Florida. Sweet was first credited with production work on projects by California-based singer Kehlani, who he met at Juilliard School in 2014. He co-produ ...

and Mike Dean. The song was certified Gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) in August 2024.

Background

"Modern Jam" uses elements originally created by Homem-Christo and Scott for an early version of " I Am A God" by

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

, from his 2013 album ''

Yeezus ''Yeezus'' is the sixth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released on June 18, 2013, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. West gathered a number of artists and close collaborators for the production, includi ...

''.

Composition

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

Critical reception

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." Tom Breihan of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' praised the feature, writing "Teezo Touchdown's operatic glam-rock vocals on 'Modern Jam' seem to come out of nowhere." Regarding the production, Vivian Medithi of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...

'' commented "Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo's rounded-off

808s ''808s & Heartbreak'' is the fourth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West, released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 24, 2008, having been recorded earlier that year in September and October at Glenwood Studio ...

provide a deliciously flubbery springboard for Scott's best clunkers." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''s Andre Gee commented the song "feels like an ode to Eighties hip-hop that's subtle enough to not feel gimmicky." Shaad D'Souza of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' 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 Eiffel may refer to: Places * Eiffel Tower, in Paris, France, designed by Gustave Eiffel *:* Champ de Mars – Tour Eiffel station, Metro station serving the Eiffel Tower * Eiffel Bridge, Ungheni, Moldova, designed by Gustave Eiffel * Eiffel Bri ...

' just isn't as funny or as blithely stupid as anything on ''

''". ''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. Nathan Evans of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' 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 André Lauren Benjamin (born May 27, 1975), known professionally as André 3000, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he was one half of the hip-hop duo Outkast along with rapper Big Boi, which the two formed in 1992. Benj ...

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." Alphonse Pierre of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' 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!" ''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." Mackenzie Cummings-Grady of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' ranked it as the second best song from ''Utopia''.

Music video

The music video was directed by

Gaspar Noé Gaspar Noé (; ; born 27 December 1963) is an Argentine filmmaker, who lives and worked primarily in France. He is one of the primary exponents of New French Extremity, with his most notable works including the feature films '' I Stand Alone'' ...

. The music video is a segment in the film ''

Circus Maximus The Circus Maximus (Latin for "largest circus"; Italian language, Italian: ''Circo Massimo'') is an ancient Roman chariot racing, chariot-racing stadium and mass entertainment venue in Rome, Italy. In the valley between the Aventine Hill, Avent ...

'' (2023). 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 Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

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 France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Charts

Certifications

Notes

References

{{Travis Scott songs 2023 songs Travis Scott songs Teezo Touchdown songs Song recordings produced by Travis Scott Song recordings produced by Jahaan Sweet Song recordings produced by Mike Dean (record producer) Songs written by Travis Scott Songs written by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo Songs written by Jahaan Sweet Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer) Electro songs