It’s a triumph that Travis Scott sources from different parts to turn Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight into his unified vision. The cover art (shot by Nick Knight) shows Scott as something between a bird, a fallen angel, and a video game character - his eyes pure white with plumes of equally white smoke rising above. It’s a ridiculous image to cover an album that includes a song called “beibs in the trap” - a misspelling of Justin Bieber as slang for cocaine - but that’s the point. Travis Scott repurposes conventional subjects and sounds, making them compelling with his panache. Like his mentor, he seems keenly aware of his place in the genre. At one point, he literally says, “Shout my tropes!” By and large, the whole record is about rampant drug abuse, yet he transcends the rote topic with how forcefully and pompously he indulges. Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight escapes as Travis Scott’s best work yet: a combination of elevated significance, self-awareness, and the old trick of spinning something so plain into something so luxurious.