God's Country (Travis Scott song)

Last updated
"God's Country"
Song by Travis Scott
from the album Utopia
ReleasedJuly 28, 2023
Recorded2020–2022
Studio
Genre Christian hip-hop
Length2:07
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Travis Scott
  • 30 Roc
  • Dez Wright
Music video
"God's Country" on YouTube

"God's Country" is a song by American rapper Travis Scott from his fourth studio album, Utopia (2023). It was written by Scott, 30 Roc, Dez Wright, and Kanye West, being produced by the former three. The song is one of several tracks that originated from sessions for West's 2021 album Donda , with Scott originally being a guest artist. [1] [2]

Contents

Background

Along with several other tracks from Utopia , "God's Country" originated as a song by American rapper Kanye West, created during the sessions for his tenth studio album, Donda , than titled God's Country. [3] Like "Telekinesis", which started out as West's "Future Sounds", Travis Scott was the track's featured artist. [4] West would post a tracklist for Donda in July 2020 that featured "God's Country" as its tenth track, and the song was previewed in a leaked documentary about the album, directed by Dame Dash. [5] [6]

In August 2022, Scott performed "God's Country" during his show at the O2 Arena in London, which featured a guest verse from West. [7] Two months later, a version with both rappers verses would leak online. [5] According to No Bells' Zazie Bae, who talked with members of music leaking communities to find out which Utopia tracks were reworks of older songs, West's verse was cut due to it remaining unfinished, with Scott partially recording over his lines for the finished version of the song. [8]

Composition

The song includes a looped vocal passage which is sampled from Polish composer Krzysztof Komeda's "Lullaby, Part 1". [3] In the lyrics, Travis Scott highlights the notion of togetherness, emphasizing his family and moving away from public attention. [9] Stylistically, he uses an "exclamatory" tone similar to that of Kanye West's. [2]

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews from critics, particularly for the use of its sample. Variety's Yousef Srour and Jem Aswad commented, "The biting screams on 'God's Country' call to mind Ye's shrieks on 'I Am a God'". [10] Paul Attard of Slant Magazine described the song as a "psychedelic trip that's made even more surreal" by the sample. [3] Andre Gee of Rolling Stone said the song's vocal sample "evokes a horror movie about possessed children who lurk on the outskirts of sundown towns" and that Scott has a "solid" verse. [11] Aron A. of HotNewHipHop wrote the song "brings slinky child-like vocal samples through knocking bass. It's eerie yet playful and carries across the project." [12] Ben Devlin of MusicOMH wrote it "features a positively haunting vocal sample over which Scott delivers some of his most characterful lyrics". [13]

Complex's Eric Skelton and Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo picked "God's Country" (along with "Sirens") as the "biggest skip" of Utopia. [14] Similarly, Vivian Medithi of HipHopDX commented that the sample "screams immediate skip." [15]

Mackenzie Cummings-Grady of Billboard placed "God's Country" at number 16 in her ranking of the songs from Utopia. [16]

Music video

An official music video premiered alongside the song. At the start, Travis Scott takes a camera from people in a car and apparently uses it to film the daily lives and activities in a neighborhood. [9] [17] The visual features shots of fast bikes, basketball, dancing, [9] and community members (mostly children) singing the song. [9] [17]

Charts

Chart performance for "God's Country"
Chart (2023)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [18] 40
Australia Hip Hop/R&B (ARIA) [19] 20
Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [20] 27
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100) [21] 37
France (SNEP) [22] 39
Global 200 ( Billboard ) [23] 25
Greece International (IFPI) [24] 45
Iceland (Tónlistinn) [25] 21
Italy (FIMI) [26] 56
Latvia (LAIPA) [27] 16
Lithuania (AGATA) [28] 41
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [29] 38
Portugal (AFP) [30] 40
South Africa (TOSAC) [31] 10
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan) [32] 7
UK Audio Streaming (OCC) [33] 58
US Billboard Hot 100 [34] 28
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [35] 17

Certifications

Certifications for "God's Country"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [36] Platinum40,000‡
Canada (Music Canada) [37] Gold40,000‡
United States (RIAA) [38] Gold500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Jenkins, Craig (August 2, 2023). "Travis Scott Is Raging Into Oblivion". Vulture . Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 Galindo, Thomas (2023-07-29). "Review: Travis Scott's Return on 'Utopia' is Everything Rap Needed, and Then Some". American Songwriter . Archived from the original on July 30, 2023. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  3. 1 2 3 Attard, Paul (July 31, 2023). "Travis Scott 'Utopia' Review: A Bumpy but Exhilarating Ride". Slant Magazine . Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  4. ↑ Nevares, Gabriel Bras (2021-03-09). "Travis Scott, Future & SZA Soar Through Space On "UTOPIA"'s "TELEKINESIS"". HotNewHipHop . Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  5. 1 2 "New Kanye West & Travis Scott Song 'God's Country' Surfaces Online". HipHop-N-More. 2022-11-24. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  6. ↑ "Kanye West Shares Updated Tracklist for 'DONDA'; Announces Accompanying Movie". HipHop-N-More. 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  7. ↑ Rose, Anna (2022-08-07). "Watch Travis Scott perform his first major headline show since Astroworld in London". NME . Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  8. ↑ Bae, Zazie (2023-08-02). "UTOPIA sounds like a Kanye record because it is one". No Bells. Archived from the original on 2023-09-07. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Nevares, Gabriel Bras (July 29, 2023). "Travis Scott Shouts Out The Neighborhood In "GOD'S COUNTRY" Music Video". HotNewHipHop . Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  10. ↑ Srour, Yousef; Aswad, Jem (July 28, 2023). "Travis Scott's Long-Delayed 'Utopia,' Featuring Beyonce, Drake, the Weeknd and More, Was Worth the Wait: Album Review". Variety . Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  11. ↑ Gee, Andre (July 31, 2023). "Travis Scott's 'Utopia' Is an Empty Paradise". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  12. ↑ A., Aron (August 2, 2023). "Travis Scott "Utopia" Review". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  13. ↑ Devlin, Ben (August 4, 2023). "Travis Scott – Utopia". MusicOMH . Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  14. ↑ 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 8 September 2023.
  15. ↑ Medithi, Vivian (2023-07-30). "'Utopia' Is More Boring Than Travis Scott". HipHopDX . Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  16. ↑ Cummings-Grady, Mackenzie (July 28, 2023). "Travis Scott's 'Utopia' Album: All 19 Songs Ranked". Billboard . Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  17. 1 2 Li, Nicolaus (July 30, 2023). "Travis Scott Releases "GOD'S COUNTRY" Music Video and 'UTOPIA' Merch". Hypebeast . Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  18. ↑ "Travis Scott – God's Country". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  19. ↑ "ARIA Top 40 Hip Hop/R&B Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. August 7, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Travis Scott Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  21. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 31. týden 2023 in the date selector. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Travis Scott – God's Country" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Travis Scott Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Official IFPI Charts — Digital Singles Chart (International) — Εβδομάδα: 35/2023" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  25. ↑ "Tónlistinn – Lög" [The Music – Songs] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on August 5, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Travis Scott – God's Country". Top Digital Download. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Mūzikas Patēriņa Tops/ 31. nedēļa" (in English and Latvian). LAIPA. August 8, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  28. ↑ "2023 31-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. August 4, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Travis Scott – God's Country". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Travis Scott – God's Country". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Local & International Streaming Chart Top 10 Week 31-2023". The Official South African Charts. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
  32. ↑ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 32". Sverigetopplistan . Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  33. ↑ "Official Audio Streaming Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  34. ↑ "Travis Scott Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  35. ↑ "Travis Scott Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  36. ↑ "Brazilian single certifications – Travis Scott – God's Country" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil . Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  37. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Travis Scott – God's Country". Music Canada . Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  38. ↑ "American single certifications – Travis Scott – God's Country". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved October 24, 2024.
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