Destructoid Checkpoint - Snarking about the GTA VI Soundtrack

With Rockstar announcing the GTA VI soundtrack, I figured it was time to channel my inner music snob and review each of the six lead “singles” that have been released so far. 

They are a pretty paltry bunch compared to previous bangers that ended up in soundtracks for the series, and even compared to the hard-cut classics that were used in the official trailers for GTA VI itself. 

That’s It - Yung Lean, feat. Future and Metro Boomin’

Yung Lean manages to be one of the most interesting rap artists of recent years, with the Stockholm native being considered one of those who really helped push the dreamy melodies of cloudrap/trillwave after it had already gotten its start with acts like Clams Casino, Metro Zu, and Friendzone. Some fifteen years after arriving on the scene, he remains both sonically and visually intriguing with efforts like STORM, his collaboration with GENER8ION.

Unfortunately, this song shows none of that verve. We open with some lovely keys and synth work that hint at the same neon-drenched Vice City that GTA 6 itself is trying to remind us of, but that quickly fades away into a tired, samey Metro Boomin beat that fails to reach the heights (or atmospheric lows) that the producer is known for, and finally, too much space is made to accommodate Future, who fails to really bring anything to the track other than a reasonably standard feature. 

You’d think that these three would be capable of so much more, but this one sounds like a paycheque being cashed rather than any genuine love for the opportunity. 

RHYNO - Travis Scott

The production on RHYNO slaps, which makes sense since it's by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, one half of Daft Punk. An aggressively funky interplay between a stripped-back percussive line and a tight bassline leads to a certified head-nodder dripping with atmosphere.

I’m not really much of a Travis guy, but there is some nice heat here. I find it hard to escape that the man is channeling a little too much Kendrick in his delivery in this one, with some of the lines sounding like they end up on the floor of the booth while recording HUMBLE. 

That said, it's likely the best track I have heard from Scott in a minute, and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn he was genuinely enthused to be on the project, as there's clearly a genuine passion on display here.

Sexy Magic - CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, Pink Pantheress, Fred again.., Etienne de Crécy

Judging a track simply on energy, this is great and will be a lot of fun to nip around Fake-Florida to, but dig deeper, and it’s a completely empty vessel that is as insipid and uninspired as its name. The beat owes a lot to 1998’s “The Music Sounds Better With You” by Stardust, which is vastly superior in every way. You have to wonder how they got so many people onto one track just to have them all walk down the middle of the road.

Last Thing You Need - Morgan Wallen

I happily consider Morgan Wallen to be the most prominent figure in the vanguard of hacks who are gleefully murdering country and western while they plunder its body for anything of value. A lab-grown congealment of the very worst aspects of country music, this is another steaming pile of slop, straight off the shovel. At least we can agree on one thing: this really is the last thing you need.

Macacoa 2000 - Rauw Alejandro

It’s hard to hate something that opens with some sweet NES samples and then invokes classic reggaeton vibes, so I must admit that this one had me bopping. I am also conditioned by years of racing games, Fast and the Furious movies, and grainy YouTube videos to associate certain sounds with fast cars and neon lights, and Latin R&B is certainly one of them. 

The song starts strong, dips into the final third, and then ends weak, which is a shame, because those first two minutes are really good. 

Bright Lights, Big City by Keith Richards

Despite the claim that it is an original song, Richards take on Bright Lights, Big City is actually a cover of the 1961 blues classic by Jimmy Reed. This isn’t surprising, as Richards has repeatedly discussed the importance of Reed’s stripped-back and almost laconic blues efforts being a foundational element of what inspired the Rolling Stones in the first place. 

Richards sends a lot more force through the strings than Reed ever did on his version, but he invokes the ghost of Reed with a quivering vocal that dominates the track. 

Thematically, this is the territory that Lean, Future, and Boomin’ were trying to get into with their song: a big city offers sights and sounds to draw in the weak and the strong alike, with the word on the street being the deciding factor on who was who when it all blows over. 

This feels genuine, largely because it is rooted in a time when geography really did matter so much, a notion that is undercut, arguably for the better, in the modern age of the internet. 

All in all, six tracks that average out to a mid score, with Richard’s rebuild of Reed’s talent proving way too much for the younger folks to grapple with. A harsh reminder that music used to be about living a life worth singing about, and now it’s just about being famous. 

Do better, Rockstar.