Travis Scott teases the release of first album in four years by HANDCUFFING it onto his bodyguard

Travis Scott sent a not-so-subtle message on Thursday when he handcuffed his upcoming album onto a muscular bodyguard. 

The 32-year-old rapper – whose career imploded in 2021 with the Astroworld tragedy – teased his first album in four years by locking it in a briefcase emblazoned with the rumored title: ‘Utopia.’

Scott’s hulking bodyguard wore his new accessory well as he brooded behind the Sicko Mode artist and opened the door of his $1 million white Braubus G-Wagon, which is the only model currently in the United States.

The stunt saw Travis leave a recording studio and visit a record store to purchase a few vinyls for himself. 

According to sources for TMZ, the hitmaker’s album really is in the briefcase and the release of Utopia is ‘imminent,’ with the outlet reporting that it will drop ‘sometime this summer.’

Safe and secure: The rapper teased his first album in four years by locking it in a briefcase emblazoned with the rumored title: ‘Utopia’

Scott flashed another hint in the form of his footwear, as he sported a pair of Nike kicks with ‘Utopia’ stamped on each heel. 

The rapper’s producer Mike Dean also let a sneak peak slip on Instagram when he posted a since-deleted screenshot of his editing bay that appeared to show him hard at work on Utopia. 

The Weeknd added fuel to fire by leaving a few lollipop emojis in Dean’s comments section before the snap was taken down.  

This shrewd marketing ploy from Scott will certainly fan the flames of excitement in his fanbase, who have been waiting nearly five years for him to release new music. 

It comes after Travis earned a fresh dose of scrutiny for allegedly punching a sound engineer in the face. 

In an interview with Fox New York, the victim of the attack said Scott flipped him off over a request to turn the music down in order to improve the quality, and then attacked him using a ‘closed fist.’ 

Scott has now reportedly settled with bosses at Nebula nightclub and the 52-year-old sound engineer – details of the financial settlement are not known.

However, Scott remains under criminal investigation and could still face charges, with an NYPD spokesman telling TMZ: ‘This remains an active investigation.’

Sweet ride: Scott’s hulking bodyguard wore his new accessory well as he brooded behind the Sicko Mode artist and opened the door of his $1 million white Braubus G-Wagon, which is the only model currently in the United States

Casual shopper: The stunt saw Travis leave a recording studio and visit a record store to purchase a few vinyls for himself

Sneak peak: The rapper’s producer Mike Dean also let a sneak peak slip on Instagram when he posted a since-deleted screenshot of his editing bay that appeared to show him hard at work on Utopia

Upcoming album: According to sources for TMZ, the hitmaker’s album really is in the briefcase and the release of Utopia is ‘imminent,’ with the outlet reporting that it will drop ‘sometime this summer’; Scott pictured performing in Miami this month 

Speaking to Fox New York, the alleged victim Mark Divine said: ‘My neck is f****d up. My arm is tingling. I have pins and needles going down.’ A representative for the rapper told DailyMail.com that the incident was a ‘misunderstanding.’

‘I was trying to tell him to lower [the music] so it sounded good for the performance but he just stuck his middle finger in my face,’ Divine added. ‘So I lowered the monitor a little bit so I could talk to him, and that’s when he ran around the speaker and attacked me.’

Speaking from his hospital bed in Jersey City Medical Center, Divine claimed that Scott’s security guard threatened his life.

A source close to the rapper’s ex Kylie Jenner told DailyMail.com that his temper is notorious: ‘Travis’s anger issues are not anything new and were a huge part of why Kylie and he broke up. She is such a peaceful and quiet person, and he was the opposite. She could not handle it anymore.’