I honestly respect the power and rapid development of Rust but I think that Nim (http://nim-lang.org) is a much better alternative to Python than Rust, as its syntax and "feeling" is much closer to Python, and also the productivity level. In Nim I get things done much faster than in Rust. Nim is easy to learn but Rust requires a certain amount of knowledge and experience for good productivity.
I consider Nim the "better Python", and Rust the "better C++".
Rust's goal is to be memory safe and high level without depending on a garbage collector, which is very important for many problems. That Rust is comparable with high level languages is a big accomplishment, as nobody compares C++ with these languages.
Nim does not have the same goals. Which IMHO makes it a lot less interesting, because if you're allowed a garbage collector, then you can talk about Java / the JVM, .NET, Haskell, Ocaml, Erlang, Go and the list can continue.
Expanding on that, I'd say that Nim is a "better" [1] Python [2], Rust is a better C, and D is a better C++.
[1] For some purposes. As a long-time Pythonista, I've looked at Nim, and I have no desire to replace Python with Nim in my daily use. But my uses for Python aren't the same as everyone else's, and Nim looks like it could be a fun language to play around with and learn, at least.
[2] Even more accurate, Nim is a better Object Pascal.
Rust is a better C++ more than a better C, it has similar goals to C++ of advanced zero-cost (at runtime) abstractions, not so much of being a portable assembly. Like C++ it can be an alternative to C in some contexts.
D intended to be a better C++, but that hasn't panned out well in practice for various reasons (one of them being the use of a GC and much of the standard library depending on it, though IIRC they're trying to fix that).
I wouldn't say Rust is an alternative to Python. But if you want to learn Rust, and you already know Python, that's the demographic this article serves.
On a completely unrelated thought, the second I saw the first three words of your paragraph, I thought of the infamous Kanye's interrupt. Not that I agree/disagree with your statement.
I consider Nim the "better Python", and Rust the "better C++".