TIA: 2018 was a big year for Travis Scott.
The Houston artist dropped his highly anticipated third solo studio album, ‘ASTROWORLD,’
embarked on a sold out world tour and landed a #1 hit that’s sat on the Hot 100 chart
for weeks.
TIA: The road to superstar status has been a long one.
Travis’ big break in the music industry began behind the scenes as a producer.
His early resume was impressive, boasting production credits on everything from JAY-Z’s
‘Magna Carta’ to ‘Yeezus’ with Kanye West, who became an advisor of sorts.
TRAVIS: That relationship between me and him as a mentor he be really holding it down,
helping me with the music, helping me figure it out.
It’s just awesome.
TIA: Travis crafted an impressive career for himself over the years, starting with his
mixtapes ‘Owl Pharaoh’ and ‘Days Before Rodeo’ and eventually releasing three solo
studio albums: ‘Rodeo,’ ‘Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight,’ and most recently,
‘ASTROWORLD.’
TIA: All five projects are critically acclaimed and successful, but Travis fans still love
to debate how his journey has shaped his music over the years and which of Travis Scott’s
solo studio albums is the best?
TIA: Of course, you can’t talk about which album is the best without mentioning those
early mixtapes.
While ‘Owl Pharaoh’ gave us the first glimpse into the mind of La Flame, ‘Days
Before Rodeo,’ in particular mixed his Houston upbringing with his musical ability.
TRAVIS: It’s kind of a bridge between what people
would call trap and my artistic level of God-level.
And I feel like that’s the bridge and I feel like that’s where music needs to be.
TIA: ‘Days Before’ specifically set the tone for ‘Rodeo’ a year later, his raw,
emotional debut studio album that included everything from more introspective songs like
“Apple Pie” and “90210”...
to darker, more rage oriented tracks like “Nightcrawler”and “Piss On Your Grave.”
TRAVIS: It’s kinda like the inner child-beast man it’s kinda like the person that might
be misunderstood that might be mistook as an asshole and like a mean person or rude
person but it’s really just like super energized.
Rodeo I was on some man motherfuckers is sleeping on me and shit niggas keep telling me I need
to come with some type of hit or something I’m tryna perform at the VMAs I’m tryna
make the illest albums for my generation, man.
TIA: The album boasted a variety of features, some of whom he’d worked with before like
Quavo and Kanye, and others he would continue to work with on future tracks like Justin
Bieber and Swae Lee, as well as narration from his label head T.I.
TRAVIS:I’m not the regular artist I’m not here to make the hit I’m here to make
the song that applies to me.
TIA: While ‘Rodeo’ didn’t necessarily rely heavily on sampling, the most mainstream
track on the album, “Antidote” dropped a few months before its debut, and includes
a sample of Lee Fields’ 2014 song, “All I Need.”
ESTBOUND: It’s very simple which left a lot of room for the artist to record on there,
have a lot of adlibs on there and that’s why Travis probably liked it because he could
do a whole bunch of “It’s lit!”
TIA: “Antidote” ultimately landed Travis his first solo placement on the Billboard
Hot 100 chart his only one from "Rodeo."
TIA: The music video was also one of Travis’ earliest uses of a circus theme in visuals,
drawing inspiration from a childhood favorite: the Black-owned UniverSOUL Circus.
TRAVIS: That’s kinda like with the “Antidote” video THAT’S what I was trying to do.
TIA: A year later, after dropping a few singles like “wonderful” and “pick up the phone”
on SoundCloud, Travis released his second solo album, ‘Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight’
in September 2016.
TRAVIS: I feel like my whole career and shit people just been so sleep.
Just slept on me so long.
This new album that’s what I want people to understand is I’m not just dysfunctional
fuckin’ crazy.
TIA: Travis himself described the project as a way to free himself from the industry
and showcase more of who he really is in his music, saying quote:
TIA: I feel like with Rodeo, I was putting a lot of emotion and a lot of thought into
it, collected beats and trying to make s--t sound epic.
I feel like this s--t is straight me.
TRAVIS:It’s anybody a creative who’s kinda stuck and had a problem with just getting
an idea out.
I didn’t wanna overthink it I didn’t wanna do too much so I felt like the only thing
that needed to be complicated was my title.
TIA: ‘Birds’ boasted a similarly diverse range of features with everyone from Andre
3000 on “the ends” to Blac Youngsta on “coordinate,” as well as a standout verse
from Kendrick Lamar on “goosebumps.”
TIA: Besides its bangers and eclectic features, ‘Birds’ was yet another project sonically
influenced by Travis’ idol Kid Cudi, on “through the late night” which interpolates
his own 2008 hit, “Day ‘N’ Nite.”
TRAVIS: I feel like he’s part of my story of how I even became who I am.
It’s part of my story part of my life like there would be no Travis Scott if it wasn’t
for him.
TIA: “Pick Up The Phone”, the standout hit off Scott’s sophomore album, featured
frequent collaborator Quavo as well as another Atlanta native: Young Thug, and eventually
spent four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #43.
TIA: While the album’s title literally shares a name with R&B singer Brian McKnight, according
to Travis, The Migos’ Quavo came up with the title on “pick up the phone,” saying
quote:
TIA: I was letting him know the story and the vibe of my album...dude just says “Birds
in the trap sing Brian McKnight.”
I ran in the booth and I was like, “Bro, this is it!”
TIA: ‘Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight’ peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 in September
2016, earning Travis his first #1 album on the charts.
TIA: And in terms of Hot 100 hits, ‘Birds’ had three songs place on the Hot 100, “goosebumps,”
“beibs in the trap,” and “pick up the phone.”
TRAVIS:My first two albums I didn’t have an iPhone or nothing I just went to the mic
and just kept rapping til I got my words right.
TIA: Travis’ third and most recent album was easily his most anticipated.
He announced ‘ASTROWORLD’ before ‘Birds’ had even dropped.
TRAVIS: I WANT YOU TO MARK THIS DAY ON YOUR MOTHAFUCKIN CALENDAR.
TRAVIS WILL BRING BACK ASTROWORLD.
You know what?
The name of my new album after ‘Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight’ is now called ‘ASTROWORLD.’
TIA: In the two years between ‘Birds’ and ‘Astroworld,’ Travis sparked massive
excitement from his growing fanbase, and in late 2017 released ‘HUNCHO JACK, JACK HUNCHO’
a collaborative album with Quavo.
TIA: But ultimately, fans were still waiting for ‘Astroworld,’ while clinging on to
singles like “Butterfly Effect” and “Watch” before the full project dropped in August
of 2018.
TIA: The concept for Astroworld was based on an actual theme park in Houston that closed
in 2005.
Travis’ third album brought an immersive amusement park experience to fans, embodied
on his sold out tour, which he’d planned for years leading up to the album’s official
announcement.
TIA: Sonically, ‘ASTROWORLD’ was one of his most experimental projects yet, paying
homage to the late DJ Screw and the Screwed Up Click, while also sampling classics like
Biggie’s “Gimme The Loot” on “SICKO MODE,” Goodie Mob’s “Cell Therapy”
on “5% TINT” and a host of other Houston classics.
TRAVIS: That was one of the major parts of the album that I wanted to do for Houston
was bring that sound and make it worldwide.
All these people created a culture and a sound for Houston and made it worldwide
I just wanted to continue what they started.
TIA: Even outside of the samples on the project, many of the features on ‘ASTROWORLD’ took
fans by surprise, like the elusive Frank Ocean’s verse on “CAROUSEL…”
TIA: And Stevie Wonder’s harmonica on “STOP TRYING TO BE GOD.”
TIA: The project was a mix between slower guitar tracks like “COFFEE BEAN,” and
rager anthems that captured the energy Travis has been famous for, like “NO BYSTANDERS.”
TRAVIS: It’s no bystanders...I hate at my shows when people just sit around not doing
shit.
TIA: By the numbers, ‘ASTROWORLD’ is Travis’ most commercially successful project to-date.
It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, and all 17 tracks on the album made it into
the Hot 100, including the Drake and Swae Lee-assisted “SICKO MODE” which stayed
TRAVIS: I was in the zone of just greatness.
I just kinda wanted to create the best music, give my city a sound and I was just
working towards that mission.
TIA: But whether or not you’re holding on to Rodeo as your favorite Travis album, it’s
hard to deny that as a whole, ‘ASTROWORLD’ completes the trifecta of Travis Scott albums.
TIA: His years behind the boards shine through, whether it’s his curate a diverse range
of artists on a unique track, or his knack for composing songs more complicated than
your average radio hit.
TIA: From ‘Rodeo’s’ more emotional debut, to the kickback vibe on ‘Birds’, right
down to ‘Astro’s’ rager anthems, in a matter of three years, Travis has grown
Houston’s musical legacy and center it in his music, all while taking fans on a satisfying
journey.
TRAVIS: I just wanna go out there, get lit, maybe jump off this shit.
And maybe one day when it’s time and a nigga calls me up it’s like boom I inspired a
fuckin’ billion muthafuckas.
TIA: I’m Tia with Genius News bringing you the meaning and the knowledge behind the music.