After showing off the giant golden replica of his head (both in person and on his album artwork), Travis Scott has released his new album Astroworld. Listen below. Frank Ocean appears on “Carousel,” and Drake is featured on “Sicko Mode.” Migos’ Quavo and Takeoff appear on “Who? What!.” Pharrell Williams is credited on “Skeletons”—a song produced by Tame Impala. The Weeknd is on “Wake Up,” James Blake is credited on “Stop Trying to Be God,” John Mayer and Thundercat are on “Astrothunder,” Swae Lee is credited on “R.I.P. Screw,” 21 Savage is credited on “NC-17,” and Juice WRLD and Sheck Wes are credited on “No Bystanders.”
It’s rumored that Stevie Wonder plays harmonica on “Stop Trying to Be God.” Scott thanked Wonder and Phillip Bailey in a tweet following the album’s release. The album includes the previously released single “Butterfly Effect” and a song he’s performed live, “Stargazing.” It also features a song called “Houstonfornication.”
Tonight, he debuted “5% Tint” during his Lollapalooza set. Watch it happen below.
Travis’ last solo album Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight was released in 2016. His joint project with Quavo, Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho, was issued near the end of last year. He recently hopped on Rae Sremmurd’s SR3MM single “CLOSE.” His recent single “Watch” with Kanye West and Lil Uzi Vert does not appear on the new album.
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Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed Migos’ Takeoff and James Litherland among the album’s credited artists.
This article was originally published on August 2 at 10:16 p.m. Eastern. It was last updated on August 3 at 12:55 a.m. Eastern.
Travis Scott is the stage name of Jacques Webster, a Houston-born hip-hop artist and producer affiliated with Kanye West's GOOD Music and T.I.'s Grand Hustle. Scott has a heavily Auto-Tuned half-sung/half-rapped vocal style, and refers to himself as a singer rather than a rapper. He's produced or co-produced tracks by Kanye West, Rihanna, and Drake, and he's appeared on tracks by Jay-Z, Pusha T, Meek Mill, and numerous others. Within four years of his 2012 mainstream arrival, Scott attained platinum singles as a lead artist and songwriter/producer, as well as a pair of Top Five studio albums, the latter of which went to number one.
Scott grew up in a suburb of Houston and began making music as a teenager. He formed a duo called the Graduates with Chris Holloway, and they released an EP in 2009. The following year he formed another duo, the Classmates, with OG Chess. Scott produced the duo's two full-lengths, Buddy Rich and Cruis'n USA, and the duo broke up by the end of 2011. After dropping out of college, Scott moved to Los Angeles and began recording music on his own. He met T.I. and eventually Kanye West. Scott was hired as an in-house producer for GOOD Music, and appeared on the label's Cruel Summer compilation in 2012. Scott's debut, Owl Pharaoh, was originally scheduled to be released as a free mixtape in 2012, but as his profile grew (including a placement in XXL Magazine's Freshman Class of 2013), and due to sample clearance issues, the album wasn't released until May of 2013. Featuring guest appearances by T.I. and 2 Chainz (on the single "Upper Echelon") as well as Toro y Moi and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, the mixtape eventually garnered a nomination for Best Mixtape at the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards.
The buildup to Scott's first proper studio album involved the Days Before Rodeo mixtape, promoted with the singles "Don't Play" and "Mamacita," and the March 2015 U.S. Rodeo Tour, for which Scott headlined, supported by Young Thug and Metro Boomin. Several of the dates sold out. During the same month, Rihanna's Scott-produced hit single "Bitch Better Have My Money" was released. "3500" and "Antidote" were released ahead of Rodeo, Scott's second full-length, which followed in September on Grand Hustle/Epic and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. Toward the end of the year, "Antidote" peaked at number 16 on the Hot 100 and became Scott's first platinum single.
Chatter regarding a follow-up, along with numerous delays, ensued throughout much of 2016. Meanwhile, Scott extended his commercial presence with featured spots on Wiz Khalifa's "Bake Sale," Rihanna's "Woo," and Kanye West's "FML," as well as a collaboration with Young Thug and Quavo, "Pick Up the Phone," a mid-year hit issued as the lead single of Young Thug's JEFFERY. Three months later, after "Bitch Better Have My Money" earned a platinum certification, Scott's second proper album arrived. Titled Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, after one of Quavo's lines in "Pick Up the Phone," the woozy, mostly midtempo set featured that hit and contributions from the likes of André 3000, Kid Cudi, and Kendrick Lamar. It went straight to the top of the Billboard 200. Leading up to his third LP, Scott appeared on "Kelly Price" from Migos' Culture and on Drake's "Portland" from the More Life project. The latter track peaked within the Top Ten of the Hot 100, Scott's highest chart placement to date. In 2017 Scott dropped the hazy, Migos-esque single "Butterfly Effect" and Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho, a collaborative project with Quavo. ~ Paul Simpson & Andy Kellman
One week after a giant Travis Scott head manifested itself atop Amoeba Records in Hollywood, the rapper’s latest release Astroworld has finally blessed our ears. And right there on the cover is that same head, ready to consume all. The 17 track album might seem like a behemoth next to the micro-works of Kanye West we’ve gotten used to, but there’s plenty of gems here, including an appearance by Drake on ‘SICKO MODE’ and Frank Ocean on ‘CAROUSEL’. Other artists featured on the album include Swae Lee on ‘R.I.P. SCREW’, Kid Cudi & James Blake on ‘STOP TRYING TO BE GOD’, Juice WRLD on ‘NO BYSTANDERS’, The Weeknd on ‘SKELETONS’, 21 Savage on ‘NC-17’, NAV & Gunna on ‘YOSEMITE’, and the song ‘WHO? WHAT!’ features Quavo and Takeoff. Notably absent from the album is the single ‘Watch’ which Scott released earlier this summer featuring Kanye West and Lil Uzi Vert.
Listen to the full album below:
Travis Scott has been teasing his Astroworld album for what feels like ages now, first announcing the title to fans at a concert way back in 2016, but after years of anticipation & promotion, the wait is finally over. At the stroke of midnight, Astroworld was made available on any one of the streaming platforms.
Named after the now-closed theme park in Texas that Travis used to go to as a kid, Astroworld contains 17 tracks in total and features guest appearances from Sheck Wes, Drake, The Weeknd, Juice WRLD, Frank Ocean, Swae Lee, Nav, Pharrell, & more. Meanwhile, production is handled by a slew of hitmakers, including Mike Dean, Frank Dukes, WondaGurl, FKi 1st, Sonny Digital, and more.
“It's a different story. I've been through so much different shit. I've seen so much different stuff now, its just a different story I have to tell. It's kinda like a more personal album. I just want people to get to know me and really get to know the rage inside. Really know whats going on with my mental and what I be thinking. How I feel about all types of shit,” Travis said when comparing Astroworld to Rodeo.
Available now on iTunes, fans can stream the project in its entirety via Apple Music. Hit play and let us know what record you’re feeling the most?
