There’s No Denying the Impact of Travis Scott
Jacques Webster a.k.a. Travis Scott has become one of the biggest and most influential figures in modern day pop culture. Born and raised in Texas, Houston; Travis began his career as a producer until he was signed under Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music label to be part of the production team.
Eventually in 2013, he signed to T.I’s Grand Hustle label as a solo artist, releasing a number of mixtapes as well as his debut album Rodeo (2015). At this point Travis was known more for his production skills than his rapping but the lead single Antidote peaked at number 16 on the Billboard charts. This made people pay attention to Travis a little bit more.
His music videos, his level of production and most significantly his signature adlibs “It’s Lit!” & “Straight up!” made it hard not to take notice of Travis Scott, a young phenomenon in the making.
On the other hand some fans were left feeling rather disappointed by his first two albums, Rodeo & Birds in the Trap sing McKnight, mainly because despite a few hit singles both projects had too many features. According to writer Jacob Davey, he felt like the caliber of features was impressive however Travis often sounded lost rapping alongside already established household names on his own album.
While he might not be a lyrical rapper, Travis is very musically talented. His ability to cull such a vast amount of his idols is amazing for a man with such a short tenure as an established musician. And in so doing, he was able to involve himself in some of the biggest albums of this decade: Rihanna’s Anti, and Kanye West’s Yeezus and The Life of Pablo to name but a few. — Jacob Davey, Highsnobiety
Astroworld
Astroworld is Travis’ 3rd studio album and most arguably one of the most anticipated albums of 2018. It debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart while 2 of his singles “Sicko Mode” and “Stargazing” debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard 100 chart. Only Drake outsold Travis in first week album sales that year.
Astroworld was a theme park situated in Travis’ hometown of Texas. He had fond memories of this place as a child of which will forever stay with him. That’s why when it shut down in 2005 he was devastated, thus dedicating this album to his hometown and what it has given him.
Travis continues to prove Astroworld was so much more than just an album, it was a vision, an aesthetic, a fantasy land he had created where kids could be unashamedly themselves — Tahnee Shakerley, Cool Accidents.
This inspired him to recreate the theme park exclusively in Houston as part of his tour. The Astroworld tour was the highest grossing tour of 2019, earning $53,5 million. Which is not a surprise considering how wild his performances are. La Flame (another alias of Travis) is also the king of raging and mosh pits, it’s almost impossible to sit still when watching him perform.
Check out his documentary Look Mom I can Fly on Netflix, it focuses on his journey to becoming Travis Scott and the process behind creating Astroworld.
Fortnite Concert
Travis Scott became one of only 2 artists, the first being Marshmello, to create a concert within the insanely popular game Fortnite, called the Astronomical Tour. The concert garnered a staggering 12,3 million people from around the globe and according to Fortnite, it became an all time world record.
According to Alpha Data….., Travis Scott saw an immediate (and significant) bump in listeners following the announcement.
……Scott streams increased by 26%, with some hits (like “Stagazing”) jumping over 50% ahead of the Fortnite show. The kids really love this game — Charles Holmes, Rolling Stone.
On top of that Travis debuted new music during the concert. The Scotts, his latest collaboration with long-time idol and label mate, Kid Cudi is the lead single for their upcoming joint album also titled “The Scotts.” Not to mention at the time of its release the Scotts was the biggest debut for 2020 with 7,45 million streams on Spotify in only 2 days.
Mcdonald’s collaboration
Collaborating with one of the biggest fast food franchises in the world is no easy feat. This means that Travis’ brand is not only big enough but also has major mainstream appeal.
The 2020 collaboration introduces the Travis Scott meal to the menu, available for a limited time only (Approximately 1 month). It comprises of fries with BBQ sauce, a Quarter Pounder with cheese, lettuce and bacon; as well as a Sprite. Furthermore Cactus Jack action figures are available as part of Happy Meals for kids.
The deal also includes a commercial starring Travis, Cactus Jack themed shirts for employees and McDonald’s themed merch.
The hip-hop artist’s partnership with McDonald’s is just the latest example of his ability to combine music, fashion, and well-known brands.
“I couldn’t be more excited to bring the Cactus Jack x McDonald’s collaboration to life,” the “Sicko Mode” rapper said. “We are bringing together two iconic worlds. Including a charitable component was key for me, and I can’t wait for people to see what we have in store — Jonathan Sawyer, Highsnobiety
Another reason this collaboration is so unique is because Travis is only the second celebrity to have his name on a McDonald’s menu, after the great Michael Jordan back in 1992.
McDonald’s Chief Marketing Officer Morgan Flatley told Business Insider that McDonald’s wanted to team up with Scott because of his cultural relevance, especially among younger customers.
“His ability to kind of see where culture is going and have a hand in where culture is going is really unique,” Flatley said in an interview... “Then you couple that with his huge followership and his fans, social-media footprint, and … 3 billion streams. He just has an incredible audience.”
More significantly, according to Forbes, Travis’ net worth is estimated to be around $40 million. His revenues come from partnering with big brands like Nike, producing music and merchandise, as well as touring.
In the end for someone who has achieved this level of mainstream success, Travis is surely making the most of it. A unicorn of sorts because there’s nobody like him right now. It’s no wonder he’s so influential plus it doesn’t hurt that he’s dated a Kardashian too.
