Travis Scott’s career is rebounding, despite the tragedy of Astroworld
In the days following the Astroworld tragedy that killed 10 people and injured hundreds more in Houston, Travis Scott’s career appeared to be over.
On social media, his apology was criticized as insincere. A headlining appearance at the Day N Vegas Festival was canceled. The Rockets killed a Travis Scott Day celebration. Nike and Dior pressed pause on fashion collaborations.
But the truly telling sign was what made the Houston rapper famous to begin with: music. And it told a different story.
Scott’s “Astroworld” album, released more than three years earlier, jumped from No. 50 to
No. 39 on the Billboard 200. According to trade site Hits Daily Double, “Astroworld” racked up sales of 14,666, including streams and album sales, in the week following the fatal crowd surge at NRG Park.
Scott released a double-sided single, “Escape Plan” and “Mafia,” hours before the Astroworld gates opened in Houston. Several days after the tragedy, both songs were in the Top 10 on Spotify’s Top Songs USA weekly chart. Even Scott’s second album, “Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight,” released in 2016, moved up the Billboard 200 album chart.
The music itself is steeped in atmospheric, ambient production, almost hypnotic at times. It’s no surprise that Scott says his forthcoming “Utopia” album draws from psychedelic rock. Onstage, Scott turns those songs into something different. They become frenzied channels between artist and audience.
“Raging and having fun and expressing good feelings is something I plan on doing and spreading across the globe. We don’t like people that just stand,” Scott said in a 2015 video.
Scott himself reemerged in Houston in December, just a month later, at his annual Cactus Jack toy drive. He and his family distributed more than 5,000 toys at various locations around the city.
In February, girlfriend Kylie Jenner gave birth to their second child and first son. In Scott’s latest controversy, model Rojean Kar recently alleged that Scott had an affair with her. He has denied it multiple times.
In March of this year, Scott announced a series of long-term initiatives that included addressing safety at large-scale live events, mental health resources for young people of color and scholarships for Black students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Scott said on Instagram that he had “been taking the time and space to grieve, reflect and do my part to heal my community.”
“This will be a lifelong journey for me and my family,” he wrote of what he dubbed “Project Heal.”
“I feel, as a leader in my community, I need to step up in times of need,” Scott added. “I will always honor the victims of the Astroworld tragedy, who remain in my heart forever.”
As part of Project Heal, the CACT.US Youth Design Center, unveiled in the East End the week leading up to the Astroworld Festival, received a seven-figure expansion that included a new creative design education program.
Scott’s first new music since the Astroworld tragedy arrived in April. He was featured prominently on “Hold That Heat,” a song credited to hip-hop producer Southside and rapper Future. Southside is credited for production work on Scott’s debut album “Rodeo” and the “Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho” collaborative album with Quavo.
The accompanying video features Scott rapping and dancing alongside a chained alligator. The song rose to the Top 20 on Billboard’s R&B/ Hip-Hop Songs chart and has since racked up 41 million Spotify streams. “Never Sleep,” a collaboration with rappers Nav and Lil Baby, followed and also cracked the top 20.
There are those who think it’s all too soon, that Scott should be doing more, that there should be more consequences.
“I think he’s lucky this happened in his hometown, where he can be protected,” Charlie Minn, who directed this year’s “Concert Crush” documentary about the tragedy, said earlier this year.
But large swaths of fans are still in Scott’s corner, rallying behind him at the slightest negative comment.
“I thought Travis was canceled,” an Instagrammer posted on a preview of Scott’s new music.
The replies? “Bro never was” and “Can’t cancel the GOAT.”
In May, Scott gave his first public performance since Astroworld on the televised Billboard Music Awards. He was introduced by BBMA host Diddy, who repeated the word “love” several times. Amid a wintry dystopian background, Scott performed the song “Mafia.”
In an Instagram post a few days before the show, Diddy said he “made a demand” that “my brother Travis Scott has to perform.” The clip has since racked up 15 million YouTube views.
That same month, Nike released a collaboration with Scott that had been delayed due to the Astroworld tragedy. It sold out immediately.
The collection included two pairs of shoes that were sold via raffle, $400 jackets, a $200 vest and a $125 T-shirt. A $140 top says it has “a pocket designed to block signals going to/from cellphones.”
In August, following sporadic post-Astroworld appearances, including private Oscar and Coachella parties, Scott headlined his first major shows at the 20,000 seat O2 Arena in London. He announced his “Road to Utopia” residency, a weeklong string of September dates at Zouk, a Las Vegas nightclub. And this month, he headlines three shows as part of Primavera Sound: São Paulo, Brazil on Nov. 6, Buenos Aires, Argentina on Nov. 12 and Santiago, Chile on Nov. 13.
“Down in Atlanta,” an anticipated collaboration with Pharrell Williams, arrives Nov. 18.
But all roads ultimately lead to “Utopia,” the album Scott has been teasing since before the Astroworld tragedy. He’s been previewing new songs onstage and teasing recording sessions on social media for several months.
Maybe it will include a tribute to the Astroworld tragedy victims. After Scott’s unbridled success, it’s time for some reflection.