Since the beginning of time, music has been intrinsically connected with social rebellion and commentary.
The 1950’s space age, the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War became congruent with the release of popularized forms of rock music. The rise of counterculture became synonymous with the autonomous euphoria associated with live listening. From the 1960s, music took a dramatic turn in a far more rebellious direction as countercultures arose from a clash of generational beliefs. Modern America is no different. Racialized police brutality, an exponential rise in xenophobia, and discriminatory practices has turned America into a racialized war zone of clashing moral ideals. Our president, Donald Trump, has created a polarized America. From the ashes of social chaos, Travis Scott has positioned himself as a household name and image.
Travis Scott has provided a generation with a psychedelic getaway to a better place. As a rapper, he uses a combination of party-induced lyrics along with beats that are attributable to his Houston routes. The start of Travis’ ascension began with his “Birds in The Trap Sing McKnight” album. The release of this album also marked the start of tour merchandise as a form of promotion and ticket selling. The album was a certified banger and did not disappoint throughout all 17 songs.
Fast forward 4 years and Travis’s train is an unstoppable force or a generation. He is a god amongst men in a concert and truly provides his fans with an unbelievable package. An energy and stage presence matching the dissociative properties of his beats innately makes a Travis Scott concert a religious experience. Being a Travis fan since high school, I remember when I went to my first Travis Scott concert. It was at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. With Metro Boomin DJing in the background Travis came out and screamed. “THIS IS THE LAST TIME TRAVIS SCOTT WILL OPEN FOR A MOTHERFUCKING ARTIST, SO LETS RAGE!!.” In the pit sweating with the pulse of New York, I looked up at Travis from underneath the dusk lights. He had flame animations in the background of his set; and when I looked back into the crowd and saw the divine state in which their faces were in, I finally understood him. Travis Scott has a deep power that allows him to call upon people’s primal nature.
Because of his ubiquity, Travis Scott has a trajectory to set out on. This coming weekend is the Astroworld festival. The entire festival was sold-out without even knowing the lineup. It is because of this influence and push that makes me believe Travis is going to stay. Similar to the rise of Kanye West, just a little less crazy and with a younger version of Kris Jenner’s minion, the next logical step for Travis to solidify his spot as a generational icon is to create a Travis Scott brand. Beyond cactus jack, the label by instituting a Travis Scott brand, he can place all of his creative energy into the expansion and integration of it into his music. It has been done before, look at Drake and Kanye. At the end of the day, my love for Travis Scott is simply in his tenacity. If you want something from this world, scream it at the top of your lungs and one day the universe will respond. Rage on, you fucking Rockstar.
Vanidy Fair 