Eyes of V

On April 30, 1991, Jacques Berman Webster ll was born in Houston,Texas to Wanda & Jacques Webster. Growing up as a child, Jacques lived in Missouri City, not too far from Houston, with his grandmother before moving in with his parents in a more affluent neighborhood. His mother, Wanda, worked at Apple while his father ,Jacques Sr, ran his own business while also being a soul musician. Jacques Sr’s father was a jazz composer, cementing some musical elements in the Webster bloodline.

As Jacques was growing up, he was surrounded by music because of his family. His father would often play certain musical instruments at home which exposed Jacques to the musical elements at an early age, which now influences his music today. His early influences were not only his father but also hip-hop & rap legends such as Kanye West, Kid Cudi and DJ Screw.

Jacques attended a private elementary school before attending Elkins High School where he was an excellent student balancing extracurricular activities & his academics before letting his passion start to overshadow majority of his school work. He was also apart of & start a duo with his friend Chris Holloway called The Graduates. Their first EP released on MySpace in 2008 which showcased Jacques production skills early on.

After graduating from high school, Jacques briefly attended University of Texas in San Antonio. During his time in college, he formed another duo with another friend of his, OG Chess called The Classmates. They released one project in 2009 and another in 2010.

These projects helped Jacques develop his production skills even more before he was 100% absorbed by his music & decided to drop out during his sophomore year. After he dropped out, he fully committed to his music career which unfortunately caused tension between him and his family.

During this time, Jaques decided to finally give himself a stage name which we all came to know & love, Travis Scott. The first name Travis, was an homage to his uncle Travis who had a significant impact on him, and his second name Scott, is another homage to his musical idol Kid Cudi, who’s real name is Scott Miscudi. Not too long after, Travis decided to move to New York to help his career. It was not an easy start for him. He was not only having trouble breaking out into the music industry, he was also having financial struggles.

But none of that stopped Travis. “I’m always working. I’m always ready. Whatever opportunity comes my way, I always just try to be ready & prepared”. He continued to network and pushing his music to get noticed by producers. Eventually, he decided to head towards Los Angeles in hopes of better chances.

But yet again, he found himself having yet another rough start. He was financially struggling even more to the point where he found himself sleeping on friends couches as well as having trouble even breaking out into the industry somehow. But still, Travis did not give up.

In 2012, Travis had the opportunity to be introduced to Mike Waxx of the music video website lllroots. This connection was only the start of many more connections for young Travis. “I’m not here to fit into anyone’s mold. I’m here to make my own”.

That same year, his music was recognized by T.I who would invite Travis to his studio & eventually sign him to his record label Grand Hustle. Travis began working & connecting with many influential people in the industry during this time which would later capture the attention of none other than Kanye West himself.

Kanye’s team reached out to Travis after being highly impressed by his production skills, capabilities and his unique sound. Kanye & his team would later invite him to meet up in New York which later ended up in Travis being signed to Kanye’s GOOD Music production wing, Very GOOD Beats. This opportunity opened up a whole new world for Travis and he was only getting started.

In May of 2013, Travis released his first mixtape titled, “Owl Pharaoh” which included his singles “Upper Echelon” and “Quintana”. The mixtape received critical acclaim and marked the start of a very promising & successful career for Travis Scott.

Also in 2013, is when he started to collaborate with major artists in production further advancing his career. He assisted Kanye on the “Yeezus” album and many other high profile projects with the likes of Jay-Z and more. In 2014, Travis released his second mixtape, “Days Before Rodeo” including popular tracks “Mamacita” and “Don’t Play”. This mixtape solidified his music career even further pushing Travis even more.

By 2015, Travis released his first debut studio album, “Rodeo” in September of that year. This album featured his hit single “Antidote”, which became a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 helping the album debut at number 3 on the Billboard 200. “Rodeo” received raving & positive reviews for its innovative production and solidified Travis’s place in the mainstream music industry.

Throughout these early years in his career, Travis continuously developed a distinctive sound characterized by dark, moody beats, heavy use of auto tune, and atmospheric production in all his songs.

His music often blends elements of hip-hop, psychedelic rock, and punk, creating a unique & influential style which showed heavily in his following album titled “Birds In The Night Sing McKnight” which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in 2016.

Then in 2017 Travis decided to take the risk and start his own record label called Cactus Jack Records. He created the record label as a way to foster new talent & have greater creative freedom & control over his own music and the music of other artists. Some of the artists he signed in the beginning are now successful & popular artists such as Sheck Wes, Don Toliver, and Chase B.

In December 2019, the label decided to drop a collaborative project titled “JackBoys” which featured Travis himself, Don Toliver, Sheck Wes, Pop Smoke, Quavo, and Offset. The project debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, which showed & proved the labels potential and the synergy between the artists.

Not too long after his record label announcement in 2017, he released another collaborative project album with Quavo titled, “Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho”. Then in 2018, Travis released his third studio album “Astroworld” which debuted at number one yet again on the Billboard 200.

The album included his first number one single from the Billboard Hot 100, “Sicko Mode” which made Travis even more popular than he already was. In honor of the album, he decided to start his own music festival in his hometown of Houston called, “Astroworld Fest” which stopped in 2021 after a horrible incident.

But all while that was happening, Travis began dating Kylie Jenner in April 2017, quickly becoming a high profile couple due to Kylie’s already enormous spotlight on her. The following year in 2018, the two welcomed their daughter Stormi Webster on February 1st.

“Stormi is like a battery, which gives me so much energy. She is the thing that keeps me going everyday and inspires me to get better”. Despite their separation in 2019, the two committed to raising Stormi together but separated as each other’s significant other. Kylie & Travis remained extremely supportive of each other, especially after the Astroworld incident of 2021.

On November 5th 2021, the Astroworld Festival at NRG Park in Houston, Texas, headlined by Travis himself, experienced a tragic crowd surge during his performance. The sudden push towards the stage resulted in a deadly crush, leading to the unfortunate deaths of ten people aged 9-27, due to compressive asphyxia. Hundreds more were injured some even critically injured.

Despite on site medical staff and emergency responders efforts, the panic & chaos was overwhelming for every single person in that crowd. The incident sparked widespread criticism of the festivals safety protocols & emergency response, which lead to multiple lawsuits and a significant impact on Travis’s career and public image.

After the unfortunate incident, Travis issued public apologies, expressed his deep sorrows & regrets, and even offered to pay for the funeral expenses of the victims. “I just want to send out prayers to the ones lost last night. We’re actually working right now to identify the families so we can help assist them through this tough time”.

He also partnered with a mental health organization to provide free therapy to those that were affected by the tragedy. Legally, Travis did face numerous lawsuits alleging negligence which lead to a significant amount of financial and legal challenges. Many of his performances that were already planned & set were canceled or postponed causing his public image to take quite a hit. But in response, Travis launched Project HEAL in March of 2022, an initiative focused on improving event safety standards, providing mental health resources, and offering academic scholarships to underserved communities.

“I always want to figure out what we can do in the future to make sure that this never happens again”. Despite these efforts, Travis found himself struggling to be trusted again by not only his fan base but quite literally the rest of the world. He made selective media appearances to address the incident & discuss his commitment to making positive changes.

Musically he continued to work on new projects & collaborations all while announcing his fourth studio album, “Utopia” which released in 2023. Not too long after his album announcement, he announced he was also going on a world tour despite many people thinking he should do otherwise.

“Uptopia” was a highly anticipated album especially after the Astroworld incident. It reflects Travis’s personal growth & artistic evolution as he envisioned the album as a transformative project that showcases the themes of redemption, introspection, and the pursuit of an ideal state.

“Utopia is about the passion, the process, the journey. It’s a destination but also the journey to get there”. Travis was carefully curating & crafting the album, collaborating with different artists & producers to create a distinctive and unique sound. It has given him a chance to almost in a way start fresh and to continue to do what he was born to do, create music.

But despite many controversies, Travis has engaged in various philanthropic efforts, particularly in his hometown of Houston. He has donated to education initiatives & disaster relief efforts. Travis is also known for his fashion sense & has collaborated with major brands such as Nike, creating sought after sneaker designs.

His partnership with McDonalds in 2020 for the “Travis Scott Meal” was highly successful, making a rare collaboration between the fast food giant icon and a musician. Travis has also embraces digital platforms, notably performing a virtual concert in the video game Fortnite in 2020, which was attended by millions of players worldwide.

Travis Scott, has emerged as a significant & influential figure in contemporary music, known for his distinctive sound, energetic performances, and creative vision. From his early beginnings in Houston to achieving national stardom, Travis has consistently time & time again, pushed the boundaries of hip-hop and production.

Despite different & many setbacks, Travis has demonstrated & showed resilience, using his platforms to advocate for better safety measures at live events & launching initiatives like Project HEAL. Throughout his career, Travis has maintained a strong connection with his fans & a commitment to innovation, solidifying his legacy as a transformative artist in the music industry.