Travis Scott

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Scott's early life shaped his edge. Born in Houston, he lived with his grandmother in the crime-ridden South Park neighborhood from ages one through six, later moving to middle-class Missouri City. He attended Elkins High School, where he participated in musical theater, then dropped out of the University of Texas at San Antonio in his second year to pursue music. His stage name combines his favorite uncle's name, Travis, with the first name of one of his biggest inspirations, Kid Cudi (Scott Mescudi). In 2008, he formed a duo called The Graduates with Chris Holloway, releasing an untitled EP on Myspace. The following year, he formed The Classmates with OG Chess, releasing two projects before the group disbanded in late 2012 due to personal conflicts and financial disputes. After leaving college, Scott moved from Houston to New York City, then to Los Angeles, where he was abandoned by a friend who had promised housing. His parents cut him off financially, and he was eventually forced back to Houston, where his parents kicked him out. He returned to Los Angeles, sleeping on a friend's couch at USC. Atlanta rapper T.I. heard Scott's production "Lights (Love Sick)" and invited him to a studio meeting, where T.I. freestyled over Scott's beat "Animal." In 2012, Scott signed a recording contract with Epic Records, and later signed a publishing deal with Kanye West's GOOD Music as an in-house producer. In April 2013, he entered a joint-venture record deal with T.I.'s Grand Hustle Records.

In Their Own Story

In March 2013, XXL revealed Scott as a member of their Freshman Class of 2013. On March 29, 2013, Scott premiered a snippet of his commercial debut single "Upper Echelon," featuring 2 Chainz and T.I., which was sent to urban contemporary radio on April 23, 2013. His first full-length project, the mixtape Owl Pharaoh, was self-released in 2013 after delays for sample clearance issues and re-creation by Kanye West and Mike Dean. On May 5, 2014, Scott released "Don't Play" as the lead single from his second mixtape, Days Before Rodeo (2014), which sampled the 1975's "M.O.N.E.Y." Following the mixtape's success, Scott headlined The Rodeo Tour with Young Thug and Metro Boomin from March 1 to April 1, 2015, with special guest appearances from Kanye West, Chris Brown, Wale, and Birdman. His debut studio album, Rodeo (2015), debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200, selling 85,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. The album featured guest appearances from Quavo, Juicy J, Kanye West, The Weeknd, Swae Lee, Chief Keef, Justin Bieber, Young Thug, and Toro y Moi, with production from Mike Dean, Kanye West, WondaGurl, Metro Boomin, Pharrell Williams, and Scott himself. The singles "3500" (featuring Future and 2 Chainz) and "Antidote" supported the album, with "Antidote" peaking at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Reader's Guide

Scott's second album, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight (2016), became his first number-one album on the Billboard 200. In 2017, he formed the duo Huncho Jack with Quavo, releasing an eponymous collaborative album. His third studio album, Astroworld (2018), was released to widespread critical acclaim and became his second consecutive number-one album on the Billboard 200. It yielded his first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, "Sicko Mode" (featuring Drake). In late 2019, his vanity label imprint, Cactus Jack Records, released the compilation album JackBoys, which also topped the Billboard 200. With his 2019 single "Highest in the Room" and his 2020 singles "The Scotts" (with Kid Cudi) and "Franchise" (featuring Young Thug and M.I.A.), Scott became the first artist on the Billboard Hot 100 to have three songs debut at number one in less than a year. Following a series of controversies and five years after Astroworld, Scott released Utopia (2023), his fourth studio album, which became his fourth consecutive number-one album on the Billboard 200 with 496,000 equivalent album units in its opening week. The album spawned the Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles "Meltdown" (featuring Drake), "Fein" (featuring Playboi Carti), and "K-pop" (with Bad Bunny and The Weeknd). "Fein" later peaked at number five. To accompany Utopia, Scott co-directed and released the short film Circus Maximus. In 2025, he released the single "4x4," which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100. His second collaboration with JackBoys, JackBoys 2, charted atop the Billboard 200, making it Scott's sixth consecutive number-one album overall on the chart. Along with his highly publicized relationship with American media personality Kylie Jenner, Scott has collaborated with organizations including Nike, Dior, Audemars Piguet, and McDonald's. His Cactus Jack record label, founded in 2017, has signed artists including Don Toliver, SoFaygo, and Sheck Wes, and has expanded into organizing events such as CactusCon, a multi-day festival blending music, fashion, and art.

Did You Know?

• Scott's stage name combines his favorite uncle's name, Travis, with the first name of Kid Cudi (Scott Mescudi), one of his biggest inspirations.
• He was a member of XXL's Freshman Class of 2013.
• Scott's solo number-one hit 'Highest in the Room' (2019) debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100; his other chart-toppers 'The Scotts' and 'Franchise' are collaborations, not solo efforts.
• His debut studio album Rodeo (2015) debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200, selling 85,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.
• In November 2021, a mass-casualty crowd crush occurred during Scott's hometown performance at his annual Astroworld Festival, causing ten deaths and hundreds of injuries.