It goes without saying that Travis Scott is easily one of the most interesting and dominating forces in modern day Hip Hop. From the time he stepped into the industry, La Flame established himself as a purveyor of a new rage based sound and culture and captivated his cult-like fan base with his incendiary sound and explosive presence. However, Travis Scott hasn't always been such a household name.
In fact, for this Houston born and bred spitter, things didn't start to get rolling until 2012 partially because of co-signs he received from legendary artists like Kanye West and T.I. Travis, real name Jacques Webster, Jr. started producing and making music with his longtime friends and classmates as early as 2008. Though he was a part of a couple of duos and released several projects with those collectives between the years of 2008 and 2010, Travis didn't see any real success until he went out on his own. More specifically, that first real taste of success came late in 2012 after Travis had left college and spent some time in Washington, New York with Illroots owner Mike Waxx before making a move to Los Angeles. Shortly after the move to LA, Travis' music caught the ears of T.I., who heard his song "Lights (Love Sick" and immediately reached out to set up a meeting.started to happen extremely fast after Travis met T.I. as he signed multiple deals including his deals with Epic Records and Very GOOD beats in 2012, in addition to his first big placement on the G.O.O.D. Music collaborative album
Shortly after that initial encounter with TIP, things started to happen extremely fast for Travis as he signed with multiple major labels including his deals with Epic Records and Very GOOD beats in 2012, in addition to his first big placement on the G.O.O.D. Music collaborative album Cruel Summer. Then, in 2013 La Flame was named as one of the members of XXL's freshman class and built onto his hype as with the release of his song "God Level" and the news of his new deal with T.I's Grand Hustle imprint.
Then in May 2013, Travis Scott's defining moment as an artist had finally come with the release of his critically acclaimed debut album Owl Pharaoh. What follows is a torrent of groundbreaking and glass ceiling shattering music from the budding producer and rapper. Though he has only released three official projects since his entry into the industry in 2012, all three projects have been substantially successful and Travis has managed to build onto his colossal stature as a tastemaker with each release.
This week's essentials pack attempts to break down the continuously momentous rise of La Flame over the course of his career with each release. To be fair though, we hit it very hard trying to pick and choose only 10 of Travis Scott's most essential tracks. That said, enjoy 20, or 21, of La Flame's most lit tracks.
Travis Scott
"Quintana"
To kick things off, we give you the banger-est banger of all bangers, "Quintana." Though "Blocka La Flame" which is also heat, was released before "Quintana" there is just something about the dark, plunging synths, thunderous bass and iconic lyrics "Straight from Mexico, called her Quintana" that makes this track the most lit. This record really helped young La Flame gain some traction in the industry and really served as sort of a coming out party. This track had a guttural and ferocious sound like nothing else in the industry at the time and introduced Scott as the Prince of Rage and set a precedent within the industry. In fact, Travis' influence began to bleed far into the industry after this release as he would contribute that uniquely aggressive and powerful sound to a few of the biggest albums of 2013 including Kanye West's Yeezus and Jay Z's Magna Carta... Holy Grail.
Peep both "Quintana" and "Blocka La Flame" below.
"Upper Echelon" Feat. T.I.
On May 21st, 2013, Travis Scott released his free debut album Owl Pharaoh with Grand Hustle and Epic Records. The 13-track project introduced La Flame to the world as a complex creative genius with the special ability to turn-up with a level of energy and intensity that is unmatched. "Upper Echelon" is a great example of the vehement muscle Travis Scott brings with this entire album. On the contrary, though, this album also features several personal and artistically vivid moments to supplement the arduous highs like that of "Upper Echelon" and "Hell Of A Night" is definitely a song worth mentioning when talking about the balancing act Travis pulled off with this album.
Check out the tracks here and revisit the video for "Upper Echelon" here.
"Uptown" Feat. A$AP Ferg
To round out this first chapter of Travis Scott's career, we must take a look at another monster record from his Owl Pharaoh album "Uptown" featuring A$AP Ferg. This track is absolute fire, hands down one of Travis' hardest tracks to date. The way that the beat knocks you over the head while La Flame proclaims "I'm a mother fucking monster" just gets us way too hype. Once again though, Travis laid it all out for us on this release and coupled the rage with his calculated talent as a producer and gave us tracks the hype and some variety with tracks like "Naked."
In conclusion, Owl Pharoah put La Flame on the map for his production chops and eccentric style in addition to proving he could work with the best of them as he clocked several high-profile collaborations with artists like A$AP Ferg, Bon Iver, Toro Y Moi and more.
"Don't Play" Feat. The 1975 & Big Sean
As we enter the Days Before Rodeo and Rodeo stages of La Flame's career, we also reach new and very momentous heights. Travis continued to build his insane hype with these releases and it's because tracks like "Don't Play" literally shook up the industry. This record really did numbers pushed Travis' higher into the stratosphere of the game. With the release of tracks like "Don't Play" and "Mamacita" Travis secured the attention of people everywhere and let all of us know that there was a new rap-rock star in the making thriving before our eyes and thus the rapper truly proved that he was not "playing with these niggas."
Check out both of the ridiculously lit videos for both tracks.
"Basement Freestyle"
Once again, Days Before Rodeo doubled down on Travis Scott's wild persona. The project also proved that he was as sound a rapper as he was a producer and "Basement Freestyle" is a landmark track when examining La Flame's lyrical ability versus his talent as a producer. "Basement Freestyle" combines Travis' affinity for mind-bending production with his Mo-city flow and left us all raging each time the record dropped. Another record to achieve the same feat from this project is the Young Thug assisted track "Skyfall."
Both of these songs are crazy dope and really help to round-out Travis Scott's chaotic and influential aesthetic. While they are on two different spectrums of Travis' sound, there are definitely essential tracks.
"Backyard"
A lot of the reason that Travis Scott's Days Before Rodeo album was so successful was because of how well versed the project was. Some of the best tracks on this project leave the hype behind and opt for a more mellow, yet cinematic approach. Thus is the case with the pair of records "Backyard" and "Drugs You Should Try It."
Both tracks tell very different stories, and both keep it all the way real and help further develop the character of La Flame as an artist.
"3500" Feat. Future & 2 Chainz
Now that we have covered the Owl Pharaoh saga of 2013 and the 2014 Days Before Rodeo chapter, we step into 2015 wit the lead single from Travis Scott's Rodeo album "3500." While many felt that La Flame fumbled the release of this album, it certainly still has its high points and "3500" as well as "Impossible" are two of those soaring moments of the album. These two tracks walk the tightrope of contemporary rap and provide the bare bones skeleton for Travis' transformative sound we are subject to with this release and even more so with his sophomore album Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight. For now, though, peep these two records from Rodeo.
"Antidote"
"Antidote" is one of Travis Scott's biggest songs to date and it's because the track is a literal and proverbial explosion. This song is a complete earworm and furthermore proves La Flame is the god of rage. The song was extremely successful and reached as high as No. 19 on the Billboard charts, in addition to going platinum shortly after its release. The only other track on the album that reaches this level of hype is probably "Oh My Dis Side" featuring Quavo.
"Piss On Your Grave" Feat. Kanye West
Another very important pair of moments from Travis Scott's Rodeo album are his collaborations with Kanye West, Justin Bieber and Young Thug on "Piss On Your Grave" and "Maria I'm Drunk" respectively. "Piss On Your Grave" is dope because it puts pupil and mentor on an electric track while simultaneously chunking up a middle finger to the industry. "Maria I'm Drunk" on the other hand was one of the biggest songs of the year even before the addition of Justin Bieber.
With that being said, enjoy both.
"Pick Up The Phone" Feat. Young Thug & Quavo
Now, in 2017, we are at the pinnacle of Travis Scott's career. Coming off the release of his seminal album Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight La Flame has established himself as an industry leader and has continued to work to level up. This album really worked wonders for the boy and its because of records like "Pick Up The Phone" and "Goosebumps." "Pick Up The Phone" proved that Travis could once again capture the attention of the world and captivate us with an inherently different hodgepodge of sonic layers. On the flip side of this equation, "Goosebumps" further proved that La Flame could craft a hit and hold his own alongside superstar rappers like Kendrick Lamar.
Peep the video for both of these super dope tracks.
"Biebs In The Trap" Feat. Nav
For this final entry, we have a three-piece combo. "Biebs In The Trap" and "Coordinate" are our last nods to Travis' sophomore album. Additionally, we wanted to add the new track he co-produced with Frank Ocean "Lens."
Long story short, if there is anything to pull from this list it is the fact that La Flame is one extremely versatile act and these three tracks prove that fact to be true. Street anthems like "Biebs In The Trap" and "Coordinate" build onto the legacy of La Flame while tracks like "Lens" continue to show us that Travis Scott is an artist with many layers.
Dive into those layers with these three tracks along with the rest of the list.