Prime Time: Travis Scott Cover Story

Travis Scott shook up the sound of rap and reshaped the sneaker world. As he steps into a new era, can he take over everything else, too?

“I think a lot of things in life are boring and suck,” Travis Scott says with a laugh.

He hates that the world has been taken over by “fun-draining” obstacles, as he calls them, and he wishes people weren’t so afraid to do what they actually want in life. So when he wakes up every morning, that’s what drives him. He wants to shake shit up.

Whether he’s making a song, running around a wrestling ring, or taking over a festival, Travis says he’s always trying to do the same thing: create a spark that breaks through the monotony of life and gets people to—even for a brief moment—set their fears aside and finally be themselves. If he’s successful, the whole world might start to look and sound a little more like the inside of his hyperactive, imaginative brain.

In some ways, it’s already happening. His songs are on top of the charts, his shoes are on the feet of every sneakerhead in America, his ideas are being projected in movie theaters, and his events are filling baseball stadiums. By now, millions of diehard fans have fully bought in to the Travis Scott experience, no matter what form it takes.

Still, he keeps finding himself in disappointingly boring situations—like the time he was stuck in bumper-to-bumper Los Angeles traffic this winter. His new single “4x4” was heading to a No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100—the fifth chart-topper of his career—and it was one of the week’s most-added songs to radio, but he remembers getting impatient as he flipped through stations on the two-hour drive.

“What the fuck?” he said to himself, realizing it hadn’t come on yet. “I don’t hear the song!”

Then it happened. Brrrrrrrrr. The song’s horns blasted through his stereo on a Top 40 station, and he went nuts. Pulling his phone out, he took a photo of his dashboard and enthusiastically shared the moment with 58 million followers on Instagram.

“I love the radio,” he says later. “I listen to the radio all the time.” It might be a little disorienting to imagine a futurist like Travis Scott—the third-most-streamed rapper of all time—getting so excited about something as traditional as terrestrial radio. But as he looks at it, it gives him a chance to infiltrate the mainstream and twist it in new (less boring) directions.

“I get excited hearing it on the radio because I feel like the music I make is just a little different than what's syndicated,” he explains. “I always like to push the idea of what we do.” Plus, he doesn’t mind being mentioned in the same breath as his popstar peers. (“I fuck with Sabrina Carpenter,” he says offhand).

When I meet Jacques Bermon Webster II on the afternoon of Monday, February 3, the 33-year-old Houston rapper is recovering from what sounds like a legendary night in Hollywood. The internet is flooded with videos of him at a star-studded Grammys afterparty, and rumor has it, he was out all night.

Fighting back a yawn in the corner of an LA photo studio, he rolls up a joint on the front cover of a Complex magazine with Eminem’s face on it and watches NBA highlights on a nearby TV. Slowly, he comes back to life. Basketball talk helps. “Shit, man, I'm a Celtics fan, so I don't give a damn what they're doing,” he fires back when I ask what he thinks about the blockbuster trade that just sent Luka Doncic from Dallas to LA. Then he interrupts himself to shout out another Mav: “But hey, I love Kyrie Irving. He’s my favorite player.”

Travis Scott’s lifelong obsession with sports is no longer just a hobby these days. It’s big business. In the first two months of 2025 alone, he partnered with WWE for appearances at Monday Night Raw, debuted “4x4” from the rooftop of the College Football Playoff National Championship game on ESPN, and hosted a celebrity softball game for charity in Houston.

This is the next logical step in the evolution of Cactus Jack, the catch-all brand he created to bring his ideas to life in several fields at once, from music to fashion to film to philanthropy to sports. And right now, he’s most excited by opportunities where he can do everything at the same time, all under one roof.

In November 2024, he headlined ComplexCon in Las Vegas. But instead of simply performing, he took over the whole thing as artistic director and flipped it into CactusCon. The event was reimagined to bring some of his wildest ideas to life, including massive statues that flanked the grounds, a full futsal arena, a sprawling bazaar that he curated with dozens of brands, and a career-spanning concert alongside his Cactus Jack Records signees.

“ComplexCon was crazy,” he says. “The energy was insane. Anytime I get to connect with the fans like that, it’s special. It’s more than just pulling up; it’s about creating an experience. Seeing how people react in real time—it fuels me to keep building, keep creating. This was just another step, but there’s always more to come.”

Later this spring, Travis will become the first artist to ever take over Coachella, promising to “design the desert” as he curates the festival. A lot of celebrities talk about being “world-builders,” but few have the range of skills (and restless ambition) to actually do it on the scale that Travis is. In 2025, the “Travis Scott takeover” has become another tool in his arsenal as he steps closer to cultural ubiquity.

Today, his biggest source of inspiration remains his connection to fans. (He says the words “I got the best fans in the world” so many times throughout the evening that I lose count.) And even as he enters new fields, he knows that music is still where that connection runs the deepest. In 2025, he’s consumed by stadium dreams, and as he enters a new album era, he’s working on larger-than-life music that’s designed to fill the world’s largest stages.

As he prepares, Travis has been locking himself in the studio. “Every day, all night, man,” he says. “I'm so excited. I got something special on the way for the fans and I feel like it's time to deliver for them.” Several times during our conversation, he gets so amped up that he stands and walks around the room as he outlines his plans for 2025. He certainly doesn’t look bored.

The following interview was lightly edited for clarity.

What do you remember about making “4x4”?

I made "4x4" on tour. Every night, I was recording songs. I literally got off stage from some stadium show and made it. That's why I love it so much. Even going into this new album, I really want to bring the ultra experience to the stadiums, to the highest level of energy. I want to reach the person that's all the way up in the nosebleeds. I want them to feel like they're right next to me, and I want the music to feel like that, too.

Every night, I was going into the back and making music, and "4x4" is one of the joints I caught. I was really into it, with those horns and the drums. I liked how raw-sounding it was and just how free I was, to be honest. It was that moment of just being on tour and seeing all the fans again. The energy felt good, and that's really what the song embodies. It's for anyone that's on that journey, where it's like: I'm climbing up Mount Olympus to go get it, and I can see it right there. I'm going. Nobody's stopping this shit. That’s how I felt.

Is this a signal of a new era for you?

I mean, yeah, I put out Utopia a year and a half ago, so I’m definitely into a new vibe of making music. Right now, too, I’m super into producing, making the beats again, and getting the sound back. I’m making beats and music for other people, and even for myself. So I’m lining all of that up. I’m excited for Jackboys, and my new album, and Sheck’s new album.

What’s exciting you the most in the studio these days?

I’ve been really into beatmaking. Because I think a lot of beats are kind of the same. Like, you’re hearing a lot of the same beats and the same drums. So that process [of beatmaking] is what makes it exciting to make the songs.

What else motivates you? 

What’s so crazy is, I’m still chasing this goal. I think a lot of people would think I’m super settled and shit, but I’m not. I’m still on edge to accomplish goals.

Can you share any of those goals?

Life goals. Becoming a better person. Achieving a lot of things that I wrote out as inspiration. Finishing a lot of things. And then there's a list of exciting things I'm working on that I would love to share, but I'd probably break the newspaper. [Laughs.]

Are some of those goals outside of music? I know you've talked about wanting to make movies and musicals and shit.

Yeah, definitely. It's interesting how I talked about wanting Utopia to be a musical years ago, and now you see all these musicals. They haven't got it right yet. That's why I didn't do it. But I would love to see that type of thing go off. Those things are definitely what I'm trying to get into. The film thing, too, is big for me. You know, I've always done these super high-production music videos [and films are the next step].

What do you think your purpose is? What were you put here to do?

I'm here to motivate. I'm here to knock down walls of fear. I've always put myself on the frontline of showing the unknown. I'm opening the gate for people to understand that you can do anything you want to, at the highest level. You've just got to go do it.

I think back to the ’70s when the hippies were running wild and naked and free and shit. It seemed radical. And then you got rock-n-roll motherfuckers moshpitting and flipping off shit.

Coming from a form of hip-hop, it's always had that edge. It's always had that raw, free-form energy. And I've always seen it as another level of freedom and excitement. I just want to push that barrier. I literally want to knock down those walls of true fear and show that you can really do these things that you want to do.

Do you still have times when you feel fear?

In order to be fearless, you’ve got to have some sort of fear. You’ve got to know what fear is in order to be fearless. Anytime I’m about to jump off a cliff, I get the butterflies.

When was the last time you felt those butterflies?

Every day I wake up.

You’re known for building worlds that people can escape to and lose themselves in. What’s your goal when you create those experiences?

I think a lot of things in life are boring and suck. A lot of the walls, perimeters, buildings, and establishments are so fun-draining. So I think a lot more things should be thought-out for people to reach their full selves, whether it’s a concert, an experience, a pull-up, a meet-and greet, or whatever it is that I’m going to curate—even something like ComplexCon. You just create that experience where people can reach their full selves. The feeling of ecstasy can just hit you.

I think that can happen in many ways. When people watch movies, those endorphins hit at a super high level. Like, “Whoa!” You see their imagination just sprinkle all over the place. That’s why people love anime and these things that are beyond reality. So I try to create that experience in reality. When you go to an amusement park, you go to these places that create this thrill. But you only get it one time out of the weekend, or one holiday, or one birthday. So I’m trying to create that in music, in live shows, in a T-shirt, in some sneakers, in a whip…  That’s my main goal.

You took over ComplexCon last year, and now you’re taking over the desert at Coachella. Why did you want to take over these events?

With Coachella, that’s something I’ve always wanted to headline. I was supposed to do it and unfortunately it didn’t happen. So it’s cool to be able to come back and do it, but do it at this level now, where I’m headlining Saturday and I’m taking it over through my lens.

I’m trying to create a next-level way to do things. It’s more selfless, though. It’s not about Trav, like, “Oh, come look at a fucking experience of Travis.” No, this is a social thing, with all of us. It’s a community thing. I’m just curating it and hoping that you fuck with the idea of what I’m trying to do. But this isn’t a Trav experience, like The Simpsons Ride or something. Like, “Come ride on the Travis ride. Come ride on the Stormi coaster!” Nah, these are just things that are in my brain, and hopefully we relate to the same things.

That’s even what an amusement park is. Like, Disney created this world where everyone can connect and relate. Looking at some of Disney’s characters, people can relate to the problems that they go through on an everyday basis. They see themselves in them. So whether it’s me personally, a song I made, something I did, or even an artist that might be signed to a label or something, you have some sort of connection to the experience. Hopefully it turns you into the illest form of you, and now I can reciprocate the inspiration. And then the next person can, too.

Is Coachella going to look and feel different from what we’ve seen before? The Utopia Tour, for example, had its own look and feel. Will this be totally different?

Oh yeah, for sure. Going into the Utopia Tour, I was still going into the arena. To me, that’s like little play, play shit. Little boy shit. You can’t play around when you get to that stadium. I’m trying to put fucking touchdowns in the end zone. That’s when I can really put the production to play. These other things are like a small man in a box, playing in Funplex, which is like Dave & Buster’s where I’m from. Now I get to really play the PS5 on a fucking thousand-inch TV, bro. Fuck these little weak-ass shooter games with the little laser guns. Fuck that Buck Hunter shit. Fuck that.

You've probably been dreaming about shit like this since you were little.

Yeah. I've also been trying to figure out how to get the production levels to where you can do the illest shit, where it's not so expensive. Artists like us, we get fucking choked up the wall to create these ideas we do. So it's always been a challenge. But that's what motivates me. Like, how can I create these experiences without breaking my back to do it? As far as the bread, at least.

How much time goes into these takeover experiences you're doing?

Forever. I'm always on the clock. Even now.

You’ve made a lot of great music with Playboi Carti lately. Why do you think you two work so well together?

Just making music freely. Coming up, even meeting him for the first time, I remember he ran into me and he was just like, “Yo, [it’s] mad inspiring how you’re making music. It’s crazy.” Even when we did our first songs years ago, he’s always been down to just create whatever. I think that’s why it always works.

What do you remember about the day you guys made “FE!N”?

The song was kind of finished. I just brought it when we were in the A. I remember we did a song before that, and before I left, I was like, “Well, I got this one joint I want to play. I’m thinking about putting it on my album. We’ll see if you want to fuck with it.” And when I played it, he was just going crazy.

It’s interesting, because every album, I have songs like this. Kind of like “Sicko Mode.” I’ve always had those songs in the mind, where I keep them tucked. I really don’t even play them for my homies. Maybe a couple of homies hear it, but they don’t ever see the full vision until I’m done with it. That was just one of those ones. It was crazy. He did his verse right there. And then when I went back, I was fucking with it, making it the song it is now. It was fucking crazy.

I saw you perform it like 10 times in a row at Madison Square Garden, and the energy was crazy. What is it like performing “FE!N” live? 

When I made the beat, my homie was in the studio, and I’ll never forget, I was like, “Yo, bro. I’m telling you. When I do this song, this is going to be one of the craziest joints.” I used to tell the homies all the time, “Bro, the opening of this shit is just like [mimics opening synths with his mouth].” Every time I hear it, I feel like somebody just set the alarm off in this motherfucker. The first time I did it was in Italy, and the album was only out for a day or two, and that shit was going crazy. I was like, “Yes, bro!” 

But yeah, even for my new album, I’ve got this joint. And I’ve got this same feeling…

I interview artists all the time and they're usually surprised by their hit songs. But it sounds like you get that feeling early...

Well, I didn’t say I think I make "hits." I think about it, like, "I think my fans are going to fuck with this shit." I don't really think, like, "Oh, you’re going to start seeing it all over the whole world." Or even, like, that people who are older will be fucking with it. That's when I'm like, "OK, wow, this is crazy." That's how I know the rage is alive out this bitch.

Cameron Diaz was a guest on Complex’s show GOAT Talk recently, and she said you’re one of her all-time favorite rappers. She described your music as “really elevated.”

For real?! That’s hard. [Stands up and excitedly walks around the room.]

Do you ever run into surprising people who fuck with your music like that?

Yeah. Adrien Brody. Did you watch The Brutalist? That movie is hard as fuck. I hope he wins Best Actor. That’s my dog.

I ran into him at a fashion show recently and I’ve always been a fan of his. He’s been in Wes Anderson movies and shit, and worked with a lot of directors I fuck with. I sat next to him and I’m like, “Fuck, I don’t even know if this dude knows who I am.” And the first thing he tells me is, “Yo, bro, I fuck with your shit.” And I’m like, “What the fuck?” 

He makes music, too. He’s like, “You know, I make beats and shit.” [Laughs.] I’m like, “You got to send me some beats!” So we chopped it up. Man, that fucked me up. That’s crazy. I get shit like that all the time.

At the very beginning of your career, you met Ye and worked on Cruel Summer with him. Over a decade later, you guys were just hanging out last night at a Grammys party and you still collaborate. How has that relationship evolved over time?

Shit, man. That’s my kid’s uncle. That guy took me in when I was young, when I was like 19. He taught me a lot about music. And not even just “taught” me, but he allowed me to experience the creation of music. To create music with him, it’s what helped me grow, making a lot of beats. Whether it’s writing and collabing on music and film or clothes or whatever the fuck it is, just constantly learning...

Do you guys talk about fashion a lot?

Oh, yeah. We probably talk about that just as much as music.

What do you think about the idea of selling clothes and music for $20?

I think that’s always been a passion for him. The money never really drove him to do anything. He’s always done things just to get people to be part of good design. If the masses can get it, that’s always the end goal. I feel the same way, too. I think high-priced things aren’t really the future of things. It doesn’t really relatively connect to the everyday person.

What are some of your goals in fashion and sneakers?

I’m trying to go crazy. Even with me launching this signature [silhouette], I’m just starting that journey of really bringing it alive. With clothing, even when I do Cactus Jack, it’s about elevating from a day-to-day thing—pushing the design, techniques, and how we’re doing things. It’s not an overnight thing, but I’m working towards it.

You work with Jordan Brand a lot. What is your relationship like with Michael Jordan himself?

That’s my guy, man. As a mentor, he gets me through a lot of things, and he helps me with a lot of things. I love being locked in with greatness. Between him and Tom Brady, I’m alright, man. For real.

When you got your own silhouette, did you talk to MJ about it? Did he have a reaction to it?

Yeah. I remember showing it to him for the first time. He loved it. It’s crazy. He actually called me randomly and it just so happened I was in a meeting, getting the second or third sample. So I just showed him early, like, “Yo, this is what I’m working on.” He was like, “Oh, this shit’s crazy.” He’s like, “Man, whenever you’re finished, just send ’em to me.”

As a lifelong fan of sneakers, what is it like having your own silhouettes now?

It’s crazy, bro. It’s wild. I’ll be looking down, and I’ve always been so used to just seeing all of the Js or whatever, but now I’ll look down and see my own shit. So now I’m like, “OK, now I’ve got to keep growing it.” Because I’ll be thinking, like, “Man, I’m trying to wear this. I want to wear this color. I want to do this. I want to do that.”

What excites you in the sneaker space right now? And how do you hope things evolve in the future?

Storytelling. I think the art of storytelling has to come back to sneakers, instead of the idea of retroing. I won’t say it needs to dissolve, but there’s a lot of good new ideas out there. I think they just need to be developed, and the storytelling needs to come back.

Let’s talk about Cactus Jack. How would you describe it?

It’s a label. It’s a brand. Sports. Film. It’s art. It’s culture.

What are some of your big ambitions for Cactus Jack?

To grow all of those tiers. I think they all work together simultaneously. And Cactus Jack isn’t me. It’s that. I fall in the line of the record space, I wear the clothes, and I try to help produce and direct a lot of the film aspects that can come around, but it’s a collective of things that create one brand. So through the years, we’re just growing each tier through music, fashion, film, art.

And there are other things, like the foundation. Community things always go hand in hand. We're doing this softball game in Houston and it's part of the HBCU classic that happens in Texas. It's cool seeing different kids that are into the sport and help support their dreams. I also have this lab in Houston called TXRX, which helps with trades, like wood shop and tech and ceramics and welding and priming and painting. The school is there to teach you those trades and find the illest talents in the world that could create things in the future. I just love helping people. I've always been that person. You know, I remember when I needed $200 for the studio, or $100 for some equipment, or $1,000 for a computer that could have changed my life.

You’re building a hell of a roster at Cactus Jack, with artists like Don Toliver and Sheck Wes. What’s it like watching those guys evolve?

It’s crazy. It’s ill having a vision, seeing the vision, and watching it grow. And it’s crazy seeing how they inspire the next person. It’s a beautiful thing.

And you want to produce for them more, right?

Yeah, for sure, and I have before. Sheck’s about to drop this year and Don drops every other year. So we’re getting those things going.

Days Before Rodeo turned 10 last year, and when you rereleased it on streaming services, it immediately went No. 1. What was it like seeing something you made 10 years ago still resonate so deeply?

It's crazy. It's just the fans holding it down. That mixtape changed a lot for me. I still perform "Mamacita" to this day. "Drugs You Should Try It" is one of my favorite songs that I ever did. It's amazing to see people hold on to it that long, even though I never put it on streaming services or sold the CDs.

Will we ever see your first mixtape, Owl Pharaoh, on streaming?

Yeah, definitely. For sure. I’m just thinking about the right time for that.

The 10-year anniversary of Rodeo is coming up. What makes you the most proud about that album when you look back on it?

The whole Rodeo era was legendary. No one can ever recreate those moments ever again. Making that album was such an amazing experience. It was my first album and I had so many ambitions and dreams and things I wanted to do with it.

I wanted to sell it with an action figure on a USB; I didn't want to do it on a CD. But it was 2014, and I was so young. I was only like 22, and I didn't know anything about putting an album out and getting it to the world. I had these ambitions and I had to get people to understand what I wanted to do.

I was new, and I had a label, and I was like, "Alright, you know what? I got it now. I know what I'm going to do. I've got to really put this shit in my hands and hit the gas with this.” So from that day forward, I just stayed on that.

Selling the album as a toy would have been crazy. Why didn't it happen? Was it too radical of an idea?

Like I said, with the label… I mean, it was such a premature time. Now, everyone's putting out T-shirts and shit. But I've been doing this shit since 2014, when I first started. This isn't new for me. But at the time, it was radical. Now they want to play catch up. It's funny.

You’ve always had a youthful spirit. Do you feel like a kid at heart?

Yeah, but it's also challenging for me, too. As you get older, you're trying to level things up. But if you have that spirit, people on the outside could think that you're still youthful-thinking, mentally, when you're actually advanced thinking, but just keeping yourself level with that spirit. Sometimes that's a tug-of-war. You've got to remind people that you're trying to grow, but you're also trying not to lose that spirit. I won't say "youthful," though, because that's kind of wack.

Virgil Abloh used to say he always did things for the 17-year-old version of himself. So it’s not about literally being young or immature. It's about holding on to that pure spirit that you have as a kid, and not letting the fucked-up pressures of the world hold you back from being your true self.

Yeah, that's exactly the idea. I've always been doing stuff for the 12-year-old me. I always say the youth and the kids are the fucking future. They'll always have a needle on this shit. But if you're moving between these different walls, you've got to have that mentality of being stern and firm and having people understand that what you're trying to create is serious. As I grow older, I've got to learn that communication level.

What is Travis Scott, the businessman, like? How does it compare to Travis Scott, the artist?

I think when you create music, you're more free. In business, I'm free, too, but you've got to be more on top of things and assertive about what you're trying to do. It's quick for someone to use the, "Oh, you're an artist, too," excuse. They can easily use that as a distraction against you, about why you might not be focused on the business at hand. For me, I don't think it's about wearing two hats. I think it's all one hat.

When you think about your plans for 2025, what are you most excited about?

I’m excited about putting four wheels on the road, if you can catch that drift. I’m excited about new music. Utopia was an ultra passion for me, because I had to get that creativity off and I’m glad it’s lasted as long as it lasted. People are seeing it through. And for this next album, I just want to have the most ultimate fun with being creative. The most ultimate fun, taking all the things I learned and packing it in the CD and making it enjoyable to go crazy in the stadium. That’s the idea.

What’s the meaning of life?

The meaning of life is waking up every day and being at full enjoyment. And I’m not saying that you don’t have to have stress. I’m just saying that you feel legit comfortable in your skin, and you can walk out the door knowing that who you are is the best version of yourself.

Cover Star: Travis Scott
Photographer: Ilya Chemetoff
Stylist: Peri Rosenzweig, Nick Royal
Hair Braider: Luna Amanuel
Barber: Marcus Hatch
Groomer: Naima Jamal
Production Design: Greg Yaro
Production: North of Now

COMPLEX TEAM:
CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER: Noah Callahan-Bever
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Aria Hughes
EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Donnie Kwak
VP, CREATIVE: Gina Batlle
SVP, CONTENT STRATEGY: Joe La Puma
DESIGN DIRECTOR: Ben Kopp
SR. DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE OPS: Bitna Kim
HEAD OF MUSIC: Eric Skelton
PRODUCER: Nicole Rasco
ART DIRECTOR, SOCIAL: Kyle Garb
PROJECT MANAGER, DESIGN: Jomely Tavarez
TECH: Anthony Rivera