Travis Scott: Dazzling showmanship from the controversial rap star
Three years ago, Travis Scott’s reputation as the “pied piper of the mosh pit” was in tatters. During his performance at 2021’s Astroworld Festival, 10 died and hundreds were injured in a crowd crush. A career-ending tragedy for many artists, perhaps – but not this Texan rapper. He’s navigated a comeback deftly enough to sell out his biggest UK headline show to date, at London’s Tottenham Stadium on Thursday night.
“You don’t come here to think, you come here to let loose,” Scott said recently of his live shows, comparing his current tour to Disney World. In London, a gigantic Jurassic Park-style central runway – complete with plasticky stone and fake cricket chirrups – served as the stage while a panoramic screen displayed live footage of Scott entering the stadium dressed like a cyberpunk American footballer, as if the crowd had gathered in a giant pub to watch a match.
It was immediately clear the Astroworld disaster hasn’t dented Scott’s showmanship. He burst up out of the runway floor like a video game character to play opening song Hyaena, a track which samples the Super Mario-sounding Proclamation by 1970s prog rockers Gentle Giant. Athletic, as bouncy as a cartoon, wielding participation gimmicks left, right, and centre, he seemed born to play stadiums in just the same way as Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé, or AC/DC. You quickly understood why Scott’s show at Rome’s Circus Maximus last summer registered as an earthquake on the Richter scale, why he was banned from playing Egypt’s pyramids and why he has been sued multiple times for injuries sustained at his shows, years before Astroworld. The young crowd moshed non-stop, putting heavy metal audiences to shame. The energy moved in one direction – higher, higher, higher.
Never overshadowed by the slick audiovisuals or the sophisticated lighting and pyro, Scott was a surprisingly charismatic performer. But his songs need the hard sell via live theatrics and pantomime. Like many metal and punk bands, Scott prioritises energy over music – or in his case, vibes over verses. He raps as if barely opening his mouth, selling millions of lo-fi records assembled from stolen beats, trends, and autotune, his commercial success owing just as much to canny brand collaborations and merch drops. Once a protégé of Kanye West, Scott released his fourth album Utopia last year. Its flashy guest list – including Beyoncé, Drake, SZA, and Bon Iver – failed to inject the reheated Kanye demos with any substance.
But Thursday night’s spectacle had little to do with the music — and that didn’t seem to matter. The mosh pit reached its zenith during Fe!n, Scott’s single with Playboi Carti, which he performed five times in a row until it became some sort of ritualistic release. Surprise appearances from American rapper du jour Ice Spice, as well as Central Cee and Lil Baby, nudged the energy in the stadium towards stratospheric – eclipsed only by Scott’s acknowledgement of England’s continuing triumph in the Euros with a holler of “it’s coming home!” An easy win, maybe – but though his music may sometimes sound lazy, his performance on stage was anything but. The pied piper charges on.
Touring the UK and Europe until August. Tickets travisscott.com/tour