Houston-born rapper Travis Scott, whose birth name is Jacques Webster Jr., is your headliner for Block Party 2017. Here are five things to know about him.

1. People listen to his music — a lot

Scott’s most-streamed song on Spotify is “Antidote,” the hit single off his 2015 debut album “Rodeo.” As of April 7, it has racked up more than 182 million listens on the music streaming service. “Antidote” also peaked at the 16 slot Billboard’s Hot 100. Other popular tracks include “goosebumps” — which you can watch him perform live in the video below — and “pick up the phone,” which have amassed 87 million and 137 million listens, respectively. Both come from Scott’s 2016 sophomore LP, “Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight.”

2. He’s starting his own label

Scott’s first two albums were released on Epic Records, but it appears he’s moving on to something new. In an interview last month with Numéro magazine, Scott revealed he’s launching his own label Cactus Jack Records. “I’m not doing it to have financial control over my music,” he told Numero. “I want first and foremost to help other artists, launch new names, to provide opportunities. I want to do for them what happened to me, but better.”

3. He’s worked with the biggest names in rap

Over the course of his career, Scott’s been signed to Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music and  T.I.’s Hustle Gang. Some of the more notable tracks he’s been featured on include Migos’ “Kelly Price” and Kid Cudi’s “Baptized in Fire.” And on his own songs, he’s collaborated with the likes of Young Thug, 2 Chainz, Kendrick Lamar and many more.

4. His action figure is worth a good chunk of change

When pre-orders for Scott’s album “Rodeo” went live, a limited number of his action figure that graces its cover also went on sale — for $150. A year ago, one sold on eBay for $300. The figure is Scott shirtless, featuring his tattoos and flopping dreads, wearing black pants.

5. He just dropped a track with Wale

Scott recently teamed up with Wale, as the D.C.-based rapper released the lead single for his forthcoming album “Shine” this week. You can hear “Fish N Grits” below.

 

Published on April 7, 2017 at 4:35 pm

Contact: jtbloss@syr.edu | @jtbloss