Travis Scott is currently on the road for his fourth studio album, UTOPIA, which dropped in July. The project was originally slated to debut in 2021 but was seemingly put on hold following the Astroworld Festival tragedy, where several people ended up dying.
In a recent GQ interview for their 28th annual Men of the Year issue, the rapper spoke about how the unfortunate events influenced the LP. Scott told the publication, “That moment for families, for the city, you know, it was devastating. And when it came to making, like even finishing the album…I got back into it probably like, I don’t know, months and months and months after.”
Describing the process as therapeutic, the Houston native added, “And the idea of just even getting back into music, working on music and just even getting into that, was therapeutic of being able to channel some of the energy into production and sounds and finishing it.”
He further opened up about his emotional state following the incident. “I mean, I was just overly devastated, you know. Those fans were like my family. You know, I love my fans to the utmost,” Scott explained. “There’s moments where it gets rough. You just feel for those people. And their families.”
In UTOPIA, the track “MY EYES” directly referenced the Astroworld event. Scott described the record as dealing with his daily struggles and the burdens he carries. He revealed, “The song is about the things I deal with on a day-to-day basis and the fact of how it could be misunderstood and the struggles of life and all aspects of life. The constant weight that’s put on. That you carry, you know. And just a vision through my eyes.”
Following Astroworld, Scott shared his devastation on social media and stayed out of the public eye for months. He eventually returned with a performance at an Oscars party in March 2022 and the Billboard Music Awards in May of that year.
Despite facing no criminal charges, Scott and Live Nation are currently involved in multiple civil lawsuits. Both the former and Drake were questioned in a deposition related to the incident within the past few months.