Nearly five years in the making, Travis Scott’s upcoming fourth album, Utopia, is slated to release at some point in 2023. Following up multi-platinum LPs like ASTROWORLD (2018) and Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight (2016), Scott’s impending album will usher in a new era of his artistry. Hoping to leave his Astroworld Festival fiasco and years of delays in the past, Utopia could certainly be one of the most celebrated full-length offerings from any artist of any genre in 2023.
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In the past, following the exciting releases of projects like the aforementioned ASTROWORLD in 2018 and Days Before Rodeo in 2014, the pre-cursor mixtape for his debut album, Rodeo (2015), Scott gave insight into his earliest days as an artist. More specifically, he talked about how he put together his stage name, considering his legal name is Jacques Bermon Webster II. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, his moniker combines his love for his family with his musical influences.
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Why Travis?
When speaking with Grantland for a Q&A in early Sept. 2014, just weeks after Days Before Rodeo‘s release, Scott divulged about why he uses Travis in his stage name. He explained that he took it from his favorite Uncle Travis, who he viewed as a wise decision-maker.
“My uncle’s name is Travis,” he said. “He was like my favorite uncle. My favorite relative. I looked up to him and shit. That n---a was just cool as fuck. He always just had swag. He played golf and shit. He just had swag. That n---a was just smart. Always made good decisions, good business decisions.”
Why Scott?
Although it took him four more years, the Houston emcee eventually gave insight into why he chose “Scott” as the last name for his alias. During an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon two months after the release of ASTROWORLD in 2018, Scott explained that he was heavily impacted by Kid Cudi as a musician, and wanted to find a way to include his legal name Scott Mescudi into his stage name somehow.
“My government name is Jacques Bermon Webster II, I’m named after my dad… My uncle is named Travis and Kid Cudi is one of my favorite artists of all time,” he said. “His real name is Scott Mescudi. My uncle’s friends call him Scott too so it kind of worked out like that. My two superheroes.”
Travis Scott and Kid Cudi have collaborated four times, truly creating full-circle moments for the former. In 2016, Scott hopped on Kid Cudi’s 2016 album Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’ for the song “Baptized in Fire,” and shortly afterward Cudi offered a feature verse on Scott’s Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight song, “through the late night.”
For ASTROWORLD in 2018, Cudi landed on the album’s fifth song, “STOP TRYING TO BE GOD,” which also featured Stevie Wonder and James Blake. Then in 2020, Scott connected with Cudi for their joint single “THE SCOTTS,” christening their new duo under the same name. However, towards the end of 2022, Cudi confirmed that the previously-announced THE SCOTTS album had been scrapped. Although, he did confirm that he and Travis will continue to collaborate in the future.
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