Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Pepsi Travis Scott performs during the Planet Pepsi Pre-Super Bowl LIII party.
Rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer Travis Scott will perform alongside Maroon 5 and Big Boi today on the world’s largest stage ever: the Super Bowl LIII halftime show. The Houston, Texas-born rapper dropped out of the University of Texas San Antonio to pursue a career in music, and two mixtapes, three albums, and one Super Bowl later, we think it’s safe to say he made the right call.
Here’s everything you need to know about the “Antidote” rapper.
1. Travis Scott Has Been Dating Kylie Jenner Since April 2017
Scott and Jenner’s relationship first became public when they were seen holding hands at Coachella in 2017. Jenner was 19 at the time and Scott was 24. While the reality star and her rapper boyfriend made good efforts to keep their romance private, their locked-hands festival debut immediately made headlines.
After Coachella, the couple hit a basketball game and spent a weekend in New England together when Jenner attended Scott’s show at Bentley University.
The couple then spent time in Boston’s Theater District where they made an appearance at Bijou nightclub. They were seen kissing quite a bit, according to People, and when Scott’s table wasn’t private enough, he asked to be moved somewhere with a little more privacy.
Jenner gave birth to a baby girl in February of last year. The baby, named Stormi, is the first child for both mom and dad. The couple shared baby pictures with People shortly after her first birthday.
2. Scott Got His Start with the 2013 Mixtape Owl Pharaoh
Scott’s debut solo mixtape Owl Pharaoh was released on May 21, 2013 for free by Grand Hustle Records and Epic Records. The mixtape featured guest appearances from T.I., Wale, 2 Chainz, Toro y Moi, A$AP Ferg, Theophilus London, Paul Wall, James Fauntleroy, and Meek Mill.
Ralph Bristout of XXL praised the release writing, “While he’s still finding himself lyrically, his work behind the boards and eagerness to try new things keep this from becoming problematic. Perhaps Owl Pharaoh’s sole drawback is that it still doesn’t quite seem to answer the question ‘Who exactly is Travi$ Scott?’ Luckily for him, this incredibly cohesive debut is so mesmerizing that everyone should want to find out.”
Owl Pharaoh was nominated for Best Mixtape at the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards. Spin ranked it at number 21 on their list of the 40 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2013, writing “The sneering attitude dripping through muffled Auto-Tune and dark streaks of “Uptown” and “Bad Mood / Shit On You” are a very distinct brand of dark and twisted, but certainly not a fantasy.”
3. Scott Has Released Three Studio Albums Including Last Year’s Astroworld
Scott’s first album, Rodeo, dropped in 2015 and featured guest appearances from Kanye West, The Weeknd, Swae Lee, Justin Bieber, Young Thug, and Toro y Moi. The album included production from Mike Dean, Kanye West, WondaGurl, Suber, DJ Dahi, Metro Boomin, 1500 or Nothin’, Sonny Digital, Southside, Terrace Martin, Zaytoven, Pharrell Williams and Scott himself, among others.
It was led by singles “3500” and “Antidote,” the latter becoming his highest-charting single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart peaking at number 16. The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart and number one on the Billboard Rap Albums chart.
He followed Rodeo with two more releases, 2016’s Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight and 2018’s Astroworld.
4. In Late 2018, Scott Found Himself Caught in Between A Kanye West and Drake Feud
After Kanye West criticized Drake in a series of tweets in December, he dragged his pseudo-brother-in-law Travis Scott into the mix. West slammed his G.O.O.D. Music label mate for allowing Drake to make “sneak disses” aimed at West on their popular song “Sicko Mode” that was released last year on Astroworld. At one point, he also seemed to imply that Scott had threatened him over the phone.
“How you gone [sic] be on Trav’s song coming at me,” West wrote. “Trav should have never allowed that.”
West continued: “Family first and always,” he wrote. “It’s not about rap It’s about family.” And in another tweet: “I actually like sickomode but I don’t like that that is was sneak disses.”
In a since-deleted Tweet, Ye had one last jab: “People sold their souls You gotta a number one record but you got it by letting this dude diss your brother in law.”
5. In Addition to His Own Albums, Scott Has a Growing List of Production Credits to His Name
In addition to his own albums, Scott has produced, co-produced, and remixed the work of many other artists. In 2012, he co-produced three tracks off Kanye West Presents Good Music Cruel Summer including “To the World” performed by West, R. Kelly, and Teyana Taylor, and “The Morning” performed by Raekwon, Pusha T, Common, 2 Chainz, Cyhi the Prynce, Kid Cudi, D’banj, and West.
In 2013, after producing his mixtape alongside Emile, WondaGurl, and more, Scott worked on Ye’s Yeezus, John Legend’s Love in the Future, Big Sean’s Hall of Fame, and more.
After wrapping up his Rodeo record, Scott lent his talents on tracks by Madonna, Rihanna, Migos, Quavo, and Drake.