In 2015 Travis Scott was labelled as a soon-to-be superstar. This year was when he would release Rodeo for his major label debut project.

Rodeo is filled with mainstream classics like Maria, I’m Drunk, Antidote and Nightcrawler. Arguably Maria I’m Drunk features Justin Bieber’s best work as a featured artist. Antidote proved to be a viral hit all over the world as it showcased a very introspective Travis Scott.

The music video showcases that anything can happen at the night show. Even Travis Scott reads the book of Psalms as he experiences the different sides of life while being in the Rodeo.

Nightcrawler is a distorted anthem showcasing some of the best work done collaboratively on the album. This song would be the beginning of a sequence of collaborations between Travis Scott and SwaeLee.

Commercially the album debuted at number 3 on the US Billboard 200, selling 85 000 album-equivalent units which of 70, 000 being pure sales. Rodeo was certified platinum by the RIAA on May 22nd, 2017.

Lauded for his ear for production Rodeo is executive produced by Kanye West, Jason Geter, T.I, Mike Dean and Travis Scott himself. The famous Action figure depicting Travis was taken by Dan Chung and Kevin Amato.

90210 featuring Kacy Hill sees Travis Scott open up about the difficulties of becoming a global superstar. His lifestyle at the time worried his grandmother. Concerning “Fallin in and out of clubs” which can be a metaphor for getting wasted and partying. 

Not soon after Travis would express his battle with this newfound lifestyle in “Don’t Pray for Love” featuring The Weeknd. “I pray that the demons go away, they hauntin’” referring to the newfound vices such as drugs, sex and greed accompanying his success.

Knowing these dangerous vices would damage his character and cries out that he can’t take it anymore. The song is layered with various religious subliminal messages including a reference to Matthew 5:44.

“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Travis echoes these sentiments as he and The Weeknd touch on topics about living in a hellish world. As Travis opens his verse with the lines “Pray for those who lost they fate and died too young. Pray for the ones I hate, the ones I love.”

Travis continued to show us more of his ability to become vulnerable as he shared his experience as a sixteen-year-old on I can tell.

His parents did not want him to make music which even led to an event where his father cut off the electricity from his room. “They said my way of making dollars never made sense” Travis shares as a reference to this event.

Finally, on Never Catch Me Travis shares that his celebrity doesn’t disappear with “My fifteen seconds last a little longer”. This line is a reference to Andy Warhol who famously stated that in the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.

Looking back on Rodeo which was released 8 years ago. Travis Scott was vulnerable and showcased his desire to become a global superstar in the music industry.

8 years after Rodeo this is considered by many as a classic Travis Scott project With the level of introspection done by Travis Scott is difficult to argue it