"Nine Light Years Away"

Tom Brady, Lionel Messi, Lebron James, Alex Morgan. Some of the greatest of all time at what they do. But aside from their individual talents, exploits and greatness, what truly sets these athletes apart is how they inspire greatness out of those around them. Steve Kerr will tell you, it was the faith Michael Jordan instilled in him during a timeout which allowed him to hit the finals winning shot in 1997. What I'm saying here is, when you’re good at what you do, we only judge you. But when you’re great at what you do, we judge how great you make those around you.

So you may be wondering how this relates to music. Hip-hop is one of those competitive sports where we always seek to pit artists against each other. We’re always questioning who got the better of who and who ranks higher than the others.

But every so often, along comes an artist who cares less about being better than everyone, but rather takes pride in making every (and I mean EVERY) single person around them better. In the 2000s that was Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. Today, for this generation, there’s truly only one; "the one known as Jacques, turned to Scott".

http://greenlabel.com/travis-scott-live-performances/

Travis Scott, is factually one of the top artists in all of music. If any of you reading are like me and have had the pleasure of watching him in concert, you'll likely attest that he's one of the greatest performers of his generation. He's one of the top producers in the world and his pen is nothing to sneeze at. In this era, where every rapper seemingly has a connection to a sneaker brand, he stands as one of the few who has truly transcended and embraced the sneaker culture and his Jordan collabs are some of the most sought-after and coveted kicks in the sneaker game. With his Netflix documentary just recently dropping and with he and Kylie seeming happy as ever; things are looking great in the world of Travis Scott.

With all this said, what I love the most about Travis Scott, is his ability to bring the best out of those around him. Let's cast our minds back to the Grammy nominated album Astroworld. A stellar project by any estimation, and what takes it to another level is undoubtedly the wide array of features. Travis is truly the only artist who could have an album featuring the likes of Drake, Frank Ocean, Don Tolliver and The Weeknd and still have it all mesh. With such an eclectic platter of artists it would be easy for the album to feel loose and incoherent. However, the truth is quite the opposite. Where other artists would likely struggle to make such a collection work, Travis took the opportunity to display his unique and quite frankly special skill of allowing his feature artists to shine.

https://djbooth.net/features/2018-09-04-travis-scott-astroworld-enjoy-the-ride

Why does Drake shine so bright on “SICKO MODE”? Cause the song was made specifically for him. Why does 21 Savage flow so perfectly over “NC-17”? Cause the beat was made with him in mind. Why does “WAKE UP” feel like a Weeknd song featuring Travis Scott rather than the other way around? Because that's exactly how Travis wanted it.

The true genius behind Travis' art, is that he is able to craft full songs intent in getting the best out of those whom he collaborates with. It's the reason Justin Bieber flows so perfectly on Maria I'm Drunk, it's the reason Kacy Hill's voice fits so effortlessly on 90210 and it's the reason he's able to collaborate with Andre 3000 and Blac Youngsta on the same album and not miss a beat.

At just 28 Years of age, what's scary about Travis is that he just keeps improving and getting better. There's been no sign of stagnation in his work and he appears to have sidestepped "The Kardashian Curse" to the delight of all his fans. With Travis' work ethic I wouldn't be surprised if early 2020 brought a follow up to Astroworld. And with his impeccable ear and otherworldly ability to allow fellow artists to shine, I'd be surprised if it was anything less than amazing.