Maps of Music

Astroworld (2018)

Where the lyrics of Astroworld take you, and where it was really made.

The album is named after a Houston theme park that closed in 2005, and Scott said he wanted it to sound like taking that park away from kids.

Key places

Hawaii sessions (2018)

Recording site Cactus (Honolulu) — In July 2018, reports said Scott was finishing the album in Hawaii. This point marks the Honolulu studio linked to the recording. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Astroworld: third studio album by American rapper Travis Scott
• Released August 3, 2018 through Cactus Jack Records and Grand Hustle Records, distributed by Epic Records
• Guest vocals from Frank Ocean, Drake, Swae Lee, Kid Cudi, James Blake, Philip Bailey, Juice Wrld, the Weeknd, 21 Savage, Gunna, Nav, Don Toliver, Quavo, and Takeoff
• Production by Scott, Mike Dean, Hit-Boy, WondaGurl, Tay Keith, Tame Impala, Murda Beatz, and Thundercat, among others
• Hip-hop and psychedelic rap album with elements of trap and psychedelic music
• Four singles: "Butterfly Effect", "Sicko Mode", "Yosemite", and "Wake Up"

Background

• Title announced May 2016, initially teased for a 2017 release
• Follows Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight (2016) and the Quavo collaboration Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho (2017)
• Scott described it as a continuation of his debut album Rodeo (2015)
• Title taken from Six Flags AstroWorld, a Houston amusement park closed in 2005
• Scott, a Houston native, said the album should sound like taking an amusement park away from kids

Recording

• Recording took place between 2016 and 2018, with Scott posting updates through social media
• In July 2018, reports said Scott was completing the album in Hawaii
• Collaborators named in those reports include Mike Dean, Nav, Frank Dukes, Sonny Digital, WondaGurl, Sheck Wes, Gunna, Wheezy, Don Toliver, Allen Ritter, and Amir "Cash" Esmailian

Cover

• Cover shot by American photographer David LaChapelle
• Features a giant golden inflatable of Scott's head as the entrance to an amusement park, with children, parents, and park employees in front of it
• A second cover shows the same entrance at nighttime with adult-themed content in place of the family-friendly features

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Jacques Bermon Webster II on April 30, 1991 in Houston, Texas.
• Formed the duo The Graduates with Chris Holloway; released an EP on Myspace in 2008.
• Formed The Classmates with OG Chess in 2009 and released two projects before the group disbanded in late 2012.
• Left college and signed with T.I.'s Grand Hustle Records in 2013 after T.I. heard his production.

Career

• Released the mixtape Owl Pharaoh (2013) and Days Before Rodeo (2014); the latter's single "Don't Play" was its lead single.
• Debut studio album Rodeo (2015) debuted at number three on the Billboard 200; single "Antidote" peaked at number 16 on the Hot 100.
• Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight (2016) became his first number-one album on the Billboard 200.
• Astroworld (2018) debuted at number one; "Sicko Mode" (with Drake) became his first Hot 100 number-one single.
• Formed Cactus Jack Records in 2017; the label has signed Don Toliver, SoFaygo and Sheck Wes.
• Utopia (2023) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
• "4x4" (2025) debuted at number one on the Hot 100.

Recognition

• Has five Hot 100 number-one hits and ten Grammy nominations.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Astroworld received critical acclaim and performed well commercially
• Jordan Bassett of NME gave Astroworld a perfect rating, praising the album's guest appearances
• Kassandra Guagliardi of Exclaim! concluded that Astroworld shows the evolution of Travis Scott as an artist
• Roisin O'Connor of The Independent described Astroworld as a futuristic record with virtually flawless production
• Thomas Hobbs of Highsnobiety stated that Astroworld will be remembered as the moment Travis Scott produced a piece of music worthy of the riots he is capable of inducing
• Andrew Barker of Variety said that at 17 tracks, the album is not without filler, but rarely feels lazy or uninspired
• Christopher R. Weingarten of Rolling Stone complimented the first half of the album and considered the second half weaker in comparison

Reappraisal

• Metacritic average score of 85, based on 19 professional reviews
• AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.1 out of 10 based on the critical consensus
• Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork labelled Astroworld Scott's strongest album to date
• Grant Rindner of The Line of Best Fit said the album is a theme park worth revisiting whether you came in as a stan or a skeptic
• Named one of the best albums of 2018 and the decade by several publications

Records

• Debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with 537,000 album-equivalent units, 270,000 of them pure sales
• Second week: 205,000 album-equivalent units, staying at number one
• Returned to number one on the Billboard 200 on December 3, 2018 with 71,000 units
• Nominated at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album
• Won Album of the Year at the 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards
• Certified six-times platinum by the RIAA, announced August 29, 2024
• Australia: opened at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart
• Canada: 27,000 album-equivalent units in opening week, number one
• United Kingdom: debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album title comes from the closed Six Flags AstroWorld in Houston, and Scott framed the record as taking an amusement park away from kids.
• Scott's head appeared as a giant sculpture on top of an Amoeba Music store in Los Angeles on July 27, 2018, and more copies appeared in other locations including Houston.
• On August 1, 2018, Amanda Lepore questioned why she was excluded from the final version of the second cover; LaChapelle said it was because she upstaged the other models.
• In September 2018, TMZ reported that Frank Ocean filed a cease and desist to have his verse on "Carousel" removed; Ocean later said the song sounds cool and he had approved it before release.
• The music video for "Stop Trying to Be God" was released on August 6, 2018, directed by Dave Meyers.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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