Rapper Travis Scott has reflected on making this year’s fourth album, Utopia. He revealed that it was initially intended to be a play.
Featuring tracks such as ‘God’s Country’ and ‘Hyaena’, Utopia debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, with all 19 songs from the album debuting in the Billboard Hot 100. The record features an extensive list of collaborators, including Beyoncé, Bad Bunny, Dave Chapelle, Drake, James Blake and SZA.
Travis Scott discussed the making of Utopia in a new conversation with GQ, and explained that he’d still like to write a play in the future, despite his latest record not becoming one in the end.
“I wanted the album to be a play,” Scott said. “I was trying to take Broadway — because the thing about Broadway theatres, they’re kind of small — I was trying to bring the idea of Broadway to bigger venues. Like, either, like, plays in stadiums or plays in arenas, but still make it feel like a Broadway bill.”
He also said that he met with playwright Jeremy O. Harris to discuss making his idea for the play a reality. “I love Jeremy O. Harris. He’s amazing. We were exploring all these different ideas. I met with him. I met with a couple of different people. We just talked about the idea of it happening. I was still trying to figure it out,” Scott continued.
Elsewhere in the interview, Scott addressed the fatal crowd crush that occurred at his Astroworld Festival in 2021. The rapper said: “Making music, you think about things that go on in life and things that happen in your life, and you dial in on things. That moment for families, for the city, you know, it was devastating.”
Maintaining that he’s “utterly devastated”, Scott expressed that thoughts of the tragedy still plague him. He continued: “Yeah, I always think about it. Those fans were like my family. You know, I love my fans to the utmost. It has its moments where it gets rough and…yeah. You just feel for those people. And their families.”
