Travis Scott has helped define the sound and feel of 2010s rap, imbuing tough, surrealistic trap with a distinctly pop appeal. Raised in the suburbs of Houston, Scott (born Jacques Berman Webster II in 1992) first made noise as an in-house producer for Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music, working on the 2012 label showcase u003ciu003eCruel Summeru003c/iu003e and 2013’s u003ciu003eYeezusu003c/iu003e, which arrived mere weeks after he dropped his debut mixtape, u003ciu003eOwl Pharaohu003c/iu003e. He went on to bring his gothic-edged sound to Drake, Migos, Madonna, and Rihanna (“Bitch Better Have My Money”), while his own solo albums—2015’s u003ciu003eRodeou003c/iu003e and 2016’s u003ciu003eBirds in the Trap Sing McKnightu003c/iu003e—playfully drew the commercial center of rap toward the avant-garde. Take 2018’s u003ciu003eASTROWORLDu003c/iu003e, a swirling, almost psychedelic set that not only managed to pull together Quavo, John Mayer, Tame Impala, and Sheck Wes on the same album, but also had them gel—a testament to Scott’s vision as an artist and superlative curator. Like West, his mentor, Scott has also brought tremendous energy to his live shows, creating a stage-diving, punk-like spectacle that revitalizes a space that too many rappers inhabit on autopilot.