2015 has been a wild ride for Travi$ Scott, and by the looks of it, that ride is going to continue for the foreseeable future. Hot on the heels of a Kanye West cosign, and the announcement of a release date for his much anticipated Rodeo project, it would not be a story involving the Texan rapper without a hint of controversy.
Performing at the famous Lollapalooza festival, Travi$ was reportedly arrested following behaviour which placed many festival attendees and staff members in danger. The set itself lasted only five minutes before Scott urged fans to charge the security staff and join him onstage, inciting the crowd with chants of “We want rage” and “Everyone in the green shirts get the f*ck back now” (Referring to the security staff placed between the stage and the fans).
After realising that the situation was getting slightly out of hand, Scott urged the fans to remove themselves from the stage, “Listen, they’re gonna stop the show if y’all don’t get down. I wanna finish performing”. At the end of the day, there is no one to blame but Travi$ Scott, and it would appear that he quickly realised that his actions were coming back to bite him almost immediately.
Hyping up the crowd is one thing, but urging fans to overwhelm security is just stupid, and downright dangerous. Security at festivals open cop flak from acts, but at the end of the day, they are there to protect fans, and to ensure that the acts themselves aren’t placed at any risk. They are not police officers, and often they are working these festivals in addition to their regular 9-5 jobs.
There is no denying that Travi$ Scott is ascending amongst musical circles, but incidents like this speak volumes regarding his maturity, and is something that needs to be developed if he hopes to continue playing festivals and gaining more exposure as an artist.
Rodeo is expected to release on September 4 via Grand Hustle and Epic Records.