Houston hip-hop mastermind Travis Scott has always been what can only be described as an animal in the rap game. He is young and energetic, he acts on impulse and he has an alarmingly fierce dedication to his craft. His first two albums were rodeo-themed, as Scott was understanding and learning to control his inner beast, while his recent effort, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, depicts him hunched over with large bird wings, displaying the full incarnation of his inner animal.

The best illustration of Travis as an animal, however, is the notorious reputation of his live presence. At a Travis Scott show, the rapper and his dedicated audience are wild in every sense of the word. Travis jumps around and screams into the mic like a man possessed, water bottles and shirts fly everywhere and mosh pits open up and rage with energy only a wild animal can posses. This all being said, it was more than appropriate when the internet and rap community went into a crazed frenzy on March 8 when Travis Scott announced phase one of his Birds Eye View tour, which includes a stop at the famous Santa Barbara Bowl.

This tour announcement, which also includes stops in Europe and across the U.S., has been in the making since last August when the southern madman released his long-awaited second studio album, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight. This album was well worth the wait, as its long collection of bangers gave him a No. 1 debut on Billboard as well as positive reception from all major music blogs. Among its consistent strong energy are hits “Goosebumps,” featuring Compton prophet Kendrick Lamar, and mega hit “Pick Up the Phone,” featuring wild card Young Thug and Migos icon Quavo.Despite this very strong recent effort from Travis, it is in no way the beginning of his musical success. His dark production and surreal, heavily autotuned sound have been rising since his mixtape Days Before Rodeo and his next-year debut studio album Rodeo. While Days Before Rodeo featured high octane collaborations with Young Thug and Migos, Rodeo launched Scott into serious mainstream success, specifically on the coattails of monumental banger “Antidote.” After he was recognized as a young powerhouse in rap, it was not long before listeners discovered the rest of his full, strong discography and slowly magnified the young rapper into the icon he is now.

Courtesy of NPR

Upon these hits as well as Travis’s recent success in the fashion world, hype for this tour has been quickly rising. Infamous general admission seats at this show in particular sold out in less than an hour, and many stops on the tour have already sold out completely. Travis is looking to make this a huge year for his live shows, as these coming shows are merely “phase one” of the bigger Birds Eye View tour. He is also listed on many festival lineups, including the world-famous Coachella bill. This is his first string of shows since the rowdy Rodeo tour with Young Thug in 2015, and this time around he is bringing along rising star Khalid and frequent collaborators Virgil Abloh and Chase B.

As this tour will surely attest, Travis Scott is an animal in the unpredictable and chaotic rap game. His shows are hectic, belligerent and without any sign of civilization. After a career of building to this level of monumental success, this explosion at the Santa Barbara Bowl will be a victory lap as well as a commanding power forward. The evil genius has already announced another studio album for 2017 entitled Astroworld as well as a collaborative album with Quavo, so this is only the beginning of 2017 for Scott. Now is an extremely exciting time for Scott and the community as they get to celebrate the genius of a young artist and the monumental energy of his booming success.

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