15 September 2020
Newsdesk
The new issue of THE FACE includes a cover interview with Travis Scott by Ira Madison III. Travis Scott announces himself as newly committed to fighting for social change in an Instagram post following George Floyd’s death. Travis says he’s relieved that the wider world is at last waking up to the injustices the Black community faces. In an all-day shoot with his friend, AstroWorld collaborator and THE FACE alumni David LaChapelle, Ira got an intimate look at modern rap’s megastar, seeing him as a father, partner, and lover of games, dogs and musicals.
“People are finally seeing the oppression that's been happening and overlooked, and that we, as a culture, have been fighting through every day,” he says. “We got a voice to try to make change. Allow me to help in any way.”
On his daughter Stormi Webster… “she’s got more Lambos than me!”
On his commitment to being a leading voice in the Black Lives Matter movement… “That means we got a voice to try to make change. People are listening, you know what I mean? And we want to try to make sure they understand that I’m a tool. Allow me to help in any way. Let me know where we got to go show up. It’s a big picture. It’s like a lot of groundwork we got to do. “You’re trying to get to a point where people are finally seeing the oppression that’s been happening and overlooked, and that we, as a culture, have been fighting through every day. I mean, look how many leaders we have in the Black community.”
On his decision to perform at the 2019 Superbowl that was largely boycotted by black performers:
“I couldn’t dare do that. For what? Who gains from that? Not my people... There’s things within that organisation that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way.”
On his disappointment at Coachella being cancelled… “I was so looking forward to it, man. I was so ready, so happy,” he sighs. “It was two weeks before my birthday. I was like, man, I had it. This Coachella, it felt like it was a little more special, you know?”
On his faith inspired by Kanye West… “My grandmother and my grandfather always kept me in that. My mom and dad always. For sure, a thousand per cent. I still find faith in everything,” he says. “I mean, I’ve made records where I don’t curse. Not every song has to have a curse word in it for it to be good. So it’s not about that. And I think, even in the beginning, [Kanye’s music] was church-inspired, too.”