Although it’s been two years since the infamous Astroworld Festival tragedy, Travis Scott recently revealed that he’s still troubled by what transpired that night and how it impacted the creation of his album, Utopia, during a recent GQ interview for its 2023 Men of the Year issue.
“That moment for families, for the city, you know, it was devastating. And when it came to making, like even finishing the album…I got back into it probably like, I don’t know, months and months and months after,” the Houston rapper said.
“And the idea of just even getting back into music, working on music and just even getting into that, was therapeutic of being able to channel some of the energy into production and sounds and finishing it,” he continued.
During Scott’s concert at the Houston music event on Nov. 5, 2021, a crowd crush killed 10 people due to accidental compression asphyxia and injured hundreds more, according to CBS News.
Despite myriad lawsuits regarding the tragedy, Blavity reported a grand jury declined to indict Scott on June 29.
In the GQ interview, Scott detailed how the incident yielded long-term heartache and trauma for him.
“I mean I was just overly devastated, you know,” Scott said, adding he always thinks about the tragedy. “Those fans were like my family. You know, I know my fans to the utmost.”
He added, “It has its moments where it gets rough and…yeah. You just feel for those people. And their families.”
The Utopia song “My Eyes” refers to the festival.
The rapper told GQ that the track is about “the things I deal with on a day-to-day basis and the fact of how it could be misunderstood and the struggles of life and all aspects of life. The constant weight that’s put on. That you carry, you know. And just a vision through my eyes.”
In August, Utopia debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and spent four weeks there with the “Topia Twins” rapper announcing The Circus Maximus Tour later that month, which started on Oct. 11.
