Travis Scott Talks ‘Utopia,’ Kanye West, & Kid Cudi Joint Album in GQ

Travis Scott blasts off on the cover of GQ.

The Houston rapper invites the magazine into his world for the September issue. As fans eagerly await the follow-up to Astroworld, the King of the Youth has been hard at work. During a visit to Cactus Jack HQ in West Hollywood, Calif. in early July, he previews some unfinished material including a track for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming thriller Tenet, which GQ describes as “a brain-liquefying trip through time and space.”

Stormi’s father has remained tight-lipped about his upcoming album, which fans have speculated is called Utopia. “Where does one go after Astroworld?” asks the reporter before Travis responds, “You go to utopia. That’s where we go.”

“So imagine my version,” says Scott, who describes it as “a place where we could just all sit across from each other and one side stops looking at the other side and where we all realize we’re equal. As just humans.”

“We don’t want nothing from each other but just to see each other happy,” he says before adding, “But with that comes dystopia.”

In addition to his own album, he and his “Scotts” collaborator Kid Cudi are working on a joint project and have “already cut a bunch of records together.” When asked what fans can expect, he responds, “Man, a lot. Some fireness!”

Plus, La Flame opens up about his relationship with Kanye West (“That’s my big bro”), fatherhood, and teases a “secret project,” which GQ describes as “a collaboration so ‘duh’ that it seems like it should have happened already.”

Read highlights from the interview below.

On racial injustice and police brutality in America: “It’s a point where there has to be some acknowledgment, like, ‘This shit is not cool.’ We’ve been through this for how many years? It’s a fight that we’ve been fighting for, and it seems no one wants to give us this result we’ve been looking for–for years–and our voices need to be heard.”

On how he’s coping with the times: “Times are weird for people, and they’re trying to figure out what to do. Seeing what’s going on in the world is keeping me motivated. Figuring out ways to make it better, that’s really keeping me motivated. And whether it’s with music, or whether it’s trying to go change stuff in the inner city–I’m just trying to turn it up on all levels.”

On Kanye West’s political views: “Everyone’s entitled to their own [opinion]. I just tell him how I feel. How people feel about this shit.”

On finding his sound: “It’s crazy. It’s a lot of things I wanted in my earlier career–it was just like it had to come in time. No matter how long it takes, you just stay on it. It might take one album or two albums. It might be your third, it might be your fourth. I feel like since Owl Pharaoh, I’ve been just like, ‘Yo, what is the sound?’ Astroworld was kinda like being able to make a lot of things come to life.”

On his daughter: “It’s amazing just to watch my daughter grow. I’m keeping her aware of what’s going on in the world. As a parent, I’m always instilling knowledge, even at this age.”

On his next album: “I feel like I’ve learned so much. I think with this next project I’m just embodying all of the knowledge I’ve taken in and trying to make the best form of it.”