He was born Jacques Webster Jr. in Houston, Texas. Until the age of six he spent a lot of time with his grandma in the hood, where he recalled to Complex magazine he "saw people looking weird, hungry, and grimey." The rapper added, "It gave me my edge."
Webster's mom worked for Apple and his father owned his own business. They lived in Missouri City a middle-class Houston suburb and he lived with them there until he was 19. He said: "Once I moved [to the suburbs] I adapted to where I was growing up. [I adapted to] suburban culture, fresh culture, and diversity. I'm big on diversity. My music is very diverse, I don't want it to ever be typecasted."
Webster was interested in music from an early age and started off playing the drums at age 3, before moving onto piano. His parents paid for lessons for both instruments.
While at the University of Texas, Webster caught the attention of rapper T.I. and producer Mike Dean, known for his work with Kanye West. After he dropped out to pursue rap full-time, T.I. brought the young artist on to his Grand Hustle imprint, ultimately getting him signed with Epic, his first major-label deal.
Webster's performing moniker Travis Scott is an ode to his favorite uncle (Travis was his name and Scott was a nickname). "He was like my favorite uncle. My favorite relative," Scott told
Grantland of his uncle. "I looked up to him and s---. . . That n---- was just smart. Always made good decisions, good business decisions."
In November 2012 Scott signed a deal with Kanye West's GOOD Music, as part of its production wing Very GOOD Beats, after appearing on "Sin City" a track from the label's 2012 compilation album Cruel Summer. Many people heard Scott for the first time on "Sin City" as Cruel Summer was one of the biggest records of the year.
"La Flame" Travis Scott's nickname, is derived from his 2013 song, "Blocka La Flame."
The musician cites M.I.A, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, T.I. and Tame Impala as influences on his music. Scott revealed to MTV that he cried the first time he met Kid Cudi.
Scott has been connected to a host of celebrity beauties, including Rihanna and model Karrueche Tran. He began dating reality television star Kylie Jenner in the spring of 2017. On February 1, 2018, Jenner gave birth to their first child, daughter Stormi Webster. A son, Aire, followed in 2022.
Travis Scott used to work as a ball boy for his local NBA team the Houston Rockets. On one occasion he met Kobe Bryant, who signed a ball for him.
Scott performed five virtual live shows in the video game Fortnite Battle Royale from April 23 to 25, 2020, during which he debuted his collaboration with Kid Cudi, "
The Scotts." Dubbed "Astronomical," Scott's Fortnite concerts featured visuals based on his Astroworld tour. His 15-minute virtual Astronomical concert on April 23 attracted 12.3 million players, breaking the record for the biggest audience for a Fortnite gig.
When he was a child, Travis Scott wanted to be a nephrologist (a kidney doctor). His dream originated at primary school age when he had a sleepover at his friend's house.
"We went to his crib," Scott recalled to GQ. "His crib was crazy. I've never seen a crib like this. It was OD. His dad was an OB-GYN. And I remember his uncle was at the house, and I asked his uncle, I was like, 'What do you do?' And he's like, 'I'm a nephrologist.' He told me what it was, and I was like, 'Yo, it's crazy.' I was like, 'Yeah, I want to be that.'"
Scott's plan to become a nephrologist held throughout his teenage years. "Middle school, high school, that's all I wanted to do - wanted to be a nephrologist," he said. "I used to go and shadow at the hospitals. So I fell in love with it more there, just the whole process of it all."
Travis Scott has made multiple appearances in WWE events, including the Elimination Chamber in early March 2025 where he was involved in a segment with The Rock and John Cena. During that event, Scott delivered a slap to WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, which reportedly gave Rhodes a ruptured eardrum and a black eye.
Following that appearance, Scott said that being on WWE might be better than playing concerts.
Travis Scott plays a bard in Christopher Nolan's motion picture retelling of Homer's
The Odyssey. "I cast him because I wanted to nod towards the idea that this story has been handed down as oral poetry,
Nolan explained to Time magazine, "which is analogous to rap."
When he released his debut album in 2015, he styled his name Travi$ Scott, inspired by the rapper inspired Ma$e. That dollar sign was a trend at the time (Joey Bada$$, A$AP Rocky, Ke$ha...) but was getting played out. Scott quietly dropped the $ soon after.
He's really into architecture, and will note structural details of any building he enters. "When you start seeing how odd things can be shaped and then see how they can structurally work, it's interesting," he told Rolling Stone. "I'm always trying to be like an ultimate problem solver."
