Travis Scott is opening up about the Astroworld Festival tragedy back in 2021.
via: People
On Nov. 5, 2021, 10 audience members at his concert were killed and thousands were injured due to a crowd crush at NRG Park in Houston, Texas.
In an interview with GQ for their Men of the Year Issue published on Wednesday, the rapper shared how heavy that night still weighs on his heart and just how much he loves his fans.
“I always think about it. Those fans were like my family,” Scott, 32, said. “You just feel for those people. And their families.”
Speaking on how that “overly devastating” time affected his creative process with his new album Utopia, Scott said it took “months and months and months” after that night to get back to his music.
“Making music, you think about things that go on in life and things that happen in your life, and you dial in on things. That moment for families, for the city, you know, it was devastating,” he said.
Scott added that it was “therapeutic” for him to be “able to channel some of the energy into production and sounds and finishing it.”
In his song “My Eyes,” he specifically references the events from Houston that night, explaining that it conveys “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,” he continued. “That you carry, you know. And just a vision through my eyes.”
GQ provided an example of his lyrics: “I replay them nights, and right by my side, all I see is a sea of people that ride wit’ me/If they just knew what Scotty would do to jump off the stage and save him a child”
“The song is emotional to me,” he said. “It’s one of my favorite songs on the album. And that verse means a lot to me.”
Additionally, Scott wanted his fans to know that “I have pain too. I have concerns, things that I think about, and the things that I see on a day-to-day basis I think about them.”
Every day, the musician — who shares two children, daughter Stormi, 5½, and son Aire, 21 months, with ex Kylie Jenner — said he wants “to find change in the things, to make things better, make myself better.”
In his first post-Astroworld interview with Good Morning America in December 2021, Scott said he was unable to hear any screams for help when the crowd surge began, and he claimed he did stop the show several times in order to ensure his fans were safe.
Festival organizers had released a statement the morning after the accident.
“Our hearts are with the Astroworld Festival family tonight — especially those we lost and their loved ones. We are focused on supporting local officials however we can. With that in mind the festival will no longer be held on Saturday,” they wrote.
“As authorities mentioned in their press conference earlier, they are looking into the series of cardiac arrests that took place. If you have any relevant information on this, please reach out to @HoustonPolice. Thank you to our partners at the Houston Police Department, Fire Department, and NRG Park for their response and support.”
Scott had faced potential criminal charges, but on June 29 of this year, a Texas grand jury ultimately determined that he was not responsible and decided not to take action.
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE at the time, Scott’s attorney Kent Schaffer said, “Today’s decision by the Harris County District Attorney confirms what we have known all along — that Travis Scott is not responsible for the AstroWorld tragedy. This is consistent with investigative reporting by numerous media outlets and federal and state government reports that have squarely placed the onus for event safety crises on organizers, operators and contractors – not performers.”
He continued, “While waiting patiently for the District Attorney’s decision to not file charges, Travis Scott has been inaccurately and wrongly singled out, despite stopping the show three separate times and being unaware of the events as they were unfolding. Now that this chapter is closed, we hope for the government efforts to focus on what is most important – stopping future heartbreaking tragedies like AstroWorld from ever occurring again.”
