Travis Scott Will Not Face Criminal Charges Over 2021 Astroworld Tragedy

Author Autumn Hawkins

June 30th, 2023 1:30 PM

A jury has declined to indict Travis Scott on criminal charges over his actions at the 2021 Astroworld festivalthat left ten dead due and thousands injured due to a crowd surge. The event was scheduled to occur on November 5 and 6, 2021, but the second day was canceled after the tragedy.

“It is tragic that ten innocent people were killed while trying to enjoy an evening of music and entertainment, something many of us do routinely and without a second thought to our safety. But a tragedy isn’t always a crime, and not every death is a homicide,” District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement per NBC News. “This grand jury’s determination has no impact on the many civil lawsuits pending.”

Among those who lost their lives was a 9-year-old named Ezra Blount. The other victims were ages 14 to 27; they all died from compression asphyxia, the publication reports. Nearly 2,400 people required medical treatment after the incident.

Scott’s attorney Kent Schaffer said the court’s decision accurately reflects the rapper’s position in the incident.

RELATED: Travis Scott Breaks Silence In First Interview Post Astroworld Tragedy

“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,” Schaffer shared in a statement. “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.”

Scott spoke out about the tragedy a month following the incident.

“It gets so hard because, you know, I always feel connected with my fans,” he told Charlamagne Tha God at the time. “I went through something and I feel like fans went through something and people’s parents went through something. And it really hurts.”

10 of Travis Scott's Best Songs Ranked

• 10. “Fair Trade” Drake ‘Certified Lover Boy’ (2021)

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  Travis Scott was featured on Drake's "Fair Trade" for his 2021 album 'Certified Lover Boy.' "Fair Trade" is all about ending toxic relationships knowing that he is better off in the end. Scott raps about women, and cars, and backs up Drake on the effort of cutting off bad relationships. This is the fourth collaboration between Travis Scott and Drake, following "Company," "Portland," and "Sicko Mode."  When the song dropped on Sept. 3, 2021, it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

• 9. “OUT WEST” ft. Young Thug ‘JACKBOYS’ (2019)

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  "Out West" is not only a great song but was instantly a TikTok dance sensation. The song dropped in 2019 but a few months later in February 2020, the "Out West Challenge" went viral on the video-sharing platform. In "Out West" Scott raps about being a modern outlaw as Young Thug raps explicitly about his sex life. The song debuted at No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 15 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart.

• 8. “Beibs In The Trap” ft. Nav ‘Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight’ (2016)

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  Scott taps in Nav for the 2016 hit "Beibs In The Trap" who handled the vocals and full production of the track.  "Beibs" which is a misspelling of the pop superstar Justin Bieber, also has a reference to the use of cocaine. The slang is heard in Lil Wayne's "White Girl" and Migos' "Hannah Montana." Scott and Bieber have previously collaborated on tracks including Travis' “Maria I’m Drunk” and Justin’s “No Sense” which both were released in 2015. The song is currently two-times certified platinum by the RIAA.
• 7. “Antidote” ‘Rodeo’ (2015)

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  "Antidote" was first heard at Scott's performance at the Texas JMBLYA concert on June 21, 2015. It later appeared on Scott's SoundCloud account a few days after. In the song, the Houston native raps about popping pills and smoking marijuana. Scott samples Lee Field's  2014 track "All I Need" in which he was forced to give 50% of the song's composer share to Field for releasing the record to his SoundCloud before he cleared the sample. However, his efforts paid off because the track is currently four-times certified platinum by the RIAA.

• 6. “Butterfly Effect” ‘Astroworld’ (2018)

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  "Butterfly Effect" was released as the lead single to Scott's 2018 album 'Astroworld.' On the track, the Houston native reflects on his luxurious lifestyle and how his life has changed since being famous. The term "butterfly effect" in short, means that "small changes in initial conditions can lead to large-scale and unpredictable variation in the future state of the system," per Merriam-Webster. The song is currently four-times certified platinum by the RIAA.

• 5. “THE SCOTTS” and Kid Cudi (2020)

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  "The SCOTTS" is a collaboration between Travis Scott and Kid Cudi. The name derives from Travis Scott's stage name (real name Jacques Berman Webster II) and Kid Cudi's real name Scott Mescudi. Travis Scott premiered the track during his virtual live show in the video game Fortnite Battle Royale on April 23, 2020. His 15-minute virtual set garnered 12.3 million players, breaking the record for the biggest audience for a Fortnite gig, per HipHopDX. This is the pair's fifth collaboration together following Travis' "Through The Late Night," "Way Back" and "Stop Trying to Be God," and Cudi's "Baptized in Fire."The song is currently certified platinum by the RIAA.
• 4. “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM” (2019)

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  "HIGHEST IN THE ROOM" is in reference to Scott's love of marijuana that he often feels as though he is the "highest in the room." "HIGHEST IN THE ROOM" was first performed during Scott's headlining set at Rolling Loud Miami in 2019 which then featured a verse from Lil Baby. The final version of the track does not have Lil Baby's verse on it. "HIGHEST IN THE ROOM" was second chart-topping solo hit, following 2018's "Sicko Mode." The song was nominated for a "Best Melodic Rap Performance" at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards. The song is currently four-times certified platinum by the RIAA.

• 3. “pick up the phone” and Young Thug ft. Quavo ‘Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight’ (2016)

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  Scott taps in Young Thug and Quavo for "pick up the phone." The song is about how the three rappers are frustrated when they go to call their girlfriends they don't pick up. This song served as the second single to Scott's 2016 album 'Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight." The song is also on Young Thug's 'Jefferey' as a bonus track. The record is currently two-times certified platinum by the RIAA.

• 2. “SICKO MODE” ft. Drake ‘Astroworld’ (2018)

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  The term "sicko" or "6icko" is in reference to Drake's Canadian roots and are Toronto's area codes, 416 and 647. Drizzy also uses the term to describe his friends OVO Crew members. In this track, however, Drizzy and Scott use it as a way of saying they're in beast mode and are superior to the competition. In the song, Scott and Drake rap over the high-energy beat while Swae Lee provides the background vocals. "SICKO MODE" also marks Scott's first solo No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit. This is the third collaboration between Travis Scott and Drake. They first collabed on Drizzy's 2015 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late track' "Company" then again on his 2017 'More Life' song "Portland." The most recent and fourth collab between the two was Drake's 2021 'Certified Lover Boy's' "Fair Trade." "SICKO MODE" was nominated for "Best Rap Performance" and "Best Rap Song" along with 'Astroworld' being nominated for "Best Rap Album" at the 61st annual Grammy Awards. The record is currently 10-times certified platinum by the RIAA.
• 1. “goosebumps” ft. Kendrick Lamar ‘Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight’ (2016)

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  In "goosebumps" Scott describes the feeling he gets when he's around a girl he likes. The track features Kendrick Lamar who Scott looks up to musically. He recalled to Billboard the first time he met Kendrick: "He came up to me and was just like, 'Yo, man, I f--- with your music. It's super dope and inspirational'" I was like, whoa, this is the best rapper in the globe - he f---- with my music! That's one of the things that made me want to keep working on my music and try to keep it going 'cause I'm not the most rappity rap a-- n----. That's not me but I really love Kendrick's music." Scott performed the song 15 times in a row during his 'Birds Eye View' tour stop in Cleveland on May 21, 2017, breaking his personal best of performing the same song in a row. He broke the news on Twitter for all who couldn't attend, "GOOSEBUMPS GOT PERFORM 15 TIMES. I LEFT MY CLOTHES FOR ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME," he wrote. The record is currently eight-times certified platinum by the RIAA.

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Author Autumn Hawkins

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Travis Scott