It’s hard to imagine a time when Travis Scott wasn’t a superstar. Those unable to recall particulars of his ascent should find his beginnings on DAYS BEFORE RODEO as illuminating and intriguing as they were at the time. Only his second official mixtape after the preceding Owl Pharaoh, this 2014 effort succinctly revealed the hip-hop show-stopper he would soon become. No longer behind the scenes, he brought what he’d learned from sessions with T.I. and Ye to the proverbial table, exuding rock star energy on “Drugs You Should Try It” and indulging in EDM edginess on “Basement Freestyle”. With beats co-produced by the likes of FKi 1st and Metro Boomin, Atlanta’s tremendous influence further manifests amid the melodically eerie “Sloppy Toppy” with Migos and Peewee Longway and the machine-gun trap of “Mamacita” with Rich Homie Quan and Young Thug, the latter returning for the cinematic “Skyfall”. Honing his signature vocals and ad-libs in apparent reverence to his hallowed Houston origins, Scott goes beyond mere FX playtime on “Zombies”, hurtling towards the transformative approach that would come to define him.