Travis Scott Turns a Dead Amusement Park Into Music (and Crazy Merchandise) Gold: Houston’s Hometown Superstar Does Right by AstroWorld

There are few things Houstonians love more than the old shuttered AstroWorld amusement park and hometown rap superstar Travis Scott. Put the two of them together and it’s bound to be big.

And maybe even golden.

Scott’s long anticipated new Astroworld album dropped Friday, paying off both the long wait and some unusual promotion.

Scott is a Houston regular, still the hometown guy in so many ways, a fixture at Houston Rockets and Astros games. Only, we’ve never seen him quite like this before.

To boost the already large Astroworld hype, he’s trying to get in your head. With his giant gold inflatable one.

A massive gold blow-up likeness of Scott’s head appeared outside Minute Maid Park last weekend. Monochromatic and open-mouthed, Scott’s inflatable head is the ideal Instagram photo op. Some have even taken artistic liberties, creating Scott gold head memes on social media.

Following its Minute Maid Park stint, the Travis Scott head migrated to Cactus Music. It set up shop there through Monday. Cactus Music employees say it took hours to inflate.

The heads have since high-tailed it out of here to tour the rest of the country. Other notable Scott head hotspots: New York’s Times Square and outside of Atlanta’s famous Magic City strip club.

The 17-track Astroworld is Scott’s first album since 2016’s Birds in the Trap Sing MckNight, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Fans are pumped for the long-awaited Astroworld. And why shouldn’t they be, with its appearances from Frank Ocean, Drake, The Weeknd, Swae Lee, James Blake, Kid Cudi, 21 Savage, Nav, Sheck Wes — and even a harmonica solo from Stevie Wonder?

Scott is also releasing a line of Astroworld merchandise — with new items appearing for sale on his website every day. Each batch of Astroworld merch is only available for 24 hours before a new set is released. Sadly, this AstroWorld hat is already sold out.

Travis Scott’s Houston Beginnings

Scott clearly remembers AstroWorld from his Houston childhood. He grew up in the Missouri City ‘burbs and attended private elementary and middle schools. He then graduated from Elkins High School before entering the University of Texas at San Antonio. Scott dropped out of college his sophomore year and moved to New York to pursue his music career.

Scott actually launched his music in the Bayou City as a record producer at 16, focusing on hip hop. During that time, he teamed up with a longtime friend and formed the duo The Graduates. The following year, they took on some more friends and became The Classmates.

Things have come full circle in a sense, with Scott paying homage to the city that shaped him. What better way to do it than with literal PR gold?

Of course, Scott is used to getting more and more attention these days. While he’s still a hometown Houston regular when he does things like taking his girlfriend Kylie Jenner on a sweet date worthy romp through River Oaks District, it draws national headlines. And this month, Scott and Jenner grace the cover of GQ magazine.

Still, Scott hasn’t forgotten Houston. It’s safe to say he’s done right by the beloved AstroWorld.