Travis Scott (Finally) Drops a Video for His Best Song, ‘Days Before Rodeo’

One thing Travis Scott has to say is for sure: he never misses an opportunity to turn something into a real Moment with a capital M, with a full 360-degree rollout.

Last week, right after the 10th anniversary, Scott’s 2014 mixtape was released Days before the rodeo was eventually added to DSP’s roster; the project is highly regarded by fans and rap scholars alike as the groundbreaking work that established Scott as an emerging artist to be reckoned with, the potential Next Big Thing. We know how that all turned out, of course, but even amid blockbuster albums, paradigm-shifting tours, and a firm grasp on the zeitgeist, To dawn is still considered his best work.

Regardless of where he would rank it, Scott knows what the tape and its reception meant to his career, so he celebrated its “official release” (I’ll save a rant about how absurd it is that streaming convenience has made us all so dependent on listening to music that the release of a 10-year-old mixtape is a big deal for later) with a one-off show in Atlanta, a fitting venue considering the tape’s stellar guest appearances from the city’s own T.I., Young Thug, Migos (RIP Takeoff), PeeWee LongWay, Rich Homie Quan, and production from ATLiens like Metro Boomin and FKI 1st. He also threw in five bonus tracks “from that era”—usually leaks that superfans knew about but never had in full, pristine, legal quality—and dropped a limited-edition merch bundle. (Travis never misses an opportunity to push Travis Scott merch, but in this case, like everything from that era, the DBR (Among his best designs.)

Nowadays he holds the To dawn party with a new music video for “Drugs You Should Try It,” which may be the greatest gift to the La Flame faithful yet. For the uninitiated, if Days before the rodeo is arguably Travis’s finest project, “Drugs You Should Try It” is, perhaps even less arguably, his finest song. Given the reputation of his music, you’d think that a song as much of a rager as he could hold that esteem within his fanbase. Instead, “Drugs” is moody, even tender, his already characteristically distorted vocals distorted into a haze of dizzy, intoxicated yearning over a downtempo beat by FKI 1st. A decade ago, it proved that Travis had more to his arsenal than just mosh-ready anthems; a decade later, it still sounds like one of the freshest, most unique compositions he’s ever made.

“There’s nothing like it, bro,” 1st told me back on the tape’s fifth anniversary. “The way the song starts, the melody of the guitar, the way the drums come in, the pauses, the effects on his voice, it’s everything about it that’s never been (heard) before. The first line of the song, ‘I’ll try it if it feels right,’ doesn’t have to be about drugs. It can be about love. It can be about anything, and anyone (can) relate to that position.”

The visuals are fittingly just as atmospheric and emotional, with several shots in black and white and one of Travis reaching for the moon, which the DBR cover art. There’s an actual wolf in the mix for added emphasis, as Travis poses around a barren dungeon, coldly lusting after various models doing their best femme fatale look. It all feels like a cool scene from Leaf. It’s not the most involved video, but the fact that he made one at all is a great gesture from an artist who always seems to be in step with his fanbase. And maybe it’s a sign that he’s To dawn ponder a bit more? Maybe there’s something to that comment he made about taking the Atlanta show on tour…