What do Travis Scott and Beyonce have in common? They both grew up in Houston, TX and hold a special spot for the Lonestar state in their hearts. But their careers couldn’t be more different. While Beyonce had pretty much immediate success with Destiny’s Child, it took a while for Scott to hit the mainstream. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t trying. Starting from his first EP in 2009 with college friends, Travis Scott is an example of perseverance.

Travis Scott In LA

If you want to get anywhere in the music business, you need to be in Nashville, LA, or New York. And since Scott wasn’t into country music, he made the move to LA in the early 2010s. It was a good move for him – he met established rap artist TI there, who eventually introduced him to Kanye West. Kanye hired him to be a music producer for GOOD Music, which allowed Scott to prove his skills to the controversial rap god. Yeezy let Scott have 15 seconds of fame on the Cruel Summer compilation in 2012 but pushed his debut after Scott’s reputation grew.

Owl Pharaoh

It wasn’t until 2013 that Travis Scott released his first EP, Owl Pharaoh. It was preceded by a placement in XXL’s magazine, noting him as part of 2013’s freshman class. That hype and his contacts allowed him to have big features on his freshman EP, like T.I. and 2 Chainz. This first release got him nominated for the Best Mixtape at the 2013 BET awards. Pretty good for his first shot!

Days Before Rodeo and Fire Features

His first studio album dropped in 2015, with singles like “Don’t Play” and “Mamacita”. It did well enough to get him attention from superstar Rhianna, who he collaborated with on “B*tch Better Have my Money." Since 2015 it’s been a steady stream of chart-topping collaborations and successful albums. His career was only boosted when he met and started dating Kylie Jenner, the mother of his daughter, Stormi.