Travis Scott

Lore & Background

The collaboration on "Watch" brought together three major American rappers: Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, and Kanye West. The song was teased by Scott's then-girlfriend Kylie Jenner via her Snapchat story on April 24, 2018, with West also teasing it on Twitter the following day. A day before the song's release, Scott revealed its release date and cover art, which includes a roller coaster, a skull with fire in its eye sockets, flowers, and a gem-encrusted gold watch. On May 11, Scott premiered a vertical video for the song exclusively on Spotify, shot at Six Flags Magic Mountain, in which Uzi and West were absent.

In Their Own Story

On May 6, 2018, Travis Scott made a live performance debut of "Watch" during an appearance at Avenue nightclub in Los Angeles. The track opens with an amusement park clip of a child at AstroWorld, and a whimsical, woozy musical vibe follows that befits that theme. Lyrically, Uzi raps about their cash flow, while West raps about opioid addiction and addresses his controversial social position. The outro was spoken by Scott's then-girlfriend Kylie Jenner. Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork regarded the song as "an enjoyable ego trip full of empty-calorie raps, reliant entirely on the premise that you are as enthralled by these three artists as they are with themselves."

Reader's Guide

Travis Scott's role on "Watch" is as a vocalist alongside Lil Uzi Vert and Kanye West. The song was produced by Pi'erre Bourne, who samples Ronald Jenkees' 2012 song "Early Morning May" and KSupreme's unreleased song "Expensive Shit." According to Rolling Stone's Althea Legaspi, "the track opens with an amusement park clip of a child at AstroWorld, and a whimsical, woozy musical vibe follows that befits that theme." Pearce noted "Pi'erre's superb ear-bending production" as "the song's best feature," writing that "Scott is largely forgettable" due to his "toneless, flat, and unchanging" hums. Personnel credits from Tidal list Scott, Uzi, and West on vocals, with Pi'erre Bourne on production, and engineering by Jimmy Cash, Noah Goldstein, and Mike Dean.

Did You Know?

• Kylie Jenner first teased "Watch" via her Snapchat story on April 24, 2018.
• The song's cover art includes a roller coaster, a skull with fire in its eye sockets, flowers, and a gem-encrusted gold watch.
• The vertical video for "Watch" was shot at Six Flags Magic Mountain and did not feature Lil Uzi Vert or Kanye West.
• The outro of "Watch" was spoken by Travis Scott's then-girlfriend Kylie Jenner.
• Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork described Scott's vocals on the track as "toneless, flat, and unchanging."