How Travis Scott Helped Me Make A Raptors Anthem
- Jason Rochester
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
I didn’t plan on making the soundtrack to the season for the third year in a row but then I got a message that simply said,
“Ready for another one?”
Wild part is… SHOWTIME wasn’t even meant to be a Raptors song at first.
It all started because I was freestylin’ to Travis Scott’s 4x4 one day.
Something about that beat hit me.
And honestly?
I felt like I could do it better.
The hook came quick, the verses came quicker, and for a second I thought,
“This might be an album record.”
He’s been part of every album I’ve dropped in the last decade.
All 🔥🔥🔥🔥
He understands my sound better than almost anyone.
He told me he was down to work on the record…
but life was lifing, and he needed a little time.
Cool. I was patient.
Then out of nowhere, Sportsnet calls.
“You ready for another season?”
I didn’t want to pressure Pops, so I hit up Triple A Beats, like I always do when it’s go-time.
We already had an early version of SHOWTIME, but it wasn’t ready.
It was good, but not the one.
When I told him this new version was for Sportsnet, everything clicked.
We locked in together and we co-producing the record, tightening the bounce, making sure it felt like the first step onto the court.
That became the Championship Version.
Later that same day…literally on the drive home guess who called?
“Yo… I finished the track.”
He played it for me over the phone and I swear, my whole mood shifted cause It was sooo good.
Different vibe
Different pocket
But same SHOWTIME spirit
And just like that… I had two versions I loved for completely different reasons.
A sane person would pick one.
I’m not that person.
So I doubled down.
Because the more I thought about it, the more it made sense:
NBA teams switch jerseys throughout the season: Association, City, Statement, all with their own personalities.
So I treated SHOWTIME the same way.
The Championship Version (Triple A Beats + me)
The City Version (Pops)
The Statement Version (Book from Cut The Lights)
Three versions
Three vibes
Three jerseys
Same team.
This whole thing came from a freestyle… and somehow became the soundtrack to another Raptors season.
Life’s funny like that.
Shoot Day
I didn’t get to see Tobi, Jon Kabongo and Beals until the day of the video shoot, but I’m glad that’s how it worked out.
We laughed, traded stories, shot scenes, hyped each other up…
It felt like one of those rare moments where music, community, and culture all land in the same place.
We had fun
Real fun
The kind you can’t fake on camera
It made the video better.
It made the moment bigger.
And it reminded me that connections like that keeps me inspired.
This whole journey reminded me why I love this.
SHOWTIME wasn’t planned
It wasn’t calculated
It just happened the way it was supposed to
And now it’s ours.
— R.
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