Travis Scott says a lightning storm was behind the delay at his Circus Maximus show in Johannesburg, South Africa.
On Saturday (Oct. 11), Scott took the stage at FNB Stadium, performing for a crowd of more than 70,000 fans. The concert delivered the same high-energy, cinematic experience fans have come to expect from him — but it began more than an hour and a half late, sparking speculation that the rapper had arrived late.
Scott later set the record straight, explaining on social media that severe weather was to blame for the holdup after seeing a fan’s post about the delay.
“Travis Scott finally gets on stage, over an hour late,” one fan wrote on X — prompting the rapper to clear things up himself.
“Wasn’t a hour late,” Scott replied. “Lighting delay, brudda. Flame always ready.” While he mistakenly wrote “lighting” instead of “lightning,” it was clear he was referring to the stormy weather that night.
“Never late to a night show,” he added.
Once Scott hit the stage, he delivered the explosive performance fans had been waiting for, running through hits like “My Eyes” and “Modern Jam” from Utopia, as well as “Dumbo” and “Champain & Vacay” from Jackboys 2.
Despite the delay, concertgoers were thrilled to see the full show — a much better outcome than his headlining set at the Leeds Festival in the UK back in August, where fans were left disappointed after Scott abruptly ended his performance.
Midway through what was supposed to be an hour-long set, he stopped performing after 24 songs and quickly left the stage without explanation. One fan suggested he may have hurt himself after getting too close to pyrotechnics, and a video from the event appeared to show Scott shaking his hand and stopping mid-rap after coming into contact with flames.
After the incident, Scott didn’t clarify what had happened. Instead, he took to X to ask fans for footage of his performance.
“Who got the over head video of the intro of the set at Leeds,” he wrote. “Champain and dumbo that was maddd wild.”
