On January 10, 2017, a 25-year-old rapper from Missouri City, Texas filed paperwork for a record label most people assumed would be a vanity project.
Eight years later, that label had two No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, six active artists across three coasts, a publishing arm with one of the most respected producers in modern rap, and a roster bench deep enough to launch its newest signing — a Compton rapper named Wallie the Sensei — into the mainstream conversation. This is the story of how Travis Scott built Cactus Jack Records.
2017 — The Founding
Travis Scott (Jacques Bermon Webster II, born April 30, 1991, Missouri City) founded Cactus Jack Records on January 10, 2017. The label was distributed through Epic Records on the recordings side and through Sony/ATV via Cactus Jack Publishing. The name comes from Travis's grandfather, whom Travis has cited in interviews as the source of his stage name; "Cactus Jack" was a nickname.
The first signing was Florida rapper Smokepurpp, whose run with the label was short and ended in 2019.
2018 — The Foundational Year
The Cactus Jack story turns on what happened in early August 2018.
On August 2, Don Toliver — a 24-year-old Houston native born Caleb Zackary Toliver in Alief — released his major-label-debut mixtape *Donny Womack*, distributed independently. He had signed with Atlantic / We Run It / APG five months earlier in March 2018.
On August 3, Travis Scott released his third studio album *Astroworld*. Track 13, "Can't Say," featured Don Toliver. The track went on to be certified RIAA 4x Platinum and became Don's commercial breakout.
On August 6 — three days later — Travis announced Don as Cactus Jack's flagship signing. The deal was joint with Atlantic.
That same year, Sheck Wes (born Khadimou Rassoul Cheikh Fall, September 10, 1998, in Harlem) signed in February, off the back of his viral hit "Mo Bamba." By the end of 2018, Cactus Jack had three signed artists, a defining flagship in Don, and a signature Astroworld-era aesthetic.
2019 — JackBoys and the First No. 1
In 2019, Cactus Jack expanded into producer signings. Chase B (Chase Benjamin, Travis's longtime in-house DJ) signed to Cactus Jack Publishing in a joint deal with Columbia. Luxury Tax 50 also joined that year.
But the year-defining event was the December 27, 2019 release of *JackBoys* — a seven-track, 21-minute compilation credited to "JackBoys & Travis Scott." The lineup: Travis, Don, Sheck, Chase B. Don's lead vocal cut, "Had Enough" with Quavo and Offset, became one of his definitional early features (eventually included on *Heaven or Hell*'s 2020 tracklist as well). The compilation also included a "Highest in the Room" remix with Rosalía and Lil Baby.
*JackBoys* debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 154,000 first-week units (79,000 pure). It was the first No. 1 album of the 2020s. It was Travis's third No. 1, but it was Cactus Jack's first as a label entity.
2020 — The WondaGurl Signing
If 2019 was the year Cactus Jack proved it could do compilation albums, 2020 was the year it proved it could develop talent across its full pipeline.
In July 2020, WondaGurl (Ebony Naomi Oshunrinde, born December 28, 1996, in Brampton, Ontario) signed to Cactus Jack Publishing in a joint deal with Sony Music Publishing. WondaGurl had already produced for Travis Scott ("Antidote"), Jay-Z ("Crown"), and Rihanna ("Bitch Better Have My Money") before signing. Her work on Don Toliver's *Heaven or Hell* — released March 13, 2020, peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, and certified Platinum on February 22, 2023 — included six of the album's twelve tracks: "Heaven or Hell," "Can't Feel My Legs," "Candy," "Company," "No Photos," and the eventual 3x Platinum single "No Idea." She would become the first Black Canadian woman to win Juno Producer of the Year (2021).
Songwriter Dougie F also signed to Cactus Jack Publishing in 2020 in a joint deal with Warner Chappell.
2021–2022 — Roster Expansion
In 2021, Cactus Jack signed Atlanta-via-Grand-Rapids rapper SoFaygo (Andre Dontrel Burt Jr.). SoFaygo's blend of melodic-trap aesthetics — clearly influenced by Don's *Heaven or Hell* template — made him a natural fit. He featured on *Life of a Don*'s "Smoke" alongside HVN that same year.
The label briefly signed Cuban-American singer Malu Trevejo in 2021; she departed the same year.
The roster's three-pillar structure (Travis as superstar, Don as flagship, Sheck as auxiliary) plus producer talent (Chase B, WondaGurl) and developing artist (SoFaygo) defined the label through 2022.
2025 — JackBoys 2 and the Wallie the Sensei Era
On July 13, 2025 — five-and-a-half years after the original *JackBoys* — the label released *JackBoys 2*. The follow-up was a more ambitious project: 17 tracks, a 55-minute runtime, and a deluxe edition that pushed the total to 20 tracks. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 232,000–233,000 units (160,000 pure) and became Travis's fifth No. 1 album.
Don's lead vocal cuts on *JackBoys 2* were "Champain & Vacay," "2000 Excursion" (with Travis and Sheck), "Velour" (with Sheck), "No Comments," and "Cant Stop" (with Future and Wallie the Sensei).
That last name — Wallie the Sensei — is the most important new face on *JackBoys 2*. A Compton rapper, Wallie was Cactus Jack's newest signing as of 2025, and his appearance on "Cant Stop" alongside Don and Future was effectively his label debut. Wallie's signing represents a deliberate geographic and stylistic expansion: Cactus Jack now had a Houston flagship (Don), a Harlem auxiliary (Sheck), and a Compton developing artist (Wallie). The label was no longer a Texas-only operation in any meaningful sense.
The Roster as of 2026
- **Travis Scott** — founder, CEO, superstar - **Don Toliver** — flagship; *Octane* (2026) is the label's first artist-solo No. 1 outside the JackBoys umbrella - **Sheck Wes** — auxiliary; deeply embedded in the JackBoys aesthetic - **Chase B** — in-house DJ, label producer, publishing-side affiliate - **SoFaygo** — melodic-trap developing artist - **Luxury Tax 50** — low-output but still affiliated - **Wallie the Sensei** — newest signing, Compton, the future
What Comes Next
Cactus Jack's next chapter is already partly visible. The label's distribution deal with Epic continues. WondaGurl, Chase B, and Dougie F continue to feed the publishing pipeline. Don's own imprint Donnway & Co — which co-released *Octane* — represents an evolution of the artist-imprint relationship. And the bench of younger talent (SoFaygo, Wallie) suggests Travis is building Cactus Jack to outlast its founders. From a Houston rapper's vanity project in 2017 to the most reliable launchpad in modern hip-hop in 2026 — the label's first decade is the warmup.
