Travie McCoy
Travie McCoy | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Travis Lazarus McCoy |
Also known as |
|
Born | Geneva, New York, U.S. | August 5, 1981
Genres | |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1997–present |
Labels | |
Member of | |
Website | traviemccoy |
Travis Lazarus "Travie" McCoy (born August 5, 1981)[3] is an American rapper and singer. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the rap rock band Gym Class Heroes, in addition to having a solo career. McCoy became involved with punk rock scenes as a teenager. He formed the band Gym Class Heroes with childhood friend Matt McGinley; after several line-up changes, the group was signed to Fueled by Ramen, which released their debut album.
Gym Class Heroes took a three-year hiatus from music, leaving McCoy to focus on his solo career; McCoy released, under
In 2022, McCoy signed with Hopeless Records, with whom he released his second studio album, Never Slept Better.[5][6]
Early life
McCoy was born and raised in
McCoy played the drums in high school and created a rap group with his father and his brother called "True Life Playas", and says of the experience, "It was so bad! The tapes exist somewhere but hopefully they'll never be found."
Career
This section of a poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Travie McCoy" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2014) |
McCoy made his
1997–2011: Early work with Gym Class Heroes
McCoy and
On the label, the band released the gold-selling album
2010–2014: "Billionaire" and Lazarus
McCoy began a solo career in 2010. He denied rumors that Gym Class Heroes had broken up, asserting that "Since the inception of Gym Class in 1997, every member has had another musical outlet, if not three or four. This is just another one of those."
He relocated to Miami, Florida, to record new material and recover from his addiction, which helped him to create a more upbeat album because he "want[ed] to do something positive."[19] McCoy decided to officially call himself "Travie" instead of Travis; he explained that he has been called Travie by friends and family for "as long as [he] can remember."[20] He believes that the new name allows listeners to become "that much closer" to him and to "feel much more comfortable with calling me Travie and being part of the family."[20]
In early May 2010, McCoy released the hit single "
The album debuted at number 25 on the U.S.
McCoy is featured on the remix of
In 2013, McCoy released "Rough Water", a single with
", released in October 2014.2014–present: Hiatus and Never Slept Better
After a long hiatus speculated to have been due to McCoy focusing on his personal life, he signed with Hopeless Records in 2021. On July 15 of the following year, he released his second studio album, Never Slept Better.[5][6] The album was supported by two singles, "A Spoonful of Cinnamon" and "Loved Me Back to Life", which were also given accompanying music videos.[29] Despite releasing to mainly positive reviews, neither the album nor any of its singles charted in the United States or Europe.
Personal life
In March 2007, McCoy opened up about his battle with addiction to
McCoy dated singer Katy Perry for over two years. After they split up in December 2008,[32] they briefly reconciled before Perry ended their relationship via email due to his drug addiction in 2009.[33][34] In late November 2006, she played his love interest in the music video for "Cupid's Chokehold".[35] McCoy is allegedly the subject of Perry's song "Circle the Drain" from her 2010 album Teenage Dream.[36] In 2012, McCoy took responsibility for the relationship's failure, stating that he "chose drugs over our relationship... I started to doubt my role in her life. There were times I felt like a stepping ladder."[33]
Legal issues
On July 2, 2008, McCoy was arrested for aggravated assault after hitting a man on the head with his microphone. The man had been in the crowd at a concert in St. Louis when he shouted racial slurs at McCoy. McCoy asked the man, "What did you just call me?" In a statement, McCoy's publicist said that the man had hit McCoy's knee, which was in a brace after he had suffered a recent strain. McCoy was later charged with third-degree assault and a warrant issued for his arrest.
On October 28, 2010, McCoy was arrested again while on tour in Berlin, Germany for tagging the Berlin Wall.[37] He was later released on €1,500 bail ($2,081), and continued on his European tour in Amsterdam. He later posted a picture of the artwork on his Twitter account.[38]
Discography
- Lazarus (2010)
- Never Slept Better (2022)
References
- ^ "Travie McCoy". AllMusic.
- ^ "5 Things with Travie McCoy". Billboard.
- ^ "Travie McCoy Biography". AllMusic.
- ^ Lazarus by Travie McCoy, June 7, 2010, retrieved April 18, 2023
- ^ a b Milligan, Shaun (August 14, 2022). "Travie McCoy - "Never Slept Better"". Everything Is Noise. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- ^ a b "Travie McCoy discography", Wikipedia, April 18, 2023, retrieved April 18, 2023
- ^ Heaney, Gregory. "Travis McCoy > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
- ^ Diehl, Matt (September 2, 2008). "Gym Class Heroes: High Rollers". SPIN.com. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Spencer, Ashley (July 29, 2008). "Travis McCoy Q & A". Seventeen.
- ^ a b c Bayer, Jonah. "New Friend Request – Gym Class Heroes". Inked Magazine. Inked Media Group. Retrieved December 27, 2010.
- ^ a b Caramanica, Jon (September 10, 2008). "Following a New Route to Crossover Gold". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
- ^ a b c Reay, Cathy (October 23, 2006). "Gym Class Heroes Interview". Crossfire. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
- ^ Allmusic.com Gym Class Heroes Biography Allmusic.com, July 15, 2007
- ^ "Travis McCoy Bio". Seventeen. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
- ^ "Musician Bios". cutinc.org. UnityFest. 2003. Archived from the original on September 29, 2005.
- ^ Pascarella, Tony (April 19, 2005). "Interview: Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes". The Trades. Archived from the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2010.
- ^ Travis McCoy Says Gym Class Heroes Are Getting Back To Basics. MTV News.
- ^ a b c d Graff, Gary (April 23, 2010). "Travis McCoy Is Rising With 'Lazarus' Solo Debut". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
- ^ a b c O'Donnell, Kevin (May 7, 2010). "Travie McCoy Beats His Demons, Crafts Bumping Summer Solo Debut". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
- ^ a b Graff, Gary (May 2, 2010). "Travie McCoy: New Name, New Direction". The Oakland Press. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2011.
- ^ Jacobs, Allen (June 18, 2010). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 6/13/2010". Hiphopdx.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
- ^ "Travie McCoy". Official Charts Company. August 21, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Travie McCoy | Official Website: Updates, Interactive and more". TravieMcCoy.com. Travie McCoy. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
- ^ "Travie McCoy". TVGuide.com. September 9, 2010.
- ^ "Broadcast Yourself". Retrieved November 11, 2010 – via YouTube.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ maria (August 2, 2010). "Jessica Jarrell – Up And Running + (Remix) feat. Travie McCoy Lyrics MP3 Song Download". thehypefactor.com. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
- ^ "Cheryl Cole Announces Full Album Details". PopDash. October 7, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
- ^ "Travie McCoy - Keep On Keeping On (feat. Brendon Urie)". freeonsmash.com. OnSMASH. March 24, 2014.
- ^ "Travie McCoy discography", Wikipedia, April 18, 2023, retrieved April 18, 2023
- ^ "Friday March 7th, 2008". Travis McCoy blog. March 7, 2008. Archived from the original on March 11, 2009. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
- ^ Kaufman, Gil (March 10, 2008). "Gym Class Heroes' Travis McCoy Blogs About His Drug Addiction, Rehab". MTV News. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
- ^ "Katy Perry And Travis Split". MTV. January 5, 2009.
- ^ a b "Travie Travis Mccoy Still Hurt About Katy Perry Split Email". Contactmusic.com. October 16, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- ^ Dennis, Alicia (April 27, 2009). "Katy Perry and Travis McCoy: Back Together". Zimbio. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- ^ Gym Class Heroes. "Cupid's Chokehold". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
- ^ Wenn.Com (October 3, 2010). "Ex bites back at Katy Perry diss". Toronto Sun. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
- ^ Doyle, Patrick (October 29, 2010). "Travie McCoy Arrested for Spraying Berlin Wall With Graffiti". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- ^ "The Berlin wall. I'm def gettin up on this before we leave tonight!!!". Twitter. Retrieved April 18, 2023.