Travie Lazarus McCoy is an American singer and rapper. He is the lead vocalist of the alternative hip-hop band
Gym Class HeroesGym Class Heroes is an American hip hop rock band from Geneva, New York. They have collaborated with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump on numerous occasions, notably for providing backing vocals on the song "Cupid's Chokehold." Stump also produced the majority of their album The Quilt.The group formed...
. He released his debut solo album
LazarusLazarus is the debut album by Gym Class Heroes lead singer Travie McCoy, released on June 8, 2010. McCoy announced his plans to pursue a solo career in early 2010, although he insisted that Gym Class Heroes had not broken up...
on June 8, 2010.
Raised in
GenevaGeneva is a city in Ontario and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 13,617 at the 2000 census. Some claim it is named after the city and canton of Geneva in Switzerland. Others believe the name came from confusion over the letters in the word "Seneca" written in cursive...
, New York, McCoy became involved with both hip hop and punk rock scenes as a teenager. He formed the group Gym Class Heroes with childhood friend
Matt McGinleyMatt McGinley is the co-founder and drummer of Gym Class Heroes.-Career:McGinley and Travis McCoy met in school in gym class and quickly became friends. The two decided to form a band, the now popular Gym Class Heroes...
, and after several line-up changes, the group was signed to
Fueled By RamenFueled by Ramen is an American record label which operates as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, and is distributed by Atlantic Records. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida, is based in New York City...
and released their debut album. The group achieved mainstream success in 2006 when its album
As Cruel as School ChildrenAs Cruel as School Children is the third Gym Class Heroes album released by Fueled by Ramen. It was released on July 25, 2006. It was produced by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump...
was released, Gym Class Heroes are most notable for the song
Cupid's Chokehold.
Gym Class Heroes took a three year hiatus from music, leaving McCoy to focus on his solo career; McCoy released his debut solo album,
Lazarus, in 2010. The lead single from the album, "
Billionaire"Billionaire" is the debut single by American recording artist Travie McCoy, featuring guest vocals from Bruno Mars. It is the lead single from McCoy's debut studio album Lazarus. The song was produced by The Smeezingtons, which consists of Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine...
" featuring
Bruno MarsPeter Gene Hernandez , better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age...
, peaked at #4 on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and #3 on the
UK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The single was certified double platinum by the
RIAAThe Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
. Currently, McCoy is working on Gym Class Heroes' fourth studio album,
The Papercut Chronicles II.
McCoy is signed to
T-PainFaheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...
's label
Nappy Boy EntertainmentNappy Boy Entertainment is an American record label founded by R&B, singer-songwriter T-Pain. The label is distributed by RCA Records, and formerly Jive Label Group...
.
Early life
McCoy was born and raised in
Geneva, New YorkGeneva is a city in Ontario and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 13,617 at the 2000 census. Some claim it is named after the city and canton of Geneva in Switzerland. Others believe the name came from confusion over the letters in the word "Seneca" written in cursive...
. His father is Haitian, and his mother is of
IrishThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
and
Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
ancestry. As a child, McCoy was a wheelchair user for four months after a skateboarding accident; his lack of mobility allowed him to focus on art. When he was 15, McCoy worked in a
tattooA tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
parlor as an apprentice, and shortly after, he began tattooing his friends.
As a teenager, McCoy was a fan of
hardcore punkHardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
bands such as
SnapcaseSnapcase is a hardcore punk band from Buffalo, New York. Their records have been released on the Chicago record label, Victory Records. Through the course of the band's initial run of fourteen years, they released six studio albums before disbanding in 2005....
and
Earth CrisisEarth Crisis is an American metalcore band from Syracuse, New York, active from 1989 until 2001, reuniting in 2007. Their most recent record, To the Death, was released in May 2009 through Century Media....
, as well as underground rap acts such as
Company FlowCompany Flow is an American underground hip hop group from Brooklyn, New York City at one time associated with the independent record label Rawkus Records. Rapper/producer El-P and DJ/producer Mr...
and the
ArsonistsThe Arsonists are an underground hip hop group. Their album, As the World Burns , reached #78 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and yielded the single "Pyromaniax", which went to #43 on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart.-History:...
. He says of his musical tastes "I was never a typical hip-hop kid. I didn’t want to be pigeonholed." McCoy frequently took buses to
ManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
throughout high school to participate in
battle rapBattle rap is a type of rapping that includes a lot of braggadocio content "combined with put-downs, insults, and disses against real or imaginary opponents"...
s at the indie rap club Fat Beats. He 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." In high school, he met future bandmate
Matt McGinleyMatt McGinley is the co-founder and drummer of Gym Class Heroes.-Career:McGinley and Travis McCoy met in school in gym class and quickly became friends. The two decided to form a band, the now popular Gym Class Heroes...
in his gym class and the two bonded over a common interest in music, in particular
punk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
,
indie rockIndie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
and
hip hopHip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
. They decided to start a band and played with other musicians until
Gym Class HeroesGym Class Heroes is an American hip hop rock band from Geneva, New York. They have collaborated with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump on numerous occasions, notably for providing backing vocals on the song "Cupid's Chokehold." Stump also produced the majority of their album The Quilt.The group formed...
was formed in 2001.
After graduating from
Geneva High SchoolGeneva High School is a public secondary school located in Geneva, New York. The school serves grades 9-12 and is a part of the Geneva City School District. The current principal is Mr. Gregory T. Baker, and the current assistant principal is Mr. Robert E. Smith.-History:Relatively little is known...
, McCoy attended art school at
Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts InstituteThe Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute is a regional fine arts center founded in 1919 and located in Utica, New York. The institute has three program divisions:*Museum of art*Performing arts*School of art-Museum of art:...
and majored in fine arts and illustration. However, he dropped out at age 20 to focus on his tattoo work and his musical career. At one time, McCoy was working at a tattoo parlor during the night and teaching art at a Boys & Girls Club in the daytime, and working at a gas station at night. He decided to quit all three jobs and work on art full-time, opening an art show with his friend. He lived off of the money he made from selling paintings before Gym Class Heroes became successful.
Career
Travis made his
MTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
debut in the summer of 2002, as he appeared on stage at the beach house, winning a standard nationwide MC battle that was held on the MTV show
Direct EffectDirect effect is the principle of European Union law according to which provisions of Union law may, if appropriately framed, confer rights and impose obligations on individuals which the courts of European Union member states are bound to recognise and enforce...
.
Gym Class Heroes
McCoy and drummer
Matt McGinleyMatt McGinley is the co-founder and drummer of Gym Class Heroes.-Career:McGinley and Travis McCoy met in school in gym class and quickly became friends. The two decided to form a band, the now popular Gym Class Heroes...
became friends at their local high school's gym class in ninth grade in Geneva, New York. They officially came together in 1997. The band formed when bassist Ryan Geise and drummer Matt McGinley were performing at a party in an instrumental band with no vocals. McCoy, who was in attendance at the party, took the microphone onstage and started rapping. A week later, the group came together and started making music. A prominent opening act for Gym Class Heroes was the critically acclaimed hip-hop group "ModifiedBlockStyle."
After the addition of guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo and bassist Eric Roberts, Gym Class Heroes was signed to
Fueled by RamenFueled by Ramen is an American record label which operates as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, and is distributed by Atlantic Records. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida, is based in New York City...
and
Decaydance RecordsDecaydance Records is a record label based in New York City. Originally founded as an imprint of Fueled by Ramen, it is now an independent record label owned by Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and partners. The first band Wentz signed to the label was Panic! at the Disco...
,
Fall Out BoyFall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
's bassist, Pete Wentz's, own independent record label. On the label, the band released the gold-selling album
As Cruel as School ChildrenAs Cruel as School Children is the third Gym Class Heroes album released by Fueled by Ramen. It was released on July 25, 2006. It was produced by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump...
. Since that release, the band's single "
Cupid's ChokeholdCupid's Chokehold is a single performed by Gym Class Heroes, featuring Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy. The song relies heavily on the music, chorus and famous spoken "ba ba da da" line from Supertramp's hit song "Breakfast in America"...
" reached #3 on the
UK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and #4 on the
Bilboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. "
Clothes Off!!"Clothes Off!!" is the fifth single from Gym Class Heroes' third album, As Cruel as School Children. It features vocalist Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy...
" and "
Cookie Jar"Cookie Jar" is the second single from the Gym Class Heroes album, The Quilt. The song features The-Dream singing the chorus with Travis McCoy...
" peaked at #5 and #6 on the
UK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. They have collaborated with Fall Out Boy's
Patrick StumpPatrick Vaughn Stump is an American singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, and music critic. He is the composer, lead singer, and multi-instrumentalist of Fall Out Boy, an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, and is also a solo artist...
on numerous occasions, notably for providing backing vocals on the song "
Cupid's ChokeholdCupid's Chokehold is a single performed by Gym Class Heroes, featuring Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy. The song relies heavily on the music, chorus and famous spoken "ba ba da da" line from Supertramp's hit song "Breakfast in America"...
". Stump also produced the majority of their album
The QuiltThe Quilt is the fourth album by Gym Class Heroes released by Fueled By Ramen/Decaydance. The album was released on September 9, 2008.Half of the album's 14 tracks are produced by Patrick Stump; Cool & Dre, Tricky Stewart, and Allstar produced the other half. Featured artists on the record include...
, which was released on September 9, 2008 and peaked at #14 on the U.S.
Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart and #41 on the
UK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
.
In 2009, McCoy remixed the
Bring Me the HorizonBring Me the Horizon are a British metalcore band from Sheffield, Yorkshire, who formed in 2004. Bring Me the Horizon constits of Oliver Sykes as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist Lee Malia, rhythm guitarist Jona Weinhofen, bassist Matt Kean and drummer Matt Nicholls...
song "Chelsea Smile" for their remixes album,
Suicide Season: Cut Up!.
McCoy and
Gym Class HeroesGym Class Heroes is an American hip hop rock band from Geneva, New York. They have collaborated with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump on numerous occasions, notably for providing backing vocals on the song "Cupid's Chokehold." Stump also produced the majority of their album The Quilt.The group formed...
plan to release the
Papercut Chronicles II in late 2011.
Solo career
In early 2010, McCoy announced that he would be pursuing a solo career. 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." McCoy had originally prepared to record an introspective album of "sad and somber" acoustic songs reflective of his state of mind following his breakup with
Katy PerryKaty Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
and his addiction to painkillers. However, he decided to scrap his early material and start over, calling the early material "too personal" and saying "I didn't want that to be my first look as a solo artist," comparing the album to
Kanye WestKanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
's
808s & Heartbreak808s & Heartbreak is the fourth studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released November 24, 2008 on Roc-A-Fella Records in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place at Glenwood Studios in Burbank, California and Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii during...
. He relocated to Miami,
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, 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."
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." He believes that the new name allows listeners to the become "that much closer" to him and to "feel much more comfortable with calling me Travie and being part of the family."
In early May 2010, McCoy released the hit single "
Billionaire"Billionaire" is the debut single by American recording artist Travie McCoy, featuring guest vocals from Bruno Mars. It is the lead single from McCoy's debut studio album Lazarus. The song was produced by The Smeezingtons, which consists of Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine...
" with
Bruno MarsPeter Gene Hernandez , better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age...
, which has been successful in Europe and the U.S. since its release. McCoy released his first solo album,
LazarusLazarus is the debut album by Gym Class Heroes lead singer Travie McCoy, released on June 8, 2010. McCoy announced his plans to pursue a solo career in early 2010, although he insisted that Gym Class Heroes had not broken up...
on June 8, 2010, after being in the works for a year and a half. He calls the album "The longest, I think, I've spent on a record in my whole career." He stated that he wanted to keep the number of collaborations on the album "kinda tight," but he plans to work with other artists on remixes of the album. Producers on the album include
Bruno MarsPeter Gene Hernandez , better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age...
,
T-PainFaheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...
,
The SmeezingtonsThe Smeezingtons is the name of a songwriting and production team consisting of Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine.They have produced and written songs for artists and groups such as the Sugababes, Travie McCoy, B.o.B, Brandy Norwood, K'naan, Lil Wayne, Flo Rida, Chad Hugo, Lil Eddie, Bad...
, The Stereotypes,
Lucas SeconLucas Secon, also known by the stage name Lucas, is a world-renowned Danish-American Grammy , MTV Award and Emmy Award-nominated record producer, songwriter,Golden Poets Award winner, DJ, rapper, singer and artist/conceptualist. He lives in London, United Kingdom.Secon has contributed to seven...
, Oligee and
Josh AbrahamJosh Abraham is a Grammy-winning record producer and co-owner of Pulse Management and Check Your Pulse Publishing. He has produced songs and albums for many of the industry's most successful artists such as Velvet Revolver, 30 Seconds to Mars, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson and Courtney Love...
; Mars, T-Pain and Cee Lo Green provide guest vocals.
The album debuted at number 25 on the U.S.
Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart with sales of 15,000 copies. On 21 August 2010
LazarusLazarus is the debut album by Gym Class Heroes lead singer Travie McCoy, released on June 8, 2010. McCoy announced his plans to pursue a solo career in early 2010, although he insisted that Gym Class Heroes had not broken up...
was released in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and entered the UK Album Charts at number 69, its peak position thus far. "
Need You"Need You" is the second US single by Travie McCoy from his album Lazarus. The song was produced by Lucas Secon and written by Travie McCoy himself, Lucas Secon, Wayne Hector and Cartsen Mortensen...
" was the second single from the album in the U.S, released in September 2010. "
We'll Be Alright"We'll Be Alright" is the third single from Travie McCoy's first solo album Lazarus. The song was produced by The Smeezingtons and Stereotypes and written by Travis McCoy, Bruno Mars, Phillip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus, Jeremy Reeves. The song samples the 1995 single, "Alright"...
" was released on October 25, 2010 as the second single in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and has already been featured in the trailer of
Yogi BearYogi Bear is a 2010 American live-action film adaptation of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series The Yogi Bear Show directed by Eric Brevig. The film stars Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake, Tom Cavanagh, Anna Faris, T. J. Miller, Nate Corddry, and Andrew Daly....
.
In July and August 2010, McCoy supported
RihannaRobyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
on some of the North American dates of her
Last Girl on Earth TourThe Last Girl on Earth Tour was the third concert tour by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna. Visiting Europe, Asia, North America and Australia, the tour supported her fourth studio album, Rated R . The tour was announced through MTV News in December 2009...
.
McCoy and
Bruno MarsPeter Gene Hernandez , better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age...
embarked on a 13-date tour of
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
throughout October and November. They played five dates in the United Kingdom, four in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and one each in
Holland,
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
McCoy performed at the 2010 MTV VMAs on September 12, 2010, on the main stage before the program cut to a performance by N.E.R.D. In November 2010, McCoy performed on the Australian
SummerbeatzSummerbeatz is a 2010 concert tour held in Australia featuring Flo Rida, Jay Sean, Akon, Ciara, Ja Rule and Travie McCoy with special guests Stan Walker and DJ Nino Brown.- Background :...
tour alongside
Flo RidaTramar Dillard , better known by his stage name Flo Rida , is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He released his debut album, Mail on Sunday, in March 2008. His debut single "Low", featuring T-Pain, was a #1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from...
,
Jay Sean and
Soulja BoyDeAndre Cortez Way , better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, entrepreneur, and internet personality....
.
"Billionaire" was performed on the September 21, 2010, episode of
GleeGlee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
.
McCoy is featured on the remix of teen-pop singer Jessica Jarrell's debut single "Up and Running," on the singer's upcoming debut album on
Island RecordsIsland Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
.
McCoy is also featured on Livin's
City of Brotherly Love album, scheduled to be released in early 2011 on 700 Level Entertainment. The track "When I Approach" features Livin, McCoy and
Joe Budden-Early life:Budden was born in Spanish Harlem, but lived in Queens until he was 12 and from there moved to Jersey City, New Jersey. He is one of five boys...
, and is produced by Sev-One. A video released on
YouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
showed McCoy recording the song.
In mid-2010 he worked with producer
StarsmithStarsmith is a songwriter, producer, remixer and DJ. He studied a classical music degree at the University of Surrey majoring in performance on saxophone...
and British singer
Cheryl ColeCheryl Ann Cole is an English pop and R&B recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress and model. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The programme announced that Cole had won a place as a member of the girl group, Girls...
for her upcoming album. He is featured on the track "Yeah Yeah" of Cole's album
Messy Little RaindropsMessy Little Raindrops is the second studio album by British recording artist Cheryl Cole, released on 29 October 2010 by Fascination Records. The project is the follow-up to Cole's multi-platinum debut solo album 3 Words , following seven successful years as a member of girl group Girls Aloud...
.
In November 2010, McCoy collaborated with English
R&BContemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
artist
Taio CruzTaio Cruz is a British singer-songwriter, record producer, occasional rapper, and entrepreneur. In 2008, he released his debut album Departure, which Cruz wrote, arranged and produced himself. It achieved initial success in the UK and earned him a MOBO Award nomination...
on Cruz's single "
Higher"Higher" is the fifth single from English singer-songwriter Taio Cruz's second studio album Rokstarr. It was written and produced by Cruz and Sandy Vee, and was released on 26 November 2010. This song was originally written for Australian singer Kylie Minogue's album Aphrodite, but plans fell through...
".
McCoy runs his own music imprint called The Bat Squad, which consists of Tim William, Nicholas Scimeca, Tequila Mockingbird, The Lazarus Project and himself. McCoy and Nicholas Scimeca formed the duo Tequila Mockingbird which is also signed under
Decaydance RecordsDecaydance Records is a record label based in New York City. Originally founded as an imprint of Fueled by Ramen, it is now an independent record label owned by Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and partners. The first band Wentz signed to the label was Panic! at the Disco...
, and they are working on a project. They recently released the songs "Brooklyn Basement" and "Snowglobe, a track that ended in Mic Terror's mixtaper "The Late Pass Volume 2"."
He performed "
Stereo Hearts"Stereo Hearts" is the first single from Gym Class Heroes album The Papercut Chronicles II. Adam Levine, the lead singer of Maroon 5 is featured on the track...
" with
Maroon 5Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...
on November 5, 2011 on
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. He, along with Gym Class Heroes, performed the aforementioned song with
Adam LevineAdam Noah Levine is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the front man and guitarist for the pop rock band Maroon 5. He is also a coach on the American talent show The Voice.-Early life:...
at the
American Music Awards of 2011The 39th American Music Awards was held on November 20, 2011 , at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles . The awards recognized the most popular artists and albums from the year 2011. Nominees were announced on October 11, 2011. The awards ceremony was host-free...
.
Personal life
In early March 2008, McCoy opened up about his battles with
opioidAn opioid is a psychoactive chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central and peripheral nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract...
s. He stated that he had been addicted to pharmaceuticals since he was 15 years old. The death of his cousin in 2007 led McCoy to retreat further into his addiction, leading him to "dive into drugs face-first." He went through his second stint in a detox program, in which his
opiate receptorsOpioid receptors are a group of G protein-coupled receptors with opioids as ligands. The endogenous opioids are dynorphins, enkephalins, endorphins, endomorphins and nociceptin. The opioid receptors are ~40% identical to somatostatin receptors...
were cleaned. He said of the experience, "I feel like a layer of shit has been peeled off of my brain." On his blog, he also stated that "I felt an enormous amount of guilt for glorifying drug use in our music."
McCoy was arrested on July 2, 2008, 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?" As security was removing the man from the venue, McCoy brought the man on stage to call him out in front of the crowd. In a statement, McCoy's publicist said that the man 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 while on tour in Berlin, Germany for spraying
graffitiGraffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
on the
Berlin WallThe Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
. He was later released on €1,500 bail ($2,081), and continued on his European tour in
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. He later posted a picture of the artwork on his
TwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account.
McCoy dated singer
Katy PerryKaty Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
on and off for several years; they met in a recording studio in New York City. He had given a promise ring to Perry, and when asked if this was rehearsal for an actual proposal, McCoy shrugged with a grin. The two broke up in December 2008. They began dating again in April 2009. However, they broke up once more a few months later. McCoy is allegedly the subject of Perry's song "
Circle the Drain"Circle the Drain" is a song by American singer Katy Perry, from her third studio album, Teenage Dream . It was written by Perry, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Monte Neuble. Lyrically, "Circle the Drain" candidly focusses on a former lover's drug-addiction and the strains it put on both of them...
", from her 2010
Teenage DreamTeenage Dream is the third studio album by American recording artist Katy Perry. It was released on August 24, 2010, through Capitol Records. The album's inspiration came from dance, pop, and rock by 1980s artists, including ABBA and The Cardigans. Perry worked with several writers and producers on...
album. McCoy says of the relationship "I'm over it. There's no bad blood. I wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors. I'm not the type to hold grudges. Why would I? Our time together was awesome and it's time to move on.Now she's with Russell Brand and the dude's awesome, I wish the best for both of 'em. And we both have gone our separate ways so it is what it is."
Travie McCoy is Young Money rapper
TygaMichael Stevenson , better known by his stage name Tyga , is an American rapper signed to Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records. He is of Vietnamese and Jamaican descent...
's cousin and was featured on his debut single
Coconut Juice"Coconut Juice" is the first single by American rapper Tyga from his debut studio album No Introduction and was released on March 22 on to US iTunes Store and CD, 2008 by Young Money Entertainment and Decaydance Records. It features Tyga's cousin Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes. It contains a...
from the album
No Introduction- Charts :...
Studio albums
| Year |
Album details |
Peak chart positions |
| US The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
|
UK The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
|
| 2010 |
Lazarus Lazarus is the debut album by Gym Class Heroes lead singer Travie McCoy, released on June 8, 2010. McCoy announced his plans to pursue a solo career in early 2010, although he insisted that Gym Class Heroes had not broken up...
- Release date: June 8, 2010
- Label: Fueled by Ramen
Fueled by Ramen is an American record label which operates as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, and is distributed by Atlantic Records. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida, is based in New York City...
|
25 |
69 |
Singles
| Year |
Single |
Peak chart positions |
Certifications Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
(sales threshold) |
Album |
| US The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
|
US Pop The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart...
|
US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
|
US Rap
|
AUS The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
|
CAN The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
|
NL MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
|
NZThe Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...
|
SWE Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....
|
UK The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
|
| 2010 |
"Billionaire "Billionaire" is the debut single by American recording artist Travie McCoy, featuring guest vocals from Bruno Mars. It is the lead single from McCoy's debut studio album Lazarus. The song was produced by The Smeezingtons, which consists of Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine...
" (featuring Bruno MarsPeter Gene Hernandez , better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age...
) |
4 |
3 |
76 |
9 |
5 |
12 |
1 |
2 |
17 |
3 |
- AUS
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
: Platinum
- US
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
: 3× Platinum |
Lazarus |
| "Need You "Need You" is the second US single by Travie McCoy from his album Lazarus. The song was produced by Lucas Secon and written by Travie McCoy himself, Lucas Secon, Wayne Hector and Cartsen Mortensen...
" |
106 |
36 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
| "We'll Be Alright "We'll Be Alright" is the third single from Travie McCoy's first solo album Lazarus. The song was produced by The Smeezingtons and Stereotypes and written by Travis McCoy, Bruno Mars, Phillip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus, Jeremy Reeves. The song samples the 1995 single, "Alright"...
" |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
82 |
14 |
— |
193 |
NZ: Gold |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released to that country |
Featured singles
| Year |
Single |
Artist |
Peak chart positions |
Album |
| US The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
|
US Alt.
|
AUS The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
|
UK The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
|
| 2006 |
"Snakes On a Plane "Snakes on a Plane ", is the debut single of dance rock band Cobra Starship from the soundtrack album Snakes on a Plane: The Album...
" |
Cobra Starship Cobra Starship is an American synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York...
|
— |
38 |
— |
— |
Snakes on a Plane: The Album |
| 2008 |
"Daylight" |
Kelly RowlandKelendria Trene "Kelly" Rowland is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the founding members of the American girl group Destiny's Child...
|
— |
— |
— |
14 |
Ms. Kelly Ms. Kelly is the second solo studio album by American R&B singer Kelly Rowland. It was released by Columbia Records in collaboration with Music World Entertainment and Sony Music during the third quarter of 2007, beginning with most European territories on June 22...
(re-issue) |
| "Coconut Juice" |
Tyga Michael Stevenson , better known by his stage name Tyga , is an American rapper signed to Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records. He is of Vietnamese and Jamaican descent...
|
94 |
— |
— |
— |
No Introduction - Charts :...
|
| 2009 |
"Differently" |
Cassie Davis Cassie Davis is an Australian singer, songwriter and producer from Perth, Western Australia. In addition to vocals, Cassie can also play the guitar, piano, keyboard and sampler, all of which she plays at some point on her debut album, Differently....
|
— |
— |
29 |
— |
Differently Differently is the debut album by Australian singer Cassie Davis and was released on 14 August 2009. Davis herself is writing and producing most of the album, with the help of producers Printz Board, Rodney Jerkins and Wayne Wilkins.- Singles :...
|
| "Fly "Fly" is a song by rock band Sugar Ray. It appears on their 1997 album Floored twice: one version with reggae artist Super Cat and the other without ....
" |
Four Year Strong Four Year Strong is an American pop punk band from Worcester, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalists and guitarists Dan O'Connor and Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss, and drummer Jackson Massucco...
|
— |
— |
— |
— |
Explains It All -Notes:The end of the song, "Spiderwebs" is taken from the song, "This Love" by Pantera.-External links:*...
|
| 2010 |
"Famo$a" |
Claudia Leitte Cláudia Cristina Leite Inácio, known as Claudia Leitte is a Brazilian axé singer, and former vocalist of the group Babado Novo. Since she is one of the most popular axé singers in Brazil, she hosted MTV Brasil's Video Music Brasil 2007, in which she had been nominated as best singer in that award...
|
— |
— |
— |
— |
As Máscaras |
| "Tattoo Girl (Foreva)" |
Noel "Detail" Fisher |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Non-Album Single |
| "Higher "Higher" is the fifth single from English singer-songwriter Taio Cruz's second studio album Rokstarr. It was written and produced by Cruz and Sandy Vee, and was released on 26 November 2010. This song was originally written for Australian singer Kylie Minogue's album Aphrodite, but plans fell through...
" |
Taio CruzTaio Cruz is a British singer-songwriter, record producer, occasional rapper, and entrepreneur. In 2008, he released his debut album Departure, which Cruz wrote, arranged and produced himself. It achieved initial success in the UK and earned him a MOBO Award nomination...
|
24 |
— |
25 |
8 |
Rokstarr Rokstarr is the second studio album by English recording artist Taio Cruz. It was released on 12 October 2009 in the United Kingdom. On 11 June 2010, a revised version of the album was released in Europe and the United States, appearing as Cruz's debut album there...
|
| 2011 |
"Move It Girl" |
Tim William |
— |
— |
— |
— |
TBA |
| "Pretty Girls "Pretty Girls" is a song performed by British Virgin Islands recording artist Iyaz. It is the lead single released from his second studio album, released on 24 June 2011. The song features vocals from American rapper Travie McCoy...
" |
Iyaz Keidran Jones , better known by his stage name Iyaz, is a singer signed with the record label Beluga Heights Records from the British Virgin Islands. His debut single "Replay", was released in 2009 and reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, number-one in the UK, Australia and the top ten...
|
43 |
— |
— |
— |
TBA |
| 2012 |
"We Came to Party We Came to Party is an album recorded by the R&B performer Roy Brown. Published by Friendship Records of Hollywood, California RB-701.- Track listing :#"We Came to Party" — 4:48#"Good Rockin' No. 2" — 3:19...
" |
Deuce Deuce, derived from French, refers to the number two and is commonly used to refer to the 2 in poker and other card games.Deuce may also refer to:-People:*Deuce McAllister, an American football player for the New Orleans Saints...
|
— |
- |
— |
— |
Nine Lives Nine Lives may refer to:*The common myth that cats have nine lives;- In film/television :*Ni Liv, Nine Lives, a 1957 Norwegian-language movie*The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat, 1974 adult animated film...
|
| "The Way You Watch Me On Your Radar is the third full-length studio album by British-Irish pop girl-group The Saturdays. The album was released 21 November 2011 under Fascination Records...
" |
The Saturdays The Saturdays are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London, United Kingdom. The group consists of five members Una Healy, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford, Vanessa White and Rochelle Wiseman. In 2007 the band were formed through Fascination Records which gave them an instant record deal with...
|
— |
— |
— |
— |
On Your Radar On Your Radar is the third full-length studio album by British-Irish pop girl-group The Saturdays. The album was released 21 November 2011 under Fascination Records...
|
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released to that country |
Album appearances
| Year |
Song |
Artist |
Album |
| 2008 |
"Coconut Juice" |
Tyga Michael Stevenson , better known by his stage name Tyga , is an American rapper signed to Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records. He is of Vietnamese and Jamaican descent...
|
No Introduction - Charts :...
|
| "This Is How It Goes Down" |
Pink Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....
|
Funhouse Funhouse is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Pink, released by LaFace Records worldwide in October 2008. Upon its release, the album reached number one on the charts in 6 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands and United Kingdom, while debuting at number two in...
|
| "Overdose" |
Mickey Factz Mickey Williams , also known by his stage name Mickey Factz, is an American hip hop artist from The Bronx, NY.-Early life:Mickey Factz attended Adlai E...
, DrakeAubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
|
The Leak Vol. 2: The Inspiration |
| 2009 |
"Fly" |
Four Year Strong Four Year Strong is an American pop punk band from Worcester, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalists and guitarists Dan O'Connor and Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss, and drummer Jackson Massucco...
|
Explains It All |
| "Grand Groove" |
J.J. Brown, Dezmatic |
Connect the Dots |
| "Chelsea Smile" |
Bring Me The Horizon Bring Me the Horizon are a British metalcore band from Sheffield, Yorkshire, who formed in 2004. Bring Me the Horizon constits of Oliver Sykes as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist Lee Malia, rhythm guitarist Jona Weinhofen, bassist Matt Kean and drummer Matt Nicholls...
|
Suicide Season: Cut Up! |
| 2010 |
"Up and Running" |
Jessica Jarrell |
TBA |
| "Yeah Yeah" |
Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Cole is an English pop and R&B recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress and model. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The programme announced that Cole had won a place as a member of the girl group, Girls...
|
Messy Little Raindrops Messy Little Raindrops is the second studio album by British recording artist Cheryl Cole, released on 29 October 2010 by Fascination Records. The project is the follow-up to Cole's multi-platinum debut solo album 3 Words , following seven successful years as a member of girl group Girls Aloud...
|
| 2011 |
"When I Approach" |
Livin, Joe Budden -Early life:Budden was born in Spanish Harlem, but lived in Queens until he was 12 and from there moved to Jersey City, New Jersey. He is one of five boys...
|
City Of Brotherly Love |
| "The Way You Watch Me" |
The Saturdays The Saturdays are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London, United Kingdom. The group consists of five members Una Healy, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford, Vanessa White and Rochelle Wiseman. In 2007 the band were formed through Fascination Records which gave them an instant record deal with...
|
On Your Radar On Your Radar is a digital EP released by Luigi Masi on December 4, 2009. It contains four songs. The album's title is taken from the song "Radar".-Album information:...
|
Music video appearances
| Song |
Artist |
| "Feel Good" |
Modestep |
External links