Travie McCoy

Travis Lazarus "Travie" McCoy (born August 6, 1981) is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He is the co-founder and lead singer 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 group Gym Class Heroes with childhood friend Matt McGinley, and after several line-up changes, the group was signed to Fueled by Ramen, and released their debut album.

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" featuring Bruno Mars, peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, and number three on the UK Singles Chart. McCoy is signed to T-Pain's label Nappy Boy Entertainment.

Early life

McCoy was born and raised in Geneva, New York, United States. His father is Haitian and his mother is of Irish 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 tattoo parlor as an apprentice, and shortly after, he began tattooing his friends. As a teenager, McCoy was a fan of hardcore punk bands such as Snapcase and Earth Crisis, as well as underground rap acts such as Company Flow and the Arsonists. 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 Manhattan throughout high school to participate in battle raps at the indie rap club Fat Beats.