Biography

Travie McCoy is an American rapper, singer and 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 band 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. 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. 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. McCoy frequently took buses down to Manhattan, New York throughout high school to participate in battle raps at the indie rap club Fat Beats. McCoy runs his own music imprint called The Bat Squad, which consists of Tim William, Nicholas Scimeca, Tequila Mockingbird, Lazarus Project and himself. McCoy and Nicholas Scimeca formed the duo Tequila Mockingbird which is also signed under Decaydance Records, and they are working on a project.