If there's one thing we can take away from Travie McCoy's story, it's that hard work pays off.
Born in Geneva, New York, McCoy got his big breakthrough after forming Gym Class Heroes with his childhood friend, drummer Matt McGinley. After being signed by Pete Wentz' (of "Fall Out Boy") independent label Decaydance Records, Gym Class Heroes dropped their gold-selling album "As Cruel As School Children." In early 2010, McCoy went solo, putting out his album "Lazarus" and releasing hit single, "Billionaire." Now he's on the road and preparing for a reunion with Gym Class Heroes.
But this is all post-breakthrough. Global Grind got a chance to hear Travie McCoy talk about what it took to make it this far. Read the interview in which McCoy talks about being a "shop bitch," working three jobs to make rent and the days when it wasn't a given that he'd eventually blow up. Take a look on the next page!
GG: Will the world ever get to see the return of “True Life Playa’s”?
Travie McCoy: You know what? You have to ask my dad about that. Well, the thing is I found out years later that all my brother's rhymes were stolen from Young. My brother wasn’t the f**king genius that I thought he was. So if it ever happened again, I think it would be just me and my dad, my brother’s ex-communicated.
Give us just a quick synopsis of your childhood group, “True Life Playa’s.” How old were you when you started that?
Man, I was like 13, my older brother was like 15, 16, and I don’t know how old my dad was, he was pretty old (laughs). Yeah, that was my first group, we thought we were like the new Jackson Five and shit. We were recording on a boom box, but it was still awesome to be in a room recording with my dad.
You started tattooing when you were fifteen, is that right?
Yeah, when I was 15. I got my first tattoo when I was 14. But at first it was like, 'Ah cool, I get to hang out at a tattoo shop and all these sexy ass girls are coming in.' But I was basically a shop bitch, you know what I mean? I was just doing all the work that nobody wanted to do. But I learned a lot. That lasted about a year, year and a half, and I was like ah, screw this, I’m tired of being an indentured servant and there’s way too many girls out here. Stuck here at a tattoo shop, doing everybody else's work. But after art school, I ended up living back at home and the guy that I apprenticed under, John Brown – I bumped into him at a bar and he’s like, 'When are you gonna come down and take this shit seriously?' And I was like, 'You know what? I’ll come down and check you out tomorrow.' I went back down there and I’ve been tattooing ever since.
Do you still tattoo now?
Yeah, I still tattoo friends when I have time off. It’s getting rarer but it’s something that, I think, once you start doing it, it doesn’t go anywhere.
At one point you had three different jobs, you were teaching art at a boys and girls club, tattoo parlor –
And at the gas station. Yeah that was crazy.
When was that? Was that after art school?
I actually had to go back home by default. I ended up f**king up my knee so I had to chill. When I got back home after all the surgeries and what not, my dad was like, you need to get a job and start paying or rent or you gotta get out. I’ve never asked my dad for anything and if I’ve ever asked my dad for money it would take me like 3 days to get up the nerve to ask him. I’ve always been super independent. So I started doing over nights at a gas station and then I met a wonderful woman who got me a job at a local Boys and Girls Club teaching art to the kids and that’s been one of my favorite jobs to this day. It was just really fulfilling and rewarding to get to hang out with kids all day, it’s something I’d still love to do when I get some more time off. Then the tattoo shop I worked at was literally right around the corner from the Boys and Girls Club. So I would work at the Boys and Girls Club from 9:00am till 3:30-4:00 and then from 4:00 till 11:00 and then from 11:00 till 7:00am, I was at the gas station.
What does it feel like knowing that was what life was like and now you are touring and have made a pretty big name for yourself?
I mean, honestly – and not to come off like a prima donna – but I feel like I deserve it, you know what I’m saying? I’ve been busting my ass for years for the sake of my art. And I don’t regret anything. All the jobs I worked to save money for studio time and all the time I spent in the studio, writing songs and whatnot. It was a lot of work, but it’s definitely paid off ten fold. The fact that I can consider this my full time job now, paying my dues by doing what I love. It’s the greatest thing in the world.
Have you been able to take it easy at all and take a breath?
Not at all, dude. Since I’ve signed it’s been non-stop. It’s great because it’s what I’ve always wanted, so I can’t complain at all. But there’s time when I go completely batshit crazy and I get depressed and sometimes I question, do I really wanna do this? Then I have to slap myself, of course I wanna do this. I was born to do this, in a sense. I think back to when I was 6 years old getting out of the shower with a brush in the mirror, kind of giving my acceptance speech and whatnot. Tthere’s videos of me lip syncing old Brand New hit songs and shit. It’s crazy to think of where I came from. It’s been a wild ride, to say the least.
What’s the hardest part for you? Where do you spend most of your energy now? Recording, touring?
Well, the touring is definitely the hardest part for me, the most taxing part. But at the same time, it’s like a love-hate relationship. I get home and I’m home for 2 days and I start going stir crazy, like I need to be back on the road! It’s crazy. Once you start this lifestyle it’s hard to get out of. There’s no objection from me, you just gotta roll with the punches. The worst for me though, is being sick on the road. I just get miserable. I just need to quarantine myself and put myself in the back so nobody has to deal with me because I just turn into the biggest baby. I’m gonna be real with you, I turn into the biggest baby. Moaning and moping around. So I don’t know, I try my hardest to stay as healthy as possible, drink my Emercen-C packets.
What are the differences between working solo and working with the Gym Class Heroes and what do you tend to like better – what are the pros and cons of each?
There aren’t really any cons, you know what I mean? Other than the fact that there was an adjustment period where I would look around on stage and not feel the Gym Class Heroes vibe I’d been feeling for years. So it was weird adjusting to that. But my band for my solo project are really talented musicians and so that camaraderie and that brotherhood developed fast. But I have to admit I miss my boys. We’re gonna be doing Warped Tour this summer and we got the new record coming out too, so there’ll be some good quality Gym Class Heroes time too.
You’ve said that you are influenced by both hip-hop and punk. Who were some of your main influences growing up from both genres?
As far as hip-hop goes, my heart is stuck in that golden era, when Black Moon first dropped, you know, Brand New Moon, and I went through my backpack days. I was super into underground hip-hop, Company Fro, Non-Fiction, Wu Tang Clan, Ghostface is still today one of my favorite rappers. I was heavy, heavy into underground stuff, you know El-P is actually really good for the mind. Also Slick Rick, as far as the story-telling aspect, that’s something that definitely inspires me. But as far as other influences, everything from the Chili Peppers to Nirvana, to even harder stuff like the Deftones and Mastadon, it’s all over the place.
In terms of the future, who are some artists you think we should be looking out for?
Right now, Donnis, for sure. He’s on tour with me right now. He’s an amazing rapper. Tim William, my artist, he’s on the label Batsquad. He’s an amazing artist, writes and produces all his own shit. Max is another artist I’m working with. From the Bronx. He’s an amazing battle rapper, although he’s not confined to battle rapping, he writes a lot of his own shit too. It seems like a lot of the battle MCs are kind of stuck in that realm and it’s hard for them to break out of that and actually write a decent song. But he’s one of the few who can actually throw down as far as producing a dope record. I would look out for Tim Williams, Donnis and Max.
What have you got coming out in the future?
Once the Gym Class Heroes record gets wrapped, we’ll be touring for the next two to three years. Depending on how things work out that cycle can go anywhere from a year, to two or three. But yeah, the Gym Class is definitely going to keeping me busy for awhile.
Have you written all the material for the new album?
We’re wrapping the pre-production now, so now it’s just a matter of kicking in the cream of the crop and then refining the songs and then laying them down.
