Travis McCoy

Travis Lazarus McCoy (born August 6, 1981) is an American singer and rapper. He is the lead vocalist of the alternative hip-hop band Gym Class Heroes. He released his debut solo album Lazarus on June 8, 2010.. McCoy was born and raised in Geneva, New York, United States. His father is Haitian and his mother is of Irish and Native American 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. His cousin is Tyga from Young Money.. 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. 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 McGinley in his gym class and the two bonded over a common interest in music, in particular punk rock, indie rock and hip hop. They decided to start a band and played with other musicians until Gym Class Heroes was formed in 2001....
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