Travie McCoy Exclusive Interview W/ CHAMP Mag on “Lazarus”

Travie McCoy Exclusive Interview W/ CHAMP Mag on “Lazarus”
CHAMP Magazine
Nathan “Hollywood” Adom

CHAMP: Travie, what’s goodie man?

Travie McCoy: I’m good, I’m good, how are you man?

CHAMP: I’m good I’m good yourself?

Travie McCoy: Just on the road hustlin’ ain’t nothin’ knew…Actually it is! I’m playing all new material and it’s been a fun experience.

CHAMP Mag: This time you’re doing it solo, or are the guys rockin’ with you as well while you’re riding out?

Travie McCoy: I got Matt (the drummer) with me. It’s just me Matt, and my boy Infamous who’s actually known for his production that he did with Wayne on The Carter 3, and Rebirth. He’s out with me Djing and doing his thing so it’s a three-peat as of right now, but as things progress, I’m looking to build on that as well and get some back up singers or what not.

CHAMP Mag: The title off the bat isn’t just a random biblical that you throughout for this album. What’s the story behind the…

Travie McCoy: Nah! It’s actually my middle name. I never really thought about how synonymous it was with the biblical reference with the fact that my middle name is Lazarus. I feel like I’ve been dead and resurrected on many occasions. I went public with a lot of dark things that people usually keep in the closet like drug addiction and what not. I feel like I’ve been given a few chances and one of the things that really changed my outlook on life and made me appreciate what I have was the trip I took last summer to South Africa, India, and the Philippines with the charity I work for. It’s HIV awareness campaign called Staying Alive that MTV runs and it definitely definitely made me see things in a different light. I came back a changed man and I definitely stopped taking the small things for granted. The fact that I have very very awesome, positive people around me, the fact that I have running water. Lazarus was dead for four days before he was resurrected. I’m sure after being dead for four days and coming back to life you look at things at a new light, so I definitely think I was given that name for a reason.

CHAMP: On this album can we expect a personal aspect from Travie on this album, because I heard with this album a lot of the inspiration came from when you started going out and getting into the positive vibes; a lot of club inspiration was for this album.

Travie McCoy: Yeah! I have my friends to thank for that. With having a highly publicized break up and having everybody in your business, I was in a really really dark place for a long time and I didn’t leave my place. I was kinda huddled up, reclusive, I was like a hermit and my friends were just like “hey this needs to stop”. It wasn’t necessarily going out to clubs and getting wasted, it was just getting out of my apartment. There’s a lot of negatives, a lot of negative vibes, and just dirty air, and I have my friends to thank for getting me out of that slump. In doing so, I was kinda exposed to music that I wouldn’t necessarily listen to on a regular basis. Like club music and just dance music, and this record is definitely influenced by that. As far as the record being personal, I saved a lot of the more introspective personal stuff for the new Gym Class Heroes record. This one is just a lot of fun. It’s definitely a big summertime record.

CHAMP: Definitely gotta shout out the homies that are there for you to take you out and things like that and always support you when you’re down and when you’re up and all that.

Travie McCoy: Definitely man. Like I said, I’m grateful to have the friends that I have and when you’re that close to your friends, they can pick up on when you’re not you, and I’m glad they did it when they did ‘cause I was definitely going down the drain, but it feels good to be out of that.

CHAMP: I was listening to the Ryan Seacrest show a few weeks ago and he was like there’s a new rule that when you’re with Gym Class Heroes, we gotta call you Travis McCoy but when you’re solo it’s strictly Travie so if you can elaborate on that and what he meant?

Travie McCoy: (Laughs) Ryan’s my boy, but he obviously got the wrong impression with that. The whole reason behind the whole Travie thing; I think my whole families called me Travie since I was a baby and all my friends and anyone close to me calls me Travie so it’s almost weird when people call me Travis. It’s like you know when you get in trouble and your mom calls out your whole name? It kinda feels like that, and people are kinda like taking it serious like why’s he changing his name? I coulda took the rapper route and change my whole shit (laughs) and take the whole “rapper” name, but you know, Travie is just something that I’ve been used to be called. This being my first venture outside of Gym Class, I kinda wanted to let the listeners and my fans get comfortable with calling me that and almost be part of the fans in a sense.

CHAMP: You were seen on the net on stage as the newest member of Nappy Boy. What was it about Nappy Boy that made you wanna take your solo career over there?

Travie McCoy: Pain is someone I’ve looked up to for the longest time and he’s a genius in his own right and I feel like even beyond auto tune and people crucifying him for overusing autotune or whatever but I mean that dude took that and made that his own thing and kinda pioneered the whole sound and all the haters going at him, turn on the radio and listen to how many people trying to mimic him. He must be doing something right. In his dispense, anybody who takes the craft of songwriting seriously, I respect and to me Thr33 Ringz will go down as one of the dopest records I’ve heard as of yet. Me and Pain clicked instantly. I had written one of the first songs for my album and he heard this music and he was like this is dope I wanna be apart of it and I was cool. He wanted to do a remix originally and I was like cool but let’s do something original and I was like let’s just do a record together. It just seemed right although we have one song together on the album, he kinda oversaw the project and we were all working at the hit factory at the same time. I was working upstairs, he was downstairs in one room, and Wayne was in the other room. Whenever I made a song and his head was bopping I was like alright I got one and knock another one out. We just clicked together.

CHAMP: It’s safe to say T-Pain was very involved and vocal with this project that’s coming out.

Travie McCoy: Oh for sure. Since I started singing on records I was also insecure about my singing voice and he was like “nah bra you could sing” and he told me to stay in my range and overdo it and I have him to thank for that.

CHAMP: The song “Billionaire” is on heavy rotation out here and I’m assuming it’s crazy in the U.S but here in Toronto it’s on heavy rotation.

Travie McCoy: That’s awesome.

CHAMP: No doubt, now that’s with the homey Bruno Marz and that dudes definitely something real special right now and doing big things.

Travie McCoy: Oh definitely, I actually just did a show last night and he came out and surprised everybody in Brooklyn and the people went crazy for him. He’s that dude man that everybody’s gonna be ringin’ and his phone’s gonna be blowing up and he deserves it man. He’s another dude I look up to man as far as taking the craft of song writing seriously. That dude could just fart a hit record. It’s crazy, but yeah Bruno’s the homey and I’ve been working with him for a year and change so shout out to Bruno. He’s doing his thing and definitely gon’ be a problem.

CHAMP: Now if you were a billionaire yourself, how much of that money would you toss at the Gym Class Heroes?

Travie McCoy: I mean honestly I wouldn’t be where I’m at without those dudes so they definitely get a healthy chunk, but as far as the rest of the money I think the song kinda speaks for itself and kinda elaborates on what I would do with that.

CHAMP: You and Tyga; there’s always been a discussion on whether you guys are cousins or not or just close homies. Are you guys cousins?

Travie McCoy: Nah Tyga’s fam man, he’s definitely fam and I put out his first record and I put him in front of Wayne at the VMAs a couple years ago, and they hit it off in the same vanity as how me and Pain hit it off, so I’m proud of him. He’s doing his thing heavy. He’s working on his mixtape with Chris Brown right now and I couldn’t be more happy for him.

CHAMP: Would it be crazy to expect a joint with the two of you guys on “Lazarus”?

Travie McCoy: We both working on our mixtapes right now so it wouldn’t be out of line to hear us doing something together on the mixtapes.

CHAMP: That’s a great combination because I feel something left field would come out but it would be dope at the same time.

Travie McCoy: Of course, of course and Tyga; I don’t know if you’ve seen the evolution. The funny thing is earlier on when I was talking about putting Tygas record together in the beginning, I kinda put him through boot camp in a sense. I had him send a few verses every other day. I’d call ‘cause I was the road every so much. I’d call to hear the verses and kinda critiqued and tell him how to work on things and that dude took it in strides and right now he’s just a monster and I couldn’t be more proud.

CHAMP: You’re a tall dude standing at 6’5. Can you play ball bro?

Travie McCoy: I did in highschool, but it was more or so to make my dad proud. I was more into the arts and girls than I was getting sweaty and playing basketball.

CHAMP:  We got the finals coming around the corner right now in the NBA.Who do you got on winning it this year?

Travie McCoy: Honestly I haven’t even been paying attention man. I’ve been so caught up in this record and everything that comes along with putting out a new record with good promo and all that I haven’t been completely paying attention.

CHAMP: For the album, when can we expect that to drop?

Travie McCoy: Yeah it’s comin’ out soon June 8^th! The video just dropped for “Billionaire” a few days ago and we’re gonna ride out with “Billionaire” until it’s time to drop the next single which might be “Dr. Feel Good” featuring Cee-Lo and see where it goes from there.

CHAMP: As far as production and artist who else can we expect to be featured on this album?

Travie McCoy: We got Bruno Mars on the record, Cee-Lo’s on the record, Toronto’s own Colin Munroe makea a feature on the record, my man Tim Williams who’s my new artist is on a record, and I think that’s it. I kept it light with the features since this being my first album to kinda step out of Gym Class Heroes and keep it Travie. The features that are on there I feel are on there for a reason as oppose to namesake.