Travie McCoy
Born: August 6, 1981
Birthplace: Geneva, NY
Zodiac Sign: Leo
Travis Lazarus "Travie" McCoy is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. He is the co-founder and former lead vocalist 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.
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.
In early March 2007, McCoy opened up about his battles with opioids. He stated that he had been addicted to pharmaceuticals since he was 15 years old. The death of his best friend in 2007 led McCoy to retreat further into his addiction, leading him to "dive into drugs face-first." He went through his second stint in a detox program, in which his opiate receptors were cleaned. He said of the experience, "I feel like a layer of shit has been peeled off of my brain." On his blog, he also stated that "I felt an enormous amount of guilt for glorifying drug use in our music."
On July 2, 2008, McCoy was arrested after hitting a man on the head with his microphone. The man had been in the crowd at a concert in St. Louis when he shouted racial slurs at McCoy. McCoy asked the man, "What did you just call me?" As security was removing the man from the venue, McCoy brought the man on stage to call him out in front of the crowd. In a statement, McCoy's publicist said that the man hit McCoy's knee, which was in a brace after he had suffered a recent strain. McCoy was later charged with third-degree assault and a warrant issued for his arrest. On October 28, 2010, McCoy was arrested again while on tour in Berlin, Germany for tagging the Berlin Wall. He was later released on €1,500 bail ($2,081), and continued on his European tour in Amsterdam. He later posted a picture of the artwork on his Twitter account.
McCoy dated singer Katy Perry for two years, with their relationship ending in December 2008. In late November 2006, she played his love interest in the music video for "Cupid's Chokehold". He later said of the relationship: "I'm over it. There's no bad blood. I wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors." and "We both have gone our separate ways so it is what it is." McCoy is allegedly the subject of Perry's song "Circle the Drain" from her 2010 album Teenage Dream. Source.