Send "Travie McCoy " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Ew |
 Don't worry, Gym Class Heroes fans: Frontman Travie McCoy hasn't ditched the group — or its rock-hop sound. His solo debut Lazarus, which includes the fast-rising hit single ''Billionaire,'' never strays far from his previous work with GCH, matching rolling guitar riffs with bummed-out love stories, and church-organ keyboards with feel-good raps. It's a summery set that serves as a nice break from Class. B+...full text |
| Spin |
| "I wanna be a billionaire so fucking bad," goes the hook of Travie McCoy's first solo single, "Billionaire." Lazarus won't quite realize that goal, but the Gym Class Heroes frontman does stand to make some serious bank: Ultra-catchy pop-rap jams like "Dr. Feel Good," with guest vocals from Cee-Lo Green, and "We'll Be Alright," which samples a Supergrass song, hit the same mass-market pleasure center as B.o.B's mash-note smash "Nothin' on You." McCoy revisits his emo roots on the moody "Need You," but most of Lazarus is so bright you'll need (designer) shades....full text |
| Absolutepunk |
| Life must be good for the artist formerly known as Travis McCoy. Now going by his childhood name Travie, this Gym Class Hero emcee is unleashing his first solo album, Lazarus, to the hip-hop world. Full of summer time jams, it's hard to imagine this is the same guy who rapped about desolate times and experiences in his band’s second album Papercut Chronicles. Taking a break from his Gym Class duties, McCoy decided that an album full of positive songs (rather than some of the bleaker stuff he planned on releasing) would be a better release for the summer time. The Lazarus artworks seems to depict a new-age version of The Music Man, or maybe Travie, floating up to the clouds, ready to shower everyone with his feel-good jams. And that’s exactly how the album kicks off. “Dr. Feel Good” is banging opener with a great hook from Cee-Lo Green (note: if you want to have kick-ass hooks, hire Cee-Lo; it never fails). On the track, McCoy rhymes about what it would be like to be happy. It’s got a Jock Jams feel to it, as it’ll get you moving rather quickly. The auto-tuned electro-rocker “Superbad (11:34)” works in a weird way, although it comes across as a Gym Class b-side. The major difference between this solo release and a Gym Class release is how much singing McCoy does. Sure, he isn’t the best vocalist, but he isn’t bad. He’s about on par (or maybe even better than) with Decaydance buddy William Beckett. The song that may or may not have already set your summer ablaze is the breezy “Billionaire.” This track seems to have fallen out of Jason Mraz’s last album and is paced by some steel drums and Bruno Mars’ delicious chorus, while McCoy pleads about wanting to become a billionaire. The first highlight of Lazarus is the urgent “Need You,” a light pop-rock number that really shines a light on McCoy’s singing talents. Not every song is a smash, such as the boring filler of “Critical” and “After Midnight” follows the obnoxious dance/neon phase, but his charm can make up for the missteps at times. The old-school nature of “Akidagain” will take you down nostalgia lane. The chorus of children that sing the hook will stay in your head for hours, while McCoy’s flow has never sounded tighter. McCoy shows his classic rock roots with “We’ll Be Alright,” which samples a Supergrass song, even though the lyrics have about as much complexity as a Cobra Starship song....full text |
Travie McCoy lyrics
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