Thứ Bảy, 26 tháng 5, 2012

Travis Porter Talk 'From Day 1' Album, Short Film & Chart Success


What has three heads, six legs and more club hits than anyone without a proper album down South?

That would be Travis Porter, the oddly named rap group of three performers from ­Decatur, Ga. After a slew of popular mixtapes and a ­collaborative tape with the ­undisputed king of neo-crunk, Waka Flocka Flame, the group is finally set to release its debut, "From Day 1," on May 29 on Porterhouse/RCA.

The album's title refers to the patience of rabid (and largely female) fans who have known about the act since the members still attended high school. "People recognized our music, but now they know us for real," Lakeem "Ali" Mattox says. "They've seen the hard work, they've seen us passing out our own CDs, they've seen us come up from riding in a van to a tour bus now."

Though the members just reached the legal drinking age, "Travie" (as the act is known to fans) has been making music since stepbrothers Mattox and Donquez "Quez" Woods met Duncan "Strap" Harold in middle school. Together, they've filled more than a half-dozen mixtapes with countless street hits, having built local buzz to a fever pitch by the time the act signed with Jive in fall of 2010.

"We started performing at clubs when we were 16, 17, and we just had that chemistry, so we took it to the next level," Harold says. Today, that next level is a proper album release to reach the kinds of fans who aren't interested in the mixtape market. "Some people out there only know about albums," Woods says. "If you put out an album, you're in the upper echelon of rap. I want people to look at me like that."

"The root is consistency," group manager Charlie Jabaley says. "Travis Porter has been putting out hit records for four years but, on top of that, [they've had] a strong viral campaign, like the 'Proud to Be a Problem' documentary, and the movie that we have coming out." The so-called "movie" is a short film titled "Red Rock" that the group hopes will be the first of many forays into acting.

For now, Travis Porter is promoting the album's first official single, "Aww Yea" (produced by B-Beck), with appearances including Prom Week on BET's "106 & Park," a hosting spot on MTV2's "Sucker Free Sunday" and a performance on MTV's "Hip Hop POV."billboard.com

Không có nhận xét nào:

Đăng nhận xét