Releases New Song & Music Video for
“The Bridge (feat. Elohim)”
New Album
‘NEVER SLEPT BETTER’ Out July 15, 2022 via Hopeless Records
Now Available For Pre-Save and Pre-Order
The new song and music video for “The Bridge (feat. Elohim)” are now available to stream and watch. It’s taken from Travie McCoy’s new album NEVER SLEPT BETTER out July 15, 2022 via Hopeless Records.
The video, directed by Spaced Visuals, embodies a concept that had been building in Travie McCoy’s brain for years. It powerfully depicts Travie’s journey back from suicidal ideation and how he straddled that metaphorical bridge between life and death. But instead of Travie acting as the main protagonist, the video enlisted Trevor Shannon, a long-time friend of Travie’s, and a performer and video creator who performs and interprets songs into ASL (American Sign Language). The visual performances of Trevor, Travie, and featured artist, Elohim, peel back another layer of the extremely personal album, NEVER SLEPT BETTER.
“I’m a CODA (child of deaf adults),” explains Shannon. “My parents are deaf and ASL (American sign language) is the form of communication that we use together. Having deaf parents has always been a thing that I’ve held dear to me and I carry it with me every day. It’s the very reason I am the way I am, I honestly wouldn’t want to imagine my life any different.”
“’The Bridge” is a very important song for me but beyond a SONG, says Travie” “It’s a message to those going through tough times, especially with COVID, as well as the state of fear and extroversion we’ve been pushed into. I’ve always made a point to let my fans and kids that grew up with me and my music, that I’m RIGHT HERE WITH YOU. I feel like I’ve been very transparent through my music, so why would I stop now? 2020 was quite possibly the worst year of my life and I’m sure many others. “The Bridge” is basically me speaking to myself at one of my darkest times and giving others a light to know that they are NOT ALONE. I feel not only the song but the visual conveys that at the end of the day, I UNDERSTAND, and I’M HERE and always will be! I’m still as scared and skeptical as you are. I would love to give a huge shout out to my brother Trevor and the ASL community for being on my side to help bring awareness not only to what we’re going through but with what people with disabilities are going through as well. I’ve been burning bridges my whole life but now I feel like I’m building them.”
He previously released the singles and music videos for “Stop It”, “Spoonful of Cinnamon” and “Loved Me Back To Life”, which included features cameos from GaTa (from FXX’s Dave), Zach Holmes (Zackass), Toby Morse (H2O, Hazen Street), Wes Period, and Chad Tepper.
Travie recently was a guest on Mark Hoppus’ Apple Music Show ‘After School Radio’, which fans can listen to here: https://music.apple.com/us/station/mccoy-and-me/ra.1620279684
This weekend he performed a massive set at So What?! Music festival in Arlington, TX.
Growing up as a bi-racial kid in Geneva, NY, he grew up loving hardcore and punk rock, along with hip hop and R&B, and instead of choosing one lane, he created a genre-bending sound that changed what modern alternative and pop looked like. He formed Gym Class Heroes, a group that found a community in the alternative/punk space, but shot into the mainstream with hits like the 3x Platinum “Cupid’s Chokehold” and “Stereo Hearts.” But as a solo artist, he hit new heights, and jump-started the careers of a number of up and coming artists, with songs like the 4x Platinum, “Billionaire ft. Bruno Mars.”
Through all of this, Travie started battling with addiction and depression, leading into a real moment of rock bottom that almost ended his career and life. After getting into recovery and working through his constant demons, he started feeling creative again, and decided that he was going to be true to himself and his craft. He wanted to write music that he 100% believed in – that he could pour out his heart and soul into – and that could be the cathartic vehicle of self-expression that he was missing.
The result is NEVER SLEPT BETTER – the most honest, unpretentious, and devastatingly powerful album of his career. With an album title that references Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game,” The album encapsulates the past 10 years of Travie’s life with brutal honesty. It is a journey telling the trials and tribulations of addiction, mental health crises, and navigating the shady characters and frustrations one finds in the music industry, to get to a place where he could finally be at peace.
Track listing
1. ..never slept better..
2. Stop It
3. Deja Fait
4. Loved Me Back To Life
5. The Bridge (feat. Elohim)
6. Down and Out in L.A.
7. matty’s mattresses: deluxe la
8. A Spoonful Of Cinnamon
9. Another Round
10. Full Monarch
11. matty’s mattresses: from larvae to monarch
12. I Am Pagliacci
13. The Best Part Of Revenge
14. Karma Kama Sutra
15. Broken Barometer Blues
16. matty’s mattresses: weatherproof
17. I’ll Never Be Loved (feat. Hamzaa)
The album could have been a dark, depressing tome, but with Travie McCoy, where there is darkness there is also joy and hopefulness. After years of navigating treacherous waters, Travie McCoy has put together the most honest, vulnerable, raw and emotional music of his career. And he’s never slept better.
