Travis Mills
Travis Mills | |
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![]() Travis in 2016 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Travis Tatum Mills |
Also known as |
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Born | April 12, 1989 |
Origin | Riverside, California, United States |
Genres | |
Occupations | |
Years active | 2009–present |
Labels | |
Website | http://iamtravismills.com |
Travis Tatum Mills (born April 12, 1989), previously known by his stage name T. Mills, is an American recording artist and actor from Riverside, California. Following his name change from T. Mills to Travis Mills, Mills hosted The Request Show on Apple Music's Beats 1.[1]
Early life
Travis Tatum Mills was born on April 12, 1989, in Riverside, California.[2] At the age of 5, Mills' uncle gave him his first guitar and at the age of 15 Mills stopped playing sports in order to start a punk rock band.[3]
Career
2008–10: Career beginnings and Ready, Fire, Aim!
At the age of 17, Mills began writing songs in his own bedroom, using music's software such as garage band. At the age of 18, Mills began posting some of his music on his Myspace page.[4] In 2008, Mills signed a deal to the indie record label Uprising Records.
2011–12: Signing to Columbia Records, Leaving Home and MtvU's Woodie Awards
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/T.MillsMarch2012.jpg/180px-T.MillsMarch2012.jpg)
In 2011, Mills signed a deal to Columbia Records, following him signing a deal, he began recording his second and first major-label album.[5] On July 22, 2011, Mills released a mixtape, titled Leaving Home. Leaving Home is a 10-track project, with no guest appearances, while the production was provided from Noel Zancalla, Omen, AudioBlack, The Futuristics, Colin Munroe and Phonix, among others.[6][7] On December 6, 2011, Mills announced that he would be repackaged as a 5-track EP, under its same name as his mixtape through Columbia Records. The EP's lead single, called "Vans On" was released on December 12, 2011, along with the promotional single, called "The Boom".[8] The EP was made available for retail stores on December 13, 2011.[9][10] On December 15, 2011, to promote the release of the EP, he performed at The Roxy Show in Los Angeles, California.[11] The EP was released for free on December 19, 2011,[12] The EP was officially released on January 13, 2012,[13][14] featuring some added new tracks, while the additional production was provided from Sir Nolan and The Stereotypes, among others.[8][11]
In March 2012, Mills was nominated for the Best New Artist at the MtvU's Woodie Awards.[15] On July 23, 2012, Mills released his second mixtape, called Thrillionaire. It contains 10 tracks, featuring three guest appearances from American rapper Smoke DZA, the hip hop duo Audio Push, and an American musician James Fauntleroy II;[16] as well as the production from Sledgren, The Monsters and the Strangerz and Kane Beatz, among others.[17] To promote the mixtape release, Mills filmed some music videos for songs such as "Lightweight", "Diemonds"[3][18] and "Other Bitch Callin'" featuring James Fauntleroy II.[19] Mills later announced that he is planning on releasing the sequel for his second mixtape, called Thrillionaire 2.[20]
2013–15: SummerFest and All I Wanna Do
In 2013, Mills announced that the release date for his second major-label album has been slated for the second quarter of 2013.[20] It was reported that Mills was working on his second major-label album with artists such as Juicy J, Mike Posner, James Fauntleroy, Travis Barker, Layzie Bone and Skeme, with the production by Mills himself, alongside several other record producers such as Kane Beatz, 1500 or Nothin', Malay and Boi-1da, among others.[3][20][21][22][23][24][25] On February 15, 2013, Mills announced that his first single for his second major-label album will be coming soon.[26] On March 5, 2013, the audio for his song, called "Loud" was released for digital download. The following day, Mills released the music video for "Loud".[27][28] The song was produced by Pop Wansel, and the song contains a sample of "I Know You Got Soul" performed by Eric B. and Rakim.[29] He later said that "the hook for the song was one of his favorites out of all the hooks, he has ever written".[24]
In April 2013, Mills was touring with a fellow American rapper Sammy Adams.[30] On June 27, 2013, Mills was featured on Mike Posner's remix to "We Own It (Fast & Furious)", along with Sammy Adams and Niykee Heaton.[31] In June 2013, Mills was on tour with We the Kings, and the fellow supporting acts The Ready Set and Breathe Carolina on the 2013's SummerFest.[32] The music video for the single, called "All I Wanna Do", was shot and filmed in July 2013.[33]
On February 18, 2014, Mills announced the release to his third EP, titled All I Wanna Do.[34] Starting from February 24 to April 24, 2014, Mills will be headlining on his All I Wanna Do Tour.[15] On February 24, 2014, while starting his promotional tour for his third EP, Mills released the audio to its title track "All I Wanna Do". The following day, Mills officially released the All I Wanna Do EP, via iTunes. The EP features production from Boi-1da and Malay, among others.[15] In July 2015, Mills would change his stage name to his artistic name Travis Mills. On July 24, 2015, Travis released his new single, titled "Young & Stupid". The song features guest verse an fellow American rapper T.I.[1][35]
2016–present: Signing to First Access Entertainment and While You Wait
On January 22, 2016, Travis announced the release of his new single, called "Don't Need Much".[36][37] The song was released through Republic Records, which was made available for streaming on Soundcloud on the same day of release.[38] The beat from "Don't Need Much" was sampled from a single named "Drank & Drugs", performed by Dutch rappers Lil' Kleine and Ronnie Flex. Travis signed a new label deal with First Access Entertainment and released his fourth EP under the label, titled While You Wait on April 8, 2016. The EP contains six tracks.[39][40] Travis walked in the New York and Paris fashion shows in July 2016, and was named one of the best dressed by GQ Magazine.[41]
Musical style
Mills' music has been described as genre-blending due to his mix of singing and rapping, being mostly labeled as a hip hop and synthpop artist.[42][43][44] He is known for mixing pop and electronic songs with hip hop and R&B.[45] Mills says that his genre-blending music is a result of his exposure to many different genres during childhood.[46] He has said that "[my] mom was a huge Queen fan, my dad’s a diehard Elvis fan, my uncle is a hip-hop and R&B head, my sister listened to Britney Spears, country and boy bands and I was into pop punk, punk rock, metal and just into everything."[24] He indicated that his rapping style was influenced by Kanye West and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, among others.[29]
Acting career
In March 2016, Mills made his acting debut in the Netflix original comedy series Flaked.[47]
Personal life
Mills is heavily tattooed, which includes a full sleeve on one arm and a Bone Thugs-n-Harmony tattoo on his chest, in addition to many others. He also designated the letters "FTH" ("Fuck The Haters", "Forever The Highest") on his forehead, the "O" with a heart behind his left ear representing his sisters name and the word "Patience" tatted on his knuckles.[22][48][49] Mills also got the word "Gnarly" tattooed across his stomach at age 18. A couple months after that he gave himself a tattoo.[50] He is currently dating actress Madelaine Petsch.
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US | US R&B | US Rap | |||||||||||
Ready, Fire, Aim! |
|
— | — | — | |||||||||
TBA |
|
TBR | TBR | TBR | |||||||||
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory. |
Extended plays
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US |
US R&B |
US Rap | |||||||||||
Finders Keepers EP |
|
— | — | — | |||||||||
Leaving Home EP |
|
— | — | — | |||||||||
All I Wanna Do |
|
— | — | 16 | |||||||||
While You Wait |
|
— | — | — | |||||||||
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory. |
Mixtapes
- Leaving Home (2011)
- Thrillionaire (2012)
Singles
Year | Title | Album |
---|---|---|
2010 | "Stupid Boy" | Ready, Fire, Aim! |
"She Got A..." | ||
2011 | "Vans On" | Leaving Home EP |
2012 | "Lightweight" | Thrillionaire |
"Diemonds" | ||
2013 | "Loud" | Non-album single |
2014 | "All I Wanna Do" | All I Wanna Do |
2015 | "Young & Stupid" | Non-album singles |
2016 | "Don't Need Much" | |
"One4Me" |
Guest appearances
Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"Size of Your Boat" (Remix) | 2010 | Jeffree Star | — |
"Another One" | 2012 | Ty$, Dom Kennedy | Beach House |
"Sally Walker" | Audio Push | Inland Empire | |
"Started from the Bottom" (Remix) | 2013 | Mike Posner, Asher Roth, King Chip | — |
"We Own It" (Remix) | Mike Posner, Sammy Adams, Niykee Heaton | ||
"Lowlife" (Remix) | 2016 | That Poppy | Non-album single |
Filmography
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Flaked | Stefan | Main role |
2018 | Alone Together |
References
- ^ a b "I Am Travis Mills - Homepage". Iamtravismills.com. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ Fleischer, Adam (2012-01-25). "The Break Presents: T. Mills - XXL". Xxlmag.com. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ a b c "T. Mills Raps of Willpower in 'Diemonds,' Reveals New Song - The Boombox". Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- ^ "Bio | Career". MTV. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ Mixtape Daily Fire Starter: T. Mills | News Video | MTV
- ^ T. Mills Follow @ilovetmills (2011-07-22). "T. Mills - Leaving Home - Mixtape Listen and Download". Djbooth.net. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Mixtape Daily Fire Starter: T. Mills | News Video". MTV. 2011-11-03. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ a b Horowitz, Steven J. (2011-12-06). "T. Mills Announces "Leaving Home" EP, Due December 13th | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ^ T. Mills Leaving Home EP (2012-02-21). "T. Mills Leaving Home EP | YRB Magazine | Lifestyle Fashion Music Art Culture". YRB Magazine. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ^ "T. Mills: 'The Boom' Song Finds Him Looking for Booty". Theboombox.com. 2011-12-06. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ^ a b "T. Mills to Release "Leaving Home" EP on Dec. 13 @ARTISTdirect". Artistdirect.com. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ^ "Introducing: T. Mills Reveals Details Of 'Leaving Home' EP & UK Shows". Stereoboard. 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ^ "iTunes - Music - Leaving Home - EP by T. Mills". Itunes.apple.com. 2012-01-13. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ^ https://play.google.com/store/music/album/T_Mills_Leaving_Home_EP?id=Bjcslqp4jywh63bat23arauatru&hl=en
- ^ a b c Records, Columbia (2014-02-25). "T. Mills Releases ALL I WANNA DO EP - PR Newswire - The Sacramento Bee". Sacbee.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-26. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "T. Mills Drops Thrillionaire Mixtape". Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ^ Moore, Jacob (2012-07-10). "Mixtape: T. Mills "Thrillionaire"". Complex. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ "Purple DIARY – The Official T Mills Site". Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ^ "T. Mills ft. James Fauntleroy (of Cocaine 80's) - Other B*tch Callin' Music Video - Listen". Djbooth.net. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
- ^ a b c "VIDEO: T. Mills Preps For Warped Tour With “Thrillionaire” Mixtape Featuring Juicy, Smoke DZA And More". Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- ^ "T. Mills - blog exclusive". Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ^ a b "MTV PUSH Artist Of The Week: T. Mills". Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ^ "T.Mills and 1500 or Nothin Studio Session | The Official T Mills Site". Tmillsmusic.com. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
- ^ a b c "Yahoo Music". Ca.music.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ "T. Mills talks collab with Mike Posner (Power 106 Snowed In)". YouTube. 2013-02-11. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ "Twitter / ilovetmills: New single hittin iTunes soon". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
- ^ "iTunes - Music - Loud - Single by T. Mills". Itunes.apple.com. 2013-03-05. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ "T. Mills Posts New Video". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ a b "Our New YNG FAV: T. Mills | NBC 7 San Diego". Nbcsandiego.com. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ "Announcing the Sammy Adams & T.Mills Tour | The Official T Mills Site". Tmillsmusic.com. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
- ^ "New Music: Mike Posner f/ T. Mills, Sammy Adams, & Niykee Heaton – 'We Own It (Remix)'". Rap-Up. 2013-06-27. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ^ "We The Kings announce "Summer Fest" tour with Breathe Carolina, the Ready Set and T. Mills - Alternative Press". Altpress.com. 2013-05-22. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Twitter / ilovetmills: All. I. Wanna. Do. 2.25.14". Twitter.com. 2014-02-18. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
- ^ http://highlineballroom.com/show/2015/06/22/2015-artist-to-watch-max-raury-jacob-whitesides/
- ^ http://www.idolator.com/7620891/travis-mills-dont-need-much-premiere
- ^ https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/dont-need-much-single/id1072821239?app=itunes&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
- ^ https://soundcloud.com/tmills/dontneedmuch
- ^ Brendan V (April 9, 2016). "Travis Mills - While You Wait EP". DJBooth. The DJ Booth LLC.
- ^ a b "While You Wait - EP by Travis Mills on Apple Music". iTunes, Apple Music. April 8, 2017.
- ^ https://www.gq.com/gallery/ten-best-dressed-men-of-the-week-7-16-16
- ^ "T. Mills: Backstage Diaries". Young Hollywood.
- ^ "Artist On The Rise: T. Mills". 98.7 FM. February 26, 2014.
- ^ Barbara (Mar 27, 2015). "Columbia Records singer T. Mills to perform April 1 in Great Hall". Dunn County News.
- ^ "T.Mills: The Playlist Artist". Forbes. 2012-04-18. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
- ^ "AOL.com Video - Rapper T. Mills on His Beginnings as a Musician". Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ^ Petski, Denise (August 26, 2015). "Emily Bergl Joins ABC's 'American Crime'; Travis Mills In 'Flaked'". Daedline. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- ^ "Buzzworthy Blog Exclusive: T. Mill Q&A | Video". MTV. 2011-12-14. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
- ^ "Daily Loud Interview With T. Mills". YouTube. 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
- ^ "#TatTales Week 2: T. Mills (@ilovetmills)". The Source. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
External links
- Official website of T. Mills
- T. Mills on MySpace
- T. Mills Biography on the Uprising Records website