As Gym Class Heroes rolls out “The Fighter,” the third single from “The Papercut Chronicles II” album, frontman Travie McCoy predicts that “we’re definitely going to be riding this (album) for a while.” But he also says that there may be more where the group’s 2011 release came from.
“We actually still have a lot of material that didn’t make this record, so we might have another Gym Class Heroes (album) out sooner rather than later,” McCoy tells Billboard.com. “We’re always writing on the road and whatnot, so we’ll see.” But he also adds that “things are going so well with (‘The Papercut Chronicles II’), I can’t see the cycle slowing up any time soon.”
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As far as McCoy is concerned, the fortunes of the sequel to 2005’s “The Papercut Chronicles” have been “awesome. The first single, ‘Stereo Hearts,’ kinda took off and did its thing thanks to Adam (Levine) blessing us with his beautiful voice, as well as Neon Hitch on the second single, ‘Ass Back Home,’ which is doing awesome. So it’s been a really swell ride thus far, and I think we’re going to ride it out until the end.”
McCoy says OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, who co-wrote, co-produced and guested on “The Fighter,” also appears in the song’s new video, a documentary-style clip that follows U.S. Olympics gymnastics hopeful John Orozco in his training regimen. “It’s definitely a very motivational, inspirational kind of song,” McCoy says. “It was kind of a proverbial kick in my own butt to remind myself that I’ve worked really, really hard, that we all as a band have worked really hard to get where we’re at and a reminder not to slack. Hopefully it’ll inspire kids to stay consistent at what it is they love to do and show them that hard work pays off — not to be cliche, but…”
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The video also reunites McCoy with director Mark Klasfeld, who played an important role in his early career. “I won a rap battle on MTV Direct Effect, and the prize was I got to make an appearance in a hip-hop video,” McCoy recalls. “It was for Styles P’s ‘Daddy Get That Cash,’ which Mark directed. If you sneeze you’ll miss me, but it was my first video experience, and now it’s come full circle.”
Gym Class Heroes hits the road again on April 12 for a short run of U.S. college dates. The group will play at the Gulfport Music Festival in Mississippi on May 20 and is also booked for the Main Square Festival on July 1 in Arras, France, and a pair of Summer Sonic shows during August in Japan. More dates will be filled into the schedule soon.
As for a second solo album to follow 2010’s “Lazarus,” McCoy is remaining non-committal. “I can’t say that another solo record’s not going to happen. It may,” he says. “But right now I’m locked into (Gym Class Heroes) and keeping this ‘Papercut Chronicles II’ ride going.”