Travis Mills | |
|---|---|
 Mills in 2016 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Travis Tatum Mills |
| Also known as |
|
| Born | (1989-04-12)April 12, 1989 (age 35) |
| Origin | Riverside, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | iamtravismills |
Travis Tatum Mills (born April 12, 1989), previously known by his stage nameT. Mills, is an American rapper, singer, and actor fromRiverside, California. Following his name change from T. Mills to Travis Mills, he began hosting an eponymous show onApple Music 1.[1]
Travis Tatum Mills was born on April 12, 1989, inRiverside, California.[2] At the age of 5, Mills' uncle gave him his first guitar and at the age of 15 Mills stopped playing sports to start apunk rock band.[3] After graduating high school, Mills began writing his own songs and produced them on a computer software. He started uploading his music onMySpace and intentionally posted "provocative" photos on the platform to stir interest.[4][5]
At the age of 17, Mills began writing songs in his bedroom, using music software such as Apple's Garage Band. At the age of 18, Mills began posting some of his music on hisMyspace page.[6] In 2008, Mills signed a deal to the indie record labelUprising Records.
In 2011, Mills signed a deal toColumbia Records, following him signing a deal, he began recording his second and firstmajor-label album.[7] On July 22, 2011, Mills released amixtape, titledLeaving Home.Leaving Home is a 10-track project, with noguest appearances, while the production was provided from Noel Zancalla, Omen, AudioBlack,The Futuristics, Colin Munroe and Phonix, among others.[8][9] On December 6, 2011, Mills announced that he would be repackaged as a5-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 thepromotional single, called "The Boom".[10] The EP was made available for retail stores on December 13, 2011.[11][12] On December 15, 2011, to promote the release of the EP, he performed at The Roxy Show in Los Angeles, California.[13] The EP was released for free on December 19, 2011,[14] The EP was officially released on January 13, 2012,[15][16] featuring some added new tracks, while the additional production was provided fromSir Nolan andThe Stereotypes, among others.[10][13]
In March 2012, Mills was nominated for the Best New Artist at theMtvU'sWoodie Awards.[17] On July 23, 2012, Mills released his second mixtape, calledThrillionaire. It contains 10 tracks, featuring threeguest appearances from American rapperSmoke DZA, thehip hop duoAudio Push, and an American musicianJames Fauntleroy II;[18] as well as the production from Sledgren,The Monsters & Strangerz andKane Beatz, among others.[19] To promote the mixtape release, Mills filmed some music videos for songs such as "Lightweight", "Diemonds"[3][20] and "Other Bitch Callin'" featuring James Fauntleroy II.[21] Mills later announced that he is planning on releasing the sequel for his second mixtape, calledThrillionaire 2.[22]
In 2013, Mills announced that the release date for his second major-label album has been slated for the second quarter of 2013.[22] It was reported that Mills was working on his second major-label album with artists such asJuicy J,Mike Posner,James Fauntleroy,Travis Barker,Layzie Bone andSkeme, with theproduction by Mills himself, alongside several other record producers such asKane Beatz,1500 or Nothin',Malay andBoi-1da, among others.[3][22][23][24][25][26][27] On February 15, 2013, Mills announced that his first single for his second major-label album will be coming soon.[28][non-primary source needed] 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".[29][30] The song was produced byPop Wansel, and the song contains a sample of "I Know You Got Soul" performed byEric B. andRakim.[31] He later said that "the hook for the song was one of his favorites out of all the hooks, he has ever written".[26]
In April 2013, Mills was touring with a fellow American rapperSammy Adams.[32] On June 27, 2013, Mills was featured onMike Posner's remix to "We Own It (Fast & Furious)", along with Sammy Adams and Niykee Heaton.[33] In June 2013, Mills was on tour withWe the Kings, and the fellow supporting actsThe Ready Set andBreathe Carolina on the 2013's SummerFest.[34] The music video for the single, called "All I Wanna Do", was shot and filmed in July 2013.[35]
On February 18, 2014, Mills announced the release to his third EP, titledAll I Wanna Do.[36][non-primary source needed] Starting from February 24 to April 24, 2014, Mills will be headlining on hisAll I Wanna Do Tour.[17] 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 theAll I Wanna Do EP, viaiTunes. The EP features production fromBoi-1da andMalay, among others.[17] 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 a fellow American rapperT.I.[1][37]
On January 22, 2016, Travis announced the release of his new single, called "Don't Need Much".[38][39] The song was released throughRepublic Records, which was made available for streaming onSoundCloud on the same day of release.[40] The beat from "Don't Need Much" was sampled from a single named "Drank & Drugs", performed by Dutch rappersLil' Kleine and Ronnie Flex. Travis signed a new label deal with First Access Entertainment and released his fourth EP under the label, titledWhile You Wait on April 8, 2016. The EP contains six tracks.[41][42] Travis walked in the New York and Paris fashion shows in July 2016, and was named one of the best dressed byGQ Magazine.[43]
In 2020, Mills formed the band Girlfriends withNick Gross, with the duo citingBlink-182,5 Seconds of Summer andAll Time Low as the band's musical influences.[44] The band released their first self-titled album on October 23, 2020[45] featuring 14 tracks. The band's second album,(E)motion Sickness, was released on June 17, 2022.[46]
In March 2023, girlfriends released the single "Over My Dead Body" via Big Noise.[47][48]
Mills' music has been described as genre-blending due to his mix of singing and rapping, being mostly labeled as ahip hop andsynthpop artist.[49][50][51] He is known for mixing pop and electronic songs with hip hop andR&B.[52] Mills says that his genre-blending music is a result of his exposure to many different genres during childhood.[53] He has said that "[my] mom was a hugeQueen fan, my dad's a diehardElvis fan, my uncle is a hip-hop and R&B head, my sister listened toBritney Spears,country and boy bands and I was intopop punk,punk rock,metal and just into everything."[26] He indicated that his rapping style was influenced byKanye West andBone Thugs-n-Harmony, among others.[31]
In March 2016, Mills made his acting debut in theNetflixoriginal comedy seriesFlaked.[54]
In 2019, he co-starred in a spinoff ofCatfish: The TV Show calledGhosted: Love Gone Missing, where he teamed up withBachelorette starRachel Lindsay to help people find those who have ghosted them and find the real reasons for the sudden disappearance in the ghosted persons life.[55] On April 26, 2022, he joined actressRahne Jones to host MTV's brand-new docuseries,Help! I’m in a Secret Relationship! Mills and Jones help individuals in long-term romances find out why they are being hidden from their partner's family and friends.[56]
Mills is heavily tattooed, which includes a full sleeve on one arm and aBone 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.[24][57][58] Mills also had the word "Gnarly" tattooed across his stomach at age 18. A couple months later he got a tattoo of theApple logo drawn on the palm of his hand.[59][60]
Early in his career Mills sported large stretched earlobes, but proceeded with lobe reconstruction surgery in 2013.
Mills was in a relationship with actressMadelaine Petsch from 2017 to February 2020.[61][62]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Ready, Fire, Aim! |
|
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | |||||||||||||
| 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" (featuringT.I.) | Non-album singles |
| 2016 | "Don't Need Much" | |
| "One4Me" | ||
| 2017 | "Off U" | |
| "Bands Now" (featuring24hrs) | ||
| "Just Like Us, This Song Doesn't Have a Title" |
| 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 | |
| "Question" | Lauv | I Met You When I Was 18 (The Playlist) |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015, 2021 | Ridiculousness | Himself | Guest |
| 2016 | Flaked | Stefan | Recurring role |
| 2018 | Alone Together | Stainz | Episode: "Pootie" |
| 2019 | Good Girls | Tobin | Episode: "Thelma and Louise" |
| 2019–2021 | Ghosted: Love Gone Missing | Himself | Co-host |
| 2020 | Wild 'n Out | Himself | Guest |
| 2020 | 2020 MTV Video Music Awards | Himself | Commentator at the Pre-Show |
