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Biography
Formed of childhood friends Ali (Lakeem Mattox), Quez (Donquez Woods), and Strap (Harold Duncan), the group, originally dubbed Hard Hitters, envisioned taking the rap world by storm. By 2008 the name was changed to Travis Porter in order to appeal to a larger audience, and the trio were honing their performing skills playing shows in the U.S. as well as Europe. Through a combination of underground mixtapes, well-profiled live shows, and apt use of social media, Travis Porter quickly gained recognition in the south, aided by the underground hits “Black Boy White Boy”, “Uh Huh”, “Go Shorty Go”, and “All the Way Turnt Up”.
In 2010, having already released four mixtapes, Travis Porter issued “Proud 2 Be a Problem”, “I Am Travis Porter”, and “Differenter Gang”, all of which caught the attention of labels hoping to sign the young, appealing hip hip group. Towards the tail end of the year Travis Porter inked a deal with Jive Records, however the label was closed by its parent RCA in 2011, which resulted in Travis Porter’s debut “From Day 1” being issued by RCA in 2012. The album, featuring Diplo, and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League at the production reigns, peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200, and No. Two on the Billboard Top Rap Albums. Featuring guest appearances from 2 Chainz, Tyga, Mac Miller, and Mike Posner, the album spawned the singles “Make It Rain”, “Bring It Back”, and “Ayy Ladies”. The latter single, featuring Young Money rapper Tyga peaked at No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the Heatseekers Songs chart. The group released their self-made film “Red Rock” in November 2012, followed in 2013 by the mixtape “Mr Porter”.
Live reviews
Despite the name Travis Porter, Travis Porter is not one man, but a group consisting of Lakeem "Ali" Mattox, Donquez "Quez" Woods and Harold "Strap" Duncan. A fact that I did not know until my friend dragged me to one of their shows. Since I really had no knowledge of the group, I had no expectations for their performance, which resulted in a positive outlook on their music.
I had really only heard one of their songs on the radio, but when they came to the annual fall Block Party at University of California, Riverside, one of my hall mates, who was a huge fan, had talked me into going to their set. We joined the already huge crowd in front of the stage just as they started their first song. Since I didn’t know most of them I felt a little awkward at first, but as their set progressed, it became a great atmosphere. You could really tell that the crowd was truly getting what they wanted from this group. The whole crowd was dancing and singing a long. When they started to play their closing song, “Ayy Ladies,” I was able to be a part of this crowd since it was the one song that I did know. Once I got home I did end up listening to more of their stuff because of this show.
Ellinoinsta
