Featuring a multi-talented vocal performance

Travie McCoy is an American rapper and singer. He was born in 1981 and is the lead vocalist for the group Gym Class Heroes. Never Slept Better is his latest album, released July 15th, 2022. 

The album begins with a thirty-second-long skit introducing the album. It then transitions to the first song, “Stop it.” It starts off with an upbeat instrumental and McCoy jumps in without hesitation and rides the beat very smoothly. His verses and the chorus all fit the beat nicely which makes the song a great intro to the album. The next track “Déjà Fait” is a much more relaxed and calm track. The beat for this song is amazing, showing a cascade of instruments coming together to form one of the best songs on the album. McCoy also performs on par with the beat. His lyrical ability stands out on this track as well as his flow.

“Love Me Back to Life” sort of combines both qualities of the previous two tracks; it had sections that were more upbeat but also had sections that were more relaxed. Overall, it’s a great track and the additional vocals provided also fit the track nicely. The song “The Bridge” is also amazing. McCoy’s verses, the floating beat and the haunting vocals by Elohim all overlap to make this yet another great track in this four-track run. “Down and Out of L.A.” continues that run with yet another great track. 

Travie McCoy then breaks up the songs with a short interlude. “A Spoonful of Cinnamon” is one of the catchiest songs on the album. The chorus especially highlights his vocal abilities which honestly should be shown more than they are throughout the album. “Another Round” continues the trend of McCoy showing his more singing abilities rather than his lyrical ones. It’s a nice change after the onslaught of rap at the beginning of the album. After another song that continues the 3-track run of songs more focused on singing, McCoy once again includes another interlude. 

“I am Pagalaci” is a more introspective and dark track on the album where he raps about thoughts that pull him down and how they affect his life and his music. Despite this switch-up, this change in musical direction doesn’t seem as abrupt as it might have been without the interlude. “The Best Part of Revenge” and “Karma Kama Sutra” are both more upbeat than the previous track. The switch in style and tone of the songs is a bit abrupt and he goes from a very personal and introspective song to more upbeat songs without a good transition for them but it’s not too bad, it just seems a bit jarring when listening to for the first time. “Broken Barometer Blues” is a sad song with an upbeat tune. Because of the upbeat instrumental, the transition in tones of the songs isn’t as sudden and confusing as before. After another interlude, the album ends with the song “I’ll Never Be Loved.” 

Overall, this is an amazing album with great tracks throughout its runtime. The album is nicely broken up into sections by the interludes which are a great addition. McCoy uses the interludes masterfully so the album’s mood switches do not seem as abrupt as they would otherwise seem. The features and background vocals on this album are also amazing as well as the fact that  McCoy can both spit bars with great lyricism while also singing with great vocals. That’s a rare talent among artists and makes this album a wonderful listen.