During the band's hiatus, McCoy shifted focus onto his solo work and signed with the aforementioned label in a joint venture with T-Pain's Nappy Boy Entertainment to release his debut studio album, Lazarus (2010).

[9] As a child, McCoy used a wheelchair for four months after a skateboarding accident; his lack of mobility allowed him to focus on art.

[11] As a teenager, McCoy was a fan of hardcore punk bands such as Snapcase and Earth Crisis, as well as underground rap acts such as Company Flow and the Arsonists.

[12] McCoy played the drums in high school and created a rap group with his father and his brother called "True Life Playas", and says of the experience, "It was so bad!

[16] McCoy and Matt McGinley became friends at their local high school's gym class in ninth grade in Geneva, New York.

A prominent opening act for Gym Class Heroes was the critically acclaimed hip-hop group "ModifiedBlockStyle."

They have collaborated with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump on numerous occasions, notably for providing backing vocals on the song "Cupid's Chokehold".

"[19] McCoy had originally prepared to record an introspective album of "sad and somber" acoustic songs reflective of his state of mind following his breakup with Katy Perry and his addiction to painkillers.

He explained, "I didn't want that to be my first look as a solo artist," and compared the album to Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak.

[19][20] He relocated to Miami, Florida, to record new material and recover from his addiction, which helped him to create a more upbeat album because he "want[ed] to do something positive.

"[21] He believes that the new name allows listeners to become "that much closer" to him and to "feel much more comfortable with calling me Travie and being part of the family.

[22] On August 21, 2010 Lazarus was released in Europe and entered the UK Album Charts at number 69, its peak position thus far.

[24] In July and August 2010, McCoy supported Rihanna on some of the North American dates of her Last Girl on Earth Tour.

[25] In November 2010, McCoy performed on the Australian Summerbeatz tour alongside Flo Rida, Jay Sean and Soulja Boy.

[26] McCoy was a guest star on the sitcom "Shell Games", the third episode of Malibu Country, and sang with Reba McEntire.

[27] McCoy is also featured on Livin's City of Brotherly Love album, scheduled to be released in early 2011 on 700 Level Entertainment.

He performed "Stereo Hearts" with Adam Levine of Maroon 5 on November 5, 2011, on Saturday Night Live.

After a long hiatus speculated to have been due to McCoy focusing on his personal life, he signed with Hopeless Records in 2021.

[5][6] The album was supported by two singles, "A Spoonful of Cinnamon" and "Loved Me Back to Life", which were also given accompanying music videos.

[31] The death of his best friend in 2007 led McCoy to retreat further into his addiction, leading him to "dive into drugs face-first."

After they split up in December 2008,[33] they briefly reconciled before Perry ended their relationship via email due to his drug addiction in 2009.

[36] McCoy is allegedly the subject of Perry's song "Circle the Drain" from her 2010 album Teenage Dream.