Gym Class Heroes

Gym Class Heroes is an American pop-rap group whose music combines elements of alternative rock, hip-hop, and modern pop. Bandmates Travis McCoy and Matt McKinley initially became friends in gym class while attending high school in Geneva, New York, and decided to use their meeting point as the name of the band they co-founded in 1997. Forging their own unique approach to hip-hop by mixing it with multiple genres and utilizing live instruments rather than samples, Gym Class Heroes gradually built a following in New York. Travis McCoy appeared in Styles P's video "Daddy Get That Cash" after winning an MC competition on the MTV show Direct Effect and later appeared in various music videos with Fall Out Boy, which strengthened Gym Class Heroes' standing in the alt-rock community. Meanwhile, Gym Class Heroes made its studio debut with 2001's ...For the Kids, followed by The Papercut Chronicles in 2005 and As Cruel as Schoolchildren in 2006. As Cruel as Schoolchildren became the group's first big hit, thanks in large to the platinum-selling single "Cupid's Chokehold," which also featured Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump. The collaborations continued with 2008's The Quilt, which included guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes and Daryl Hall. The Papercut Chronicles II followed in 2011 and yielded the biggest hit of the band's career, "Stereo Hearts," as well as the Top 40 hits "Ass Back Home" and "The Fighter."