Gym Class Heroes is an American rap rock band from Geneva, New York, United States. The group formed in 1997 when Travie McCoy met drummer Matt McGinley during their high school gym class. The band's music displays a wide variety of influences, including hip hop, rock, funk, and reggae. After the addition of guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo and bassist Eric Roberts in 2003, the group was signed to Fueled by Ramen and Decaydance Records (Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz's independent record label), on which they released their debut album, The Papercut Chronicles. The group gained a strong fan base while promoting the album, appearing at festivals such as The Bamboozle and Warped Tour. In 2006, the group released the gold-selling album As Cruel as School Children. On September 9, 2008, Gym Class Heroes released their third album, The Quilt, which contained numerous collaborations with other artists. The band went on hiatus in 2009, a time in which the members pursued various side projects. Travie McCoy released his solo debut album Lazarus in June 2010. Lumumba-Kasongo has been working on his side-project Soul, while McGinley now drums in the rock group Kill the Frontman. The group released The Papercut Chronicles II on November 15, 2011. MC Travie McCoy and drummer Matt McGinley became friends at their local high school's gym class in ninth grade in Geneva, New York. They officially came together in 1997. The band formed when bassist Ryan Geise and drummer Matt McGinley were performing at a party in an instrumental band with no vocals. McCoy, who was in attendance at the party, took the microphone onstage and started rapping. A week later, the group came together and started making music. The original group began playing college parties and BBQs, birthday parties, clubs, and festivals which eventually led to larger venues throughout the northeast, including four years on Warped Tour (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008). McCoy won MTV's Direct Effect MC Battle and as a prize, appeared in Styles P's video "Daddy Get That Cash". The group had three more releases from 1999 to 2004: Hed Candy, Greasy Kid Stuff, and ...For the Kids.
Gym Class Heroes is noted for displaying hip-hop influences while performing alongside artists who are mainly considered to be rock, pop-punk, and metal bands. McCoy says of the band's musical style, "We've been the proverbial sore thumb our entire career. Even before we got signed to Fueled by Ramen, we were playing shows with death metal and hardcore bands and whoever would let us play with them. I wouldn't even consider us a hip-hop band. Musically, it's just all over the place."
The band acknowledges '80s funk-influenced R&B acts such as Prince and Ready for the World as major influences on its sound. Each member draws from different types of music for inspiration, with drummer Matt McGinley saying "there aren’t many [types of music] we agree on." McCoy cites 1970s blue-eyed soul group Hall & Oates as his biggest musical influence. Guitarist Disashi Lumumbo-Kasanga is mainly influenced by rock music, citing Jimi Hendrix and Muse as an inspiration for his guitar playing. Bassist Eric Roberts incorporates reggae styles into his playing, as well as styles influenced by metal bands such as the Dillinger Escape Plan and Meshuggah. McGinley favors funk and rock stylistics inspired by groups such as Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and 311.
Additionally, the band is noted for not using samples in its music, a practice commonly used in hip-hop. McCoy states that "It’s more fun and organic in the live show. There’s definitely a lot of acts that can pull off a DJ/MC thing but then a lot that can’t. Also I guess it’s all we know." However, As Cruel as School Children does contain samples, with McGinley commenting, "We’ve always been a band and we never did sampling at all before but within the last couple of years we’ve embraced it more. In the songs we did with Patrick Stump we used it."
