Travis Mills
Mills in 2016
Mills in 2016
Background information
Birth nameTravis Tatum Mills
Also known as
  • T. Mills
  • T. Million
Born (1989-04-12) April 12, 1989
OriginRiverside, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • actor
Years active2009–present
Labels
Websiteiamtravismills.com

Travis Tatum Mills (born April 12, 1989), previously known by his stage name T. Mills, is an American rapper, singer, and actor from Riverside, California. Following his name change from T. Mills to Travis Mills, he began hosting an eponymous show on Apple Music 1.[1]

Early life

Travis Tatum Mills was born on April 12, 1989, in Riverside, California.[2] At the age of 5, Mills' uncle gave him his first guitar and at the age of 15 Mills stopped playing sports to start a punk rock band.[3] After graduating high school, Mills began writing his own songs and produced them on a computer software. He started uploading his music on MySpace and intentionally posted "provocative" photos on the platform to stir interest.[4][5]

Career

2008–2010: Career beginnings and Ready, Fire, Aim!

At the age of 17, Mills began writing songs in his bedroom, using music software such as Apple's Garage Band. At the age of 18, Mills began posting some of his music on his Myspace page.[6] In 2008, Mills signed a deal to the indie record label Uprising Records.

2011–2012: Signing to Columbia Records, Leaving Home and MtvU's Woodie Awards

T. Mills performing in March 2012

In 2011, Mills signed a deal to Columbia Records, following him signing a deal, he began recording his second and first major-label album.[7] On July 22, 2011, Mills released a mixtape, titled Leaving Home. Leaving Home is a 10-track project, with no guest appearances, while the production was provided from Noel Zancalla, Omen, AudioBlack, The Futuristics, Colin Munroe and Phonix, among others.[8][9] On December 6, 2011, Mills announced that he would be repackaged as a 5-track EP, under its same name as his mixtape through Columbia Records. The EP's lead single, called "Vans On" was released on December 12, 2011, along with the promotional single, called "The Boom".[10] The EP was made available for retail stores on December 13, 2011.[11][12] On December 15, 2011, to promote the release of the EP, he performed at The Roxy Show in Los Angeles, California.[13] The EP was released for free on December 19, 2011,[14] The EP was officially released on January 13, 2012,[15][16] featuring some added new tracks, while the additional production was provided from Sir Nolan and The Stereotypes, among others.[10][13]

In March 2012, Mills was nominated for the Best New Artist at the MtvU's Woodie Awards.[17] On July 23, 2012, Mills released his second mixtape, called Thrillionaire. It contains 10 tracks, featuring three guest appearances from American rapper Smoke DZA, the hip hop duo Audio Push, and an American musician James Fauntleroy II;[18] as well as the production from Sledgren, The Monsters & Strangerz and Kane Beatz, among others.[19] To promote the mixtape release, Mills filmed some music videos for songs such as "Lightweight", "Diemonds"[3][20] and "Other Bitch Callin'" featuring James Fauntleroy II.[21] Mills later announced that he is planning on releasing the sequel for his second mixtape, called Thrillionaire 2.[22]

2013–2015: SummerFest and All I Wanna Do

Mills performing in Hollywood in 2013

In 2013, Mills announced that the release date for his second major-label album has been slated for the second quarter of 2013.[22] It was reported that Mills was working on his second major-label album with artists such as Juicy J, Mike Posner, James Fauntleroy, Travis Barker, Layzie Bone and Skeme, with the production by Mills himself, alongside several other record producers such as Kane Beatz, 1500 or Nothin', Malay and Boi-1da, among others.[3][22][23][24][25][26][27] On February 15, 2013, Mills announced that his first single for his second major-label album will be coming soon.[28] On March 5, 2013, the audio for his song, called "Loud" was released for digital download. The following day, Mills released the music video for "Loud".[29][30] The song was produced by Pop Wansel, and the song contains a sample of "I Know You Got Soul" performed by Eric B. and Rakim.[31] He later said that "the hook for the song was one of his favorites out of all the hooks, he has ever written".[26]

In April 2013, Mills was touring with a fellow American rapper Sammy Adams.[32] On June 27, 2013, Mills was featured on Mike Posner's remix to "We Own It (Fast & Furious)", along with Sammy Adams and Niykee Heaton.[33] In June 2013, Mills was on tour with We the Kings, and the fellow supporting acts The Ready Set and Breathe Carolina on the 2013's SummerFest.[34] The music video for the single, called "All I Wanna Do", was shot and filmed in July 2013.[35]

On February 18, 2014, Mills announced the release to his third EP, titled All I Wanna Do.[36] Starting from February 24 to April 24, 2014, Mills will be headlining on his All I Wanna Do Tour.[17] On February 24, 2014, while starting his promotional tour for his third EP, Mills released the audio to its title track "All I Wanna Do". The following day, Mills officially released the All I Wanna Do EP, via iTunes. The EP features production from Boi-1da and Malay, among others.[17] In July 2015, Mills would change his stage name to his artistic name Travis Mills. On July 24, 2015, Travis released his new single, titled "Young & Stupid". The song features guest verse a fellow American rapper T.I.[1][37]

2016–present: Signing to First Access Entertainment, While You Wait and Girlfriends

On January 22, 2016, Travis announced the release of his new single, called "Don't Need Much".[38][39] The song was released through Republic Records, which was made available for streaming on SoundCloud on the same day of release.[40] The beat from "Don't Need Much" was sampled from a single named "Drank & Drugs", performed by Dutch rappers Lil' Kleine and Ronnie Flex. Travis signed a new label deal with First Access Entertainment and released his fourth EP under the label, titled While You Wait on April 8, 2016. The EP contains six tracks.[41][42] Travis walked in the New York and Paris fashion shows in July 2016, and was named one of the best dressed by GQ Magazine.[43]

In 2020, Mills formed the band Girlfriends with Nick Gross, with the duo citing Blink-182, 5 Seconds of Summer and All Time Low as the band's musical influences.[44] The band released their first self-titled album on October 23, 2020[45] featuring 14 tracks. The production led by John Feldmann was a success with almost 20 songs being written in a few months. The band's second album, (E)motion Sickness, was released on June 17, 2022.

In March 2023, girlfriends released the single "Over My Dead Body" via Big Noise.[46][47]

Musical style

Mills' music has been described as genre-blending due to his mix of singing and rapping, being mostly labeled as a hip hop and synthpop artist.[48][49][50] He is known for mixing pop and electronic songs with hip hop and R&B.[51] Mills says that his genre-blending music is a result of his exposure to many different genres during childhood.[52] He has said that "[my] mom was a huge Queen fan, my dad's a diehard Elvis fan, my uncle is a hip-hop and R&B head, my sister listened to Britney Spears, country and boy bands and I was into pop punk, punk rock, metal and just into everything."[26] He indicated that his rapping style was influenced by Kanye West and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, among others.[31]

Acting career

In March 2016, Mills made his acting debut in the Netflix original comedy series Flaked.[53]

Reality TV gigs

In 2019, he co-starred in a spinoff of Catfish: The TV Show called Ghosted: Love Gone Missing, where he teamed up with Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay to help people find those who have ghosted them and find the real reasons for the sudden disappearance in the ghosted persons life.[54] On April 26, 2022, he joined actress Rahne Jones to host MTV's brand-new docuseries, Help! I’m in a Secret Relationship! Mills and Jones help individuals in long-term romances find out why they are being hidden from their partner's family and friends.[55]

Personal life

Mills is heavily tattooed, which includes a full sleeve on one arm and a Bone Thugs-n-Harmony tattoo on his chest, in addition to many others. He also designated the letters "FTH" ("Fuck The Haters", "Forever The Highest") on his forehead, the "O" with a heart behind his left ear representing his sisters name and the word "Patience" tatted on his knuckles.[24][56][57] Mills also had the word "Gnarly" tattooed across his stomach at age 18. A couple months later he got a tattoo of the Apple logo drawn on the palm of his hand.[58][59]

Early in his career Mills sported large stretched earlobes, but proceeded with lobe reconstruction surgery in 2013.

Mills was in a relationship with actress Madelaine Petsch from 2017 to February 2020.[60][61]

Discography

Studio albums

List of albums
Title Details
Ready, Fire, Aim!
  • Released: September 28, 2010
  • Label: Uprising
  • Format: CD, digital download

Extended plays

List of EPs, with selected chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions
US Rap
Finders Keepers EP
  • Released: July 14, 2009
  • Label: Uprising
  • Format: Digital download
 —
Leaving Home EP
  • Released: January 13, 2012
  • Label: Columbia
  • Format: Digital download
 —
All I Wanna Do
  • Released: February 25, 2014
  • Label: Columbia
  • Format: Digital download
 16
While You Wait
  • Released: April 8, 2016[42]
  • Label: First Access Entertainment
  • Format: Digital download
 —
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

Mixtapes

  • Leaving Home (2011)
  • Thrillionaire (2012)

Singles

Year Title Album
2010 "Stupid Boy" Ready, Fire, Aim!
"She Got A..."
2011 "Vans On" Leaving Home EP
2012 "Lightweight" Thrillionaire
"Diemonds"
2013 "Loud" Non-album single
2014 "All I Wanna Do" All I Wanna Do
2015 "Young & Stupid"
(featuring T.I.)		 Non-album singles
2016 "Don't Need Much"
"One4Me"
2017 "Off U"
"Bands Now"
(featuring 24hrs)
"Just Like Us, This Song Doesn't Have a Title"

Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Size of Your Boat" (Remix) 2010 Jeffree Star —
"Another One" 2012 Ty$, Dom Kennedy Beach House
"Sally Walker" Audio Push Inland Empire
"Started from the Bottom" (Remix) 2013 Mike Posner, Asher Roth, King Chip —
"We Own It" (Remix) Mike Posner, Sammy Adams, Niykee Heaton
"Lowlife" (Remix) 2016 That Poppy
"Question" Lauv I Met You When I Was 18 (The Playlist)

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
2015, 2021 Ridiculousness Himself Guest
2016 Flaked Stefan Recurring role
2018 Alone Together Stainz Episode: "Pootie"
2019 Good Girls Tobin Episode: "Thelma and Louise"
2019–2021 Ghosted: Love Gone Missing Himself Co-host
2020 Wild 'n Out Himself Guest
2020 2020 MTV Video Music Awards Himself Commentator at the Pre-Show

References

  1. 1 2 "I Am Travis Mills – Homepage". Iamtravismills.com. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  2. ↑ Fleischer, Adam (January 25, 2012). "The Break Presents: T. Mills – XXL". Xxlmag.com. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "T. Mills Raps of Willpower in 'Diemonds,' Reveals New Song – The Boombox". n.d. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  4. ↑ "MySpace Rapper T. Mills Has a Pop-Punk Band Now and It Sounds Fire — Listen". Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  5. ↑ "T.Mills: The Playlist Artist". Forbes. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Bio | Career". MTV. n.d. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  7. ↑ Mixtape Daily Fire Starter: T. Mills | News Video | MTV
  8. ↑ T. Mills (July 22, 2011). "T. Mills – Leaving Home – Mixtape Listen and Download". Djbooth.net. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Mixtape Daily Fire Starter: T. Mills | News Video". MTV. November 3, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Horowitz, Steven J. (December 6, 2011). "T. Mills Announces "Leaving Home" EP, Due December 13th | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  11. ↑ T. Mills Leaving Home EP (February 21, 2012). "T. Mills Leaving Home EP | Lifestyle Fashion Music Art Culture". YRB Magazine. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  12. ↑ "T. Mills: 'The Boom' Song Finds Him Looking for Booty". Theboombox.com. December 6, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  13. 1 2 "T. Mills to Release "Leaving Home" EP on Dec. 13 @ARTISTdirect". Artistdirect.com. n.d. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Introducing: T. Mills Reveals Details Of 'Leaving Home' EP & UK Shows". Stereoboard. January 11, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  15. ↑ "iTunes Music – Leaving Home – EP by T. Mills". iTunes Store. January 13, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  16. ↑ "T. Mills: Leaving Home EP – Music on Google Play".
  17. 1 2 3 Records, Columbia (February 25, 2014). "T. Mills Releases ALL I WANNA DO EP – PR Newswire – The Sacramento Bee". Sacbee.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  18. ↑ "T. Mills Drops Thrillionaire Mixtape". n.d. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  19. ↑ Moore, Jacob (July 10, 2012). "Mixtape: T. Mills "Thrillionaire"". Complex. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Purple DIARY – The Official T Mills Site". n.d. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  21. ↑ "T. Mills ft. James Fauntleroy (of Cocaine 80's) – Other B*tch Callin' Music Video – Listen". Djbooth.net. n.d. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  22. 1 2 3 "VIDEO: T. Mills Preps For Warped Tour With "Thrillionaire" Mixtape Featuring Juicy, Smoke DZA And More". n.d. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  23. ↑ "T. Mills – blog exclusive". MTV. n.d. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  24. 1 2 "MTV PUSH Artist of the Week: T. Mills". n.d. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  25. ↑ "T.Mills and 1500 or Nothin Studio Session | The Official T Mills Site". Tmillsmusic.com. n.d. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  26. 1 2 3 "Yahoo Music". Yahoo! Music. n.d. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  27. ↑ "T. Mills talks collab with Mike Posner (Power 106 Snowed In)". February 11, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2015 – via YouTube.
  28. ↑ "Twitter / ilovetmills: New single hittin iTunes soon". Twitter. n.d. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  29. ↑ "iTunes Music – Loud – Single by T. Mills". iTunes Store. March 5, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  30. ↑ "T. Mills Posts New Video". Sputnikmusic. n.d. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  31. 1 2 "Our New YNG FAV: T. Mills | NBC 7 San Diego". Nbcsandiego.com. n.d. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Announcing the Sammy Adams & T.Mills Tour | The Official T Mills Site". Tmillsmusic.com. n.d. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  33. ↑ "New Music: Mike Posner f/ T. Mills, Sammy Adams, & Niykee Heaton – 'We Own It (Remix)'". Rap-Up. June 27, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  34. ↑ "We The Kings announce 'Summer Fest' tour with Breathe Carolina, the Ready Set and T. Mills". Alternative Press. May 22, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  35. ↑ "Right before we wrecked a hotel #BTS All I Wanna do | the Official T …". Archived from the original on August 11, 2013.
  36. ↑ "Twitter / ilovetmills: All. I. Wanna. Do. 2.25.14". Twitter. February 18, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  37. ↑ "Highline Ballroom | 2015 Artist to Watch: MAX / Raury / Jacob Whitesides". Highline Ballroom. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  38. ↑ "Travis Mills Kicks off 2016 with "Don't Need Much": Idolator Premiere". January 22, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Don't Need Much – Single by T. Mills". iTunes. January 22, 2016.
  40. ↑ "Don't Need Much".
  41. ↑ Brendan V (April 9, 2016). "Travis Mills – While You Wait EP". DJBooth. The DJ Booth LLC.
  42. 1 2 "While You Wait – EP by Travis Mills on Apple Music". iTunes, Apple Music. April 8, 2017.
  43. ↑ "The 10 Best Dressed Men of the Week". July 16, 2016.
  44. ↑ "girlfriends". Big Noise. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  45. ↑ Dowd, Rachael (October 2, 2020). "girlfriends announce debut self-titled album". Highlight Magazine. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  46. ↑ Jr, Ruben Perez (March 11, 2023). "girlfriends Drops New Single, "Over My Dead Body"". Entertainment Rocks. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  47. ↑ Major, Michael. "girlfriends Drops Brand New Single 'Over My Dead Body'". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  48. ↑ "T. Mills: Backstage Diaries". Young Hollywood.
  49. ↑ "Artist on the Rise: T. Mills". 98.7 FM. February 26, 2014.
  50. ↑ Barbara (March 27, 2015). "Columbia Records singer T. Mills to perform April 1 in Great Hall". Dunn County News.
  51. ↑ "T.Mills: The Playlist Artist". Forbes. April 18, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  52. ↑ "AOL.com Video – Rapper T. Mills on His Beginnings as a Musician". n.d. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  53. ↑ Petski, Denise (August 26, 2015). "Emily Bergl Joins ABC's 'American Crime'; Travis Mills In 'Flaked'". Daedline. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  54. ↑ Hawkins, Amber (September 25, 2019). "MTV Taking on Ghosting With New Reality Show Starring Rachel Lindsay and Travis Mills". Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  55. ↑
  56. ↑ "Buzzworthy Blog Exclusive: T. Mill Q&A | Video". MTV. December 14, 2011. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  57. ↑ "Daily Loud Interview With T. Mills". November 30, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2013 – via YouTube.
  58. ↑ "#TatTales Week 2: T. Mills (@ilovetmills)". The Source. n.d. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  59. ↑ "Travis Mills Instagram post". Instagram. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  60. ↑ "Madelaine Petsch Reflects on Travis Mills Split: Complete Relationship and Breakup Timeline". J-14. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  61. ↑ "Riverdale's Madelaine Petsch Says She Reached an "All Time Low" After Travis Mills Breakup". Retrieved August 12, 2023.
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