Travis Porter

The three MCs who comprise Travis Porter first assembled under the name Hard Hitters in 2006 before adopting their current, cryptic title in 2008. Lakeem Mattox, performing as Ali, Donquez Woods, performing as Quez, and Harold Duncan, performing as Strap, had grown up alongside one another in Decatur, Georgia, and launched the group with the explicit aim of rising through rap’s ranks from the bottom. The irreverent trio quickly built an online following by posting videos on their YouTube channel and issuing four mixtapes throughout 2009: Who Is Travis Porter?, I’m a Differenter, I’m a Differenter 2, and Streets R’Us. That same year the crew stirred unintended controversy by including an early version of Roscoe Dash’s single “All the Way Turnt Up,” on which they had appeared as guests, on one of their own projects; Dash later re-cut the track with Soulja Boy and issued the revised recording in 2010. Three additional mixtapes arrived in 2010—Proud 2 Be a Problem, I Am Travis Porter, and Differenter Gang—after which major labels began pursuing the group for wider distribution. Travis Porter ultimately chose to sign with Jive late that year, yet the imprint was shuttered in 2011 by its parent company, RCA. The trio’s first full-length project, From Day 1, surfaced the following year on RCA and featured production contributions from Diplo, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, and additional producers.