Gym Class Heroes: As Cruel As School Children

Genre-busting New York 4-piece Gym Class Heroes are a 2007 success story after hitting the top 10 in the UK with their catchy single 'Cupid's Chokehold(Breakfast In America)'.

The song is also one of the biggest records in the US right now. Written by Roger Hodgson, formerly of Supertramp and Rich Davies of Supertramp, it uses the hook from the 1979 hit song, 'Breakfast In America' and features guest vocals by Patrick Stump (who also has a cameo role in the video).

Recognised today as true pioneers of live hip-hop, the roots of Gym Class Heroes can be traced way on back to 1997, when frontman Travis McCoy first met drummer Matt McGinley in High School.

The line-up was completed in 2001 with the addition of Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo on guitar and Eric Roberts on bass.

The band set to work on creating a new palette for hip-hop, replacing the programmed beats and samples of old with the live instrumentation of rock and roll.

As Cruel As School Children is marked by it's diverse grooves and warm organic textures and exudes the confidence and voracious musical appetite of a band that has won both popular and critical acclaim with their ability to seamlessly blend rap, rock and R&B.

Rooted in hip-hop

"Our music is rooted in hip-hop," explains McCoy, "but not restricted to it." In fact, crucial to the album's buoyant sound, was their mutual love for the funk-flavoured mainstream R&B of the 80's a la Prince and Ready for the World.

"Some of the arrangements in that stuff just blow me away," says Travis, "Those are the songs that last forever. We're definitely interested in making that type of music."

Always challenging perceptions of what hip-hop and indie rock could or should be, Gym Class Heroes are doing things on their own terms.

"In a sense," says McCoy, "we're a lot like the chubby kid smiling away on the album artwork. Everyone has an opinion of who he is and what he should be. He keeps smiling and doesn't change.

Instead he waits and watches the world around him change to fit his standards. This album is the chubby kid's middle finger held high."

As Cruel As School Children Track-listing:
1. The Queen and I
2. Shoot Down The Stars
3. New Friend Request
4. Clothes Off
5. Sloppy Love Jingle Pt.1
6. Viva La White Girl
7. 7 Weeks
8. It's OK But Just This Once
9. Sloppy Love Jingle Pt.2
10. Biters Block
11. Boys In Bands Interlude
12. Scandalous Scholastics
13. On My Own Time
14. Cupid's Chokehold(Breakfast In America)
15. Sloppy Love Jingle Pt.3