Stop Sleepin: Travis Porter

A differenter is someone who is not a regular, aka someone who does things differently.

Travis Porter created this word to describe their unique sound and style. (They could not have been more on point with this definition!)  They call themselves differenters because they are not your average rap group from Atlanta.  In fact, they are starting to make a name for themselves in a sub genre that is new to hip hop in general. Travis Porter is not paying attention to any industry standards, but rather they are making the music that they like, as well as trying to make the music which they believe will bring their listeners the most fun!

To give you a further understanding of the word differenter and just who Travis Porter is, the group created this hilarious introductory video:

As funny and ridiculous as that video may have been, Travis Porter is truly setting out to change things with their music. To give you an introduction to their unique sound, listen to “Black Boy, White Boy” off their Im a Differenter mixtape:

The “Black Boy, White Boy” concept has been popular in Atlanta for a minute now, with the whole meaning behind the phrase being a person who embodies “black boy swag” while wearing “white boy tags”….aka a black hip hop artist or hip hop fan who dresses in Ralph Lauren and polo, etc.  When Travis Porter decided to put this concept into their hit record, it catapulted the group into the hip hop spotlight for both positive and negative reasons.

The negative heat thrown upon Travis Porter came from fellow ATL hip hop artists Young Dro and Yung LA.  These artists had already released a mixtape entitled Black Boy White Boy, and therefore claimed that Travis Porter stole the song’s concept from this mixtape which even had a song of the same title.  However, regardless of whether or not Travis Porter actually stole the concept, they ended up making a track that is light years above the “Black Boy, White Boy” song on Dro and LA’s mixtape.  (Dro and LA express their feelings on the situation in this video…)

Now If you don’t see what the big fuss is about, or have any doubts about how well received Travis Porter’s music is, check out this video where they have the whole crowd singing “Black Boy, White Boy.”  The awesome response that the group has received from their single has led to them produce this creative trailer for the song’s upcoming official music video:

Travis Porter’s rise to fame is coming at a time when Atlanta swag music has all but over-saturated the market.  The group acknowledge this situation, and has made it a point to say that they do not use the word swag to describe their style. In fact, in an effort to be different(er), Travis Porter creates fun music that comments on the swag, futuristic, trap sound.

With “Stupid Ad Libs” off of the I’m a Differenter mixtape, Travis porter puts forth a hilarious impersonation of their fellow southern rappers’ style and ad libs.  This is far from a diss record, and can actually be looked at as a compliment from the group to artists who entertain us with there unique style and ad libs.  Anyone who’s a fan of Southern Futuristic Stoopid Fruity Swag Music will like this track:

The song’s creative hook is made up of Yung LA’s “BOW,” OJ Da Juicman’s “AYE,” Gucci Mane’s “YEAAA,” and Young Jeezy’s “CHEAA” ad libs, and as you may have noticed, some of the lyrics are taken word for word from the artists being impersonated in an effort to mesh the whole southern sound into one hilarious track. As carefree and simple as this strategy may sound, it is definitely not easy to take a whole movement and place it so perfectly into a hit record!

Those two tracks have a very southern swag feel to them, but what makes this group special is their ability to switch it up.  They showcase this ability with the remake of The All American Rejects song “Gives You Hell,” off their I’m a Differenter mixtape:

In case you want to dive deeper into this group’s unique style and sound, check out their other standout tracks on the Who is Travis Porter? and I’m a Differenter 2 mixtapes!

Standout tracks from the group’s Who is Travis Porter mixtape are: Who the hell is Travis, I got it, Baddest bitch, and Shot me down. Heard below:

Standout tracks from the group’s I’m a Differenter 2 mixtape are: Turnt Up, That’s dem, Uh Huh, Addidas, Come with me, Boom Boom Clap, and Hood fuck with me. Heard below:

The group has stated that “Travis Porter” represents a lifestyle in which one does exactly what they want when they want.  Travis Porter is staying true to this lifestyle with their music, which they hope  inspires fans to let their own “Travis Porter” from within their individual personalities out!