Californian rapper and social media star Travis Tatum Mills was raised with a diverse mix of musical influences -- Elvis, Queen, Britney, blink-182, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony -- which informed much of his music. Born in Rancho Cucamonga in 1989, Mills began his musical journey at a young age, playing in a pop-punk band in high school before turning his focus toward hip-hop as a solo artist. In 2009, he began recording as T. Mills, signing with Uprising Records for the release of his Finders Keepers EP, which included both rap and Auto-Tuned emo rave-ups. His debut LP, Ready Fire Aim, contained more of the same mixture, featuring singer Dev on "Your Favorite" and the party-synth "Stupid Boy," which echoed Breathe Carolina and Cobra Starship. He made a label switch to Columbia for the release of a pair of EPs: 2012's Leaving Home and 2014's All I Wanna Do. A debut LP for the label never came to fruition, and in the interim, he released a pair of singles: the hard rapping "Loud" and "Young & Stupid" with T.I. He changed his stage name, using the full Travis, and unveiled the While You Wait EP with First Access Entertainment in 2016. Featuring Black Bear, Skizzy Mars, and Ty Dolla $ign, the EP focused on Mills' G-Eazy-esque rapping and languid R&B-inflected production, a full departure from the sound that defined his period as T. Mills. ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi