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It's hard not to root for PARTYOF2, they are the epitome of survivors, bringing a class and curiosity to every project, infusing a philosophy of persistence that resonates while meditating or moving on a dance floor. On their latest release, AMERIKA'S NEXT TOP PARTY!, the duo merges varying styles, genres and tempos, playing to each others strengths, unafraid of convention but focused on the goal of emotional involvement. It's a two-pronged attack, making you bounce into insight. We’ve been obsessed for PARTYOF2 too long to not have these fine individuals speak their own words, about their own story. Results here:

OnesToWatch: My first question is always, why are you an artist? But I think in this context, you guys should also answer, why are you a group of artists? 

SWIM: I would say Jada and I, we work together because it feels like we have to. It feels like it's all we know. We have known each other for 15 years now, and after that long of going through life together, there's a certain level of trust that we have. Almost every creative endeavor requires collaboration, and I'm really blessed to have someone as trusted as Jada who also pushes me to be the best creative I can be. So it just felt inevitable from the moment that we met. 

Jada: Honestly, since I was a baby, there's been videos of me performing. I just always knew and felt that I was meant for the stage. I've been making music for a very long time, since I was eight years old. But never did I think I was going to end up in a group. So this was not the plan for me, to be honest, but I went independent when I was 18 and I still knew that I wanted to be an artist. At that point I had known SWIM for about five years, and we were just always creating together as kids. We were never the regular kids, going bowling and doing regular stuff, we were making videos and songs and just always creating some type of art. So like he said, I think it was inevitable that we would be working together. I'm very grateful to be so locked in with somebody creatively and personally. 

Awesome. I love how it was fated. What's your collaborative process? I’m especially curious about this as you’re a duo. 

SWIM: I think there is something really special about having a contrast in perspectives and finding a way to bring that together. We have a fantastic chemistry and I think a lot of people assume that that means that we get along all the time and we agree all the time and we like the same things and that's not the case at all. We disagree on a lot of things. It's the middle ground that we find within those differences that makes the creative so special. We really push and pull each other to show certain facets of our creativity that otherwise wouldn't be revealed. 

Jada: We both have our strengths and weaknesses and we uplift each other. We bring so many different things to the table. I also think it's just something that isn't common to see a male female duo. It's an endless pit of creativity to be had there. So we always play with that dynamic and it's just a really unique thing to witness, honestly. 


I'm glad you said that, Jada, because I hadn’t thought of it in a gendered way, but I guess there is a dynamic with that. Do you guys have a consistent writing process? What are your roles in the duo?

Jada: It definitely varies with every record. It's funny because with a certain record, we'll have our strengths and weaknesses and, you know, if it's a rap record, SWIM might be heavier in the writing or the flows. And if it's more of an R&B pop record, I’d have so many melodies to give him. So we're always testing our strengths and weaknesses, but what we do is open up a note and just throw all of our ideas on there. We get in the booth and we don't really think about it too much. We found that when we try to sit there and write the song and have everything ready and perfect, it feels forced. So we allow ourselves to do what feels right and authentic individually, and then see how we can blend our ideas together. Sometimes the lyrics don't come first and it's just sounds and random ideas. Sometimes it's the other way around. 


SWIM: I think our process is very experimental. I feel like if someone were to come into a studio session with us, they might be like, what the f*ck are these guys doing? 

Jada: We’ve had a few friends come to the studio and be like, I thought we were just hanging out partying… 

SWIM: It's us just having conversations or we're talking about this one scene in a movie and the way it made us feel, and that’s how the idea comes. A lot of it is experimentation. We usually start with sounds first and lead with the production. We love to interpolate. So sometimes we'll pull from super classic samples that give us a creative direction. And as Jada said before, she's very big on the melodies and so a lot of times she's leading topline stuff. And then I'm the East Coast kid who grew up on New York rap, so I'm very big on lyricism. Once the production is done, that's where our two heads go. Jada will have a melody idea and I’ll hear it and we’ll turn it into a bar. Then we just build on top of that. 

Love it. Let's dig into the upcoming LP. I’d love to hear about the title and art direction – Amerika’s Next Top Party – why the K in America? What is the imagery speaking to? 

Obviously, on the surface, it's a play on America's Next Top Model. If you read it and don't see the visuals, that's probably the first thing you think of. But from a visual aesthetic and even conceptually for this project, there was something really interesting to me about the idea of PARTYOF2 which goes back to what we were talking about earlier, the differences that we have and how that brings us together. PARTYOF2 also represents the two-party system that we have here in America. And so with this project, we changed the blue on the flag to black. And really what that was for us was a representation of what it feels like right now to be a black artist in America and the fight to be successful in your career, especially in such a crazy time in the world right now. The project touches on all those different things. It's a wide spectrum of the highs, the lows, of success and chasing your dreams, growing up and losing friends and having to take care of the people who used to take care of you… It was a big conversation that we had to have, in terms of using the flag on the cover, because I think on face value, it could be taken a certain way. For us, the intention behind it was not to celebrate the flag, but to critique it.
We want our music to reflect our differences and the things that we don't agree on and how we're able to find something amazing through that. The goal is to bring people together at the end of the day, ultimately. 

Jada: So eloquent. As far as just building the world around this album, it’s also important to say that this is the very first time that we had the opportunity to make a full project as PARTYOF2 and really build a world and aesthetic around it. So that was really important to us. From the political undertones, down to the uniform and the wardrobe and the visuals, it was just really important for us to make sure everything was cohesive and just come down banging on the door. 

In terms of the editing process for the album, how many songs were you pulling from to get to your 11 tracks that made the record? 

SWIM: Probably between one and two hundred. 

No way. Yeah, you guys are absolutely insane. Full songs? 

Jada: Demos. 

SWIM: Full songs, maybe 75. 

As if that’s a big difference… 

Jada: We had to get through some ideas to get to those final tracks that we were trying to reach. There were even titles we knew we wanted to have, like one called “Save Yourself,” so we had that concept but as the record was constantly evolving, it took a while to get closer and closer to the final form. 

SWIM: Also, this was our first time making an album as a duo, so there was so much experimentation. We worked on it for about two years. I'd say the first year was just us finding our process and how we work. It wasn’t until that second year that it started to really fall in line. 


I always find the self-editing process, even more so when it's a duo. What is the filter mechanism for you guys? How do you decide what makes the album? 

SWIM: It was really interesting because we wanted to kick down the door and kind of show everyone the full scope of what we can do, while still keeping the record cohesive. So I do remember that being a part of the conversation. It was like, let's make sure we have a rap, rock record, with something where people can dance, and something for hip-hop…

Jada: But to also keep it all in the same world. There are some songs we made for this that were great, but didn’t embody the world that we’re trying to build or story we’re trying to tell. We had to leave some really good songs off this project, but it was just being disciplined and knowing that there’s more music to be made and that we wanted to keep this vision really clear. These 11 tracks we landed on just really represented everything we wanted to talk about on the album. 

Love. Last thing on the album, I’d love to hear what it means to both of you that it’s finally coming out. 

Jada: Yeah, I mean… literally this morning, it hit me for some reason, that the album is coming out. It's honestly been a really hard journey. Lots of ups and downs, lots of moments where we just might have packed it up and said, let's just be done. But I'm really, really proud of us for persevering and just sticking with the vision that we had for ourselves. And it's just been great. You know, we signed last year and I'm very grateful to Def Jam for giving us the space to create our own world and just put our all into this album and I am so proud of all the subjects that we were able to cover. We talked about personal experiences that we wanted to cover on this album. I'm really proud of the way that those songs came out. They mean so much to me. I feel more connected to this project than I ever have felt connected to a project before. So I'm just really proud of this and I can't wait for people to honestly just get to know us more through the music. It's beautiful. 


SWIM: Yeah, to piggyback off of that, we were obviously a trio before this and to be frank, I think that in changing into a duo, a lot of the motivation for me in the very beginning was proving to people that we could still be successful. And there was a certain point throughout the creation of this album where I realized that I was actually trying to prove it to myself. I had a lot of insecurities and disbelief that I could still do this. So this album changed my life just by making it. Before this, our trio was the only people that I'd ever made music with. And, you know, so it was very scary to be in this position and now we're signed with Def Jam and there's all this pressure to be successful. So I think for me, the win has already happened by being able to make an album that I was able to heal through, learn more about myself, and really just reflect on what the last couple years have been like for me. I'm just really, really grateful for how everything turned out. And I've never felt like this before a project drops. Usually I am nervous as hell to see people's reactions and how they feel about it, and it's not that I don't care this time, it's just that it means so much to me, and I'm excited for people to hear it because of that. 


I love that for both of you. The struggle is the journey, and I think, as a listener, it comes across in a very special way. So I'm happy for you both. Pivoting to some fun questions. Who has the best ideas in the studio? 

Jada: I would say SWIM. 

SWIM: I was wondering if you were going to give that one to me. 

Jada: I'm going to give that one to you. 

SWIM: I appreciate it. 


Jada: He's always throwing something that's a little offputting out there or something that I would not really go for usually, whether it's a reference for a track that he wants to do or something he wants to interpolate. I'll be like, are you sure? But every time we make some magic out of it and I just trust his taste completely. 
And so for that, I will say you've got the best ideas. 

I always love asking this because I think they go together… so who has the worst ideas? 

SWIM: Probably me too. But it’s also because I’m throwing out just a lot of ideas. I can be a little scatterbrained – I handled most of the production on the record – so I’ll want to take a track in one direction, and then switch the sounds, then add a sample here. So for as many great ideas I have, there are an equal amount of bad ideas. 

Jada: But there are no bad ideas. They just don't work out. 

SWIM: That's actually a rule of ours. There are no bad ideas. 

We have the same here, and based on our feedback, the public doesn't agree. What will you do to celebrate this album release? Where do you go to celebrate – a restaurant, favorite place? 

Jada: We’re so boring, man. 

SWIM: Probably go in the studio and record more… I was trying to avoid saying that but it’s the honest truth. We love what we do so much. I celebrated two birthdays while making this album. I was at the studio both times. 100% by choice.
I think that I have to keep my head down, bro. 

Jada: Yeah, we don't celebrate too much. 


SWIM: We enjoy our work, it's so much more about the music for us than it is anything else. Even though we’re PARTYOF2, you won’t catch us at the club. 

The party is where you two are at it, clearly. That said, if you were to say have a celebratory meal, would you guys make it yourselves? Would you order in? What would it be? 

SWIM: Spaghetti. My mom has a great spaghetti recipe.

Jada: Oh, my God. I'll eat it every day. It just warms my tummy and it makes me feel good and happy. 


Any hints at the recipe? Is it traditional Red sauce?

Jada: It's the Ragu garden combination. Garden combination, with a little sugar. Tomato paste, gluten-free noodles for your girl with IBS over here. Some Parmesan cheese and you're good to go. 

All right, I love it. You two are given the gift to build your dream lineup… If you could throw together a festival of your choosing, invite anyone you want, dead or alive, who would you want to perform with? 

Jada: Beyonce? 

SWIM: I knew it was going to start with Beyonce. 

Jada: Tyler, the Creator. Doechii. Solange, sorry I need both of them. Missy Elliot.


SWIM: Slick Rick. Clips. Paramore. Tame Impala. Sade. 

Oh, wow. What a lineup. That's an easy sellout. To finish up, I’d like some recommendations. First, I’d love a non-music rec: an activity, place to go, something to do, anything. 

Jada: I recently just went to Disneyland Paris. I would recommend that for people of all ages, okay? It was the best experience just to be a kid again. We'd just been working so hard and that was just one of the best days of my life. Also, I’m going to throw a movie in there because it came to the top of mind.
Listen, everybody needs to watch The Substance. It's one of my favorite movies of all time now, with Demi Moore. I pull so much inspo from it for anything that we create, really. It's one of the best movies I've ever seen. 


SWIM: Piggybacking off the movie tip. I'm going to recommend going to the movies by yourself. It's really like meditation. It's very cool. Go put your phone on D&D. Let the homies know you're going to be busy for an hour and a half. Get your little snack or whatever, vibe out, enjoy yourself. It's very nice. I did it recently and I had a great time. Now, in terms of movies, this is so unexpected, but this is hands down my favorite movie: Hitch. I love that movie. It's so good.
Definitely on some chill shit when you just want to laugh and just have a lighthearted enjoyment, that's a great movie.

Finally, at OnesToWatch, we love when artists put us onto other artists who deserve some flowers. So who are your OnesToWatch? 

Jada: I’m gonna go Lola Young.
She's so good, and I know she's been having a really hard year, but her pen is incredible, her voice is so powerful, and she's so young. I just really respect what she's doing and I hope I can see her live one day. 

SWIM: There's this British kid, J.D. Cliff, I just discovered him. He’s a super fire, Black alternative artist in the UK that's really, really killing it. 

Alright, well before we conclude, I want to leave the mic open for you guys. Go ahead and share some advice, an anecdote, shout out anyone, shout out anything. The mic is yours.

Jada: Honestly I want to shout out our team for sticking with us through these rough patches and just having our back. They have been integral in this album rollout and I couldn’t ask for a better team, from Danielle to our manager, Jax, to the cover art designers, to our stylists. Everybody has had a part in this album rollout.

SWIM: It is much more than a party of two. The party is way bigger. I would like to say thank you to everybody, all the fans who have been with us and stuck with us through this transformation. It's been very, very scary for us and we've been feeling a lot of the love and support across everybody just really believing in us. It's an interesting feeling to feel like your fans believe in you even in times when you don't. That really uplifted this throughout this process. So thank you to our listeners and even you, dude. I know this sounds cliche, but we really care about this shit, and we've been watching OnesToWatch.We watch all these platforms that now we’ve worked on this press run, I've been meeting people whose articles I've been reading, who I've been seeing on Twitter. To meet these people who have an opinion on our music and enjoy what we do, it really is surreal. So, yeah, thank you, because this is our baby. This is our baby, and it means a lot. 

Well right back at you. It's been a beautiful journey. Best of luck in the future. 

Jada: Thank you so much. 

SWIM: We appreciate it, man. Thanks for taking the time.