What do you think it says?
Daniel: That that’s what you guys are attracted to. Be honest about it, we dropped a song [“What’s Up”] right after, [we’re literally in the video] in the rain with Jagged Edge [laughs], doing the things that people are saying they’ve been missing in R&B, which is the remorse and the “I miss you” and the honesty and begging for somebody back. And as much as people love the song—and the song’s doing good and growing—I didn’t see the whole world have something to say about it from day one.
There is something about R&B that seems stuck in nostalgia and I don’t know how that changes exactly.
Daniel: Hey, you don’t have to change it. We can accept it. It’s just, we gotta be able to have elements of [nostalgia] and have things that are progressing it. And for people that love nostalgic music—without trying to toot our own horn—DVSN are the ones when it comes to having a nostalgic feel to our music. I don’t think there is another R&B act out right now that has more of that than we’ve had in our discography so far.
Well, I guess what I’m saying is that artists have to be allowed to experiment and adapt and change. People think that the issue with R&B is, “They’re not doing what they used to do and that’s why it’s not as successful.” But actually, it’s probably not as successful because it’s the only genre that’s not allowed to adapt to the youth of whatever generation is currently listening.
Daniel: I do agree with that partially, but even with that said, let’s be honest about it. It’s not doing what it used to do, because the people that are doing the things that it used to do are the ones that are the least talked about. Think about anyone that’s leading in R&B right now. Is it because they sound like what they sounded like in 1993, 1994, ’96? No, they’re the ones that are probably the furthest from that. The people that are the ones that are actually making love songs are the artists that are being looked over. I think there has to be a happy medium, which is what’s kind of our mindset going into this album, we’re trying to progress it by adding back some of the things that are traditional. And “What’s Up” is an example of that, with Jagged Edge, a sound that we’ve heard, but still being brand new, as far as how we’re talking and coming about it.
How did meeting Jagged Edge come about?
Daniel: Just one night after an R&B party, they decided to stop in [JD’s] studio and I happened to be there, and they were like, “We’re fans. We heard the project you did with Ty Dolla $ign, you hard, let me hear something.” And they heard “What’s Up” and they were like, “Yo, this is one of those timeless R&B songs that can literally play forever, man. You need to feel extremely proud of this ’cause this song right here, like, I wanna just go home and just listen to this all day.” And I just felt honored by that. And it wasn’t until weeks later, we were completely finished with the song, and 85 was like, “Yo, what if we put Jagged Edge on there… Let them come on and harmonize and hit some of those classic vibes in the back since they love the record so much ? It could help bring out that BCox piano that we put in there.” And it’s been really dope being able to have legends involved and as excited about a new age record. That says a lot to me ’cause those guys are super writers themselves.
Nineteen85: Yeah. And to touch on JD’s influence of like mixing the old with the new, even just the way he told us to use the section that Daniel’s singing right off the top, technically it’s like an intro to the song, but it was gonna be a bridge at one point. And he’s like, “Nah, y’all should have that right at the front. Before the beat drops, let them know what they’re getting into.” And that’s so simple… It’s not to say that anybody can’t do that now, it’s just people don’t do it. It’s just like the small things that just change the listeners’ experience with the record.
Israel Daramola
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