Corey Latif and Aalias are far from green in the music world but as Lo Boii, they are emerging on the scene with a freshly unconventional sound. Hailing from Philadelphia and Cleveland, the R&B merging duo are heavily inspired by jazz and soul music. Influenced by the ‘80s new wave sound, their music is about a feeling. So much so, it actually lead them to their distinctive name.
Having collaborated together in the past for other artists like Faith Evans and Rihanna, Lo Boii eventually decided to join forces for their own creative endeavors after realizing their working chemistry was too obvious to ignore.
In April, they premiered their debut single “Floor Seats,” setting the lo-fi, deep wave tone for their debut EP Sex Doesn’t Sell…Anymore, which is out today.
Earlier this month, the group performed a full set for the first time in New York City. As Lo Boii prepared for their very first showcase as a duo at TheBasement in Los Angeles for the 2019 BET Awards kick-off festivities, they took some time with Rated R&B to discuss the creative process behind the EP. They also shared some background behind their inaugural single, how the pair began working together, working out of a home studio vs. a traditional studio setting and more.
How different is the creative process as an individual compared to working as Lo Boii? What’s something you learned from each other during the sessions for this EP?
There’s complete trust when we work, which makes the process smoother. Now, the only difference when we create individually is we don’t have this particular counterpart to bounce our ideas off of. The EP recording process just highlighted how important chemistry is and how it’s necessary if you’re gonna work in tandem with someone.
What’s the meaning behind the title, Sex Doesn’t Sell…Anymore? How is this theme consistent throughout this EP?
Sex Doesn’t Sell…Anymore is really our observation of the cultural landscape of today. Where you have successful artists of all shapes, sizes, genders, religions, etc. that don’t need to exploit sex to sell their art. Today, showing ass doesn’t feel like THE guaranteed marketing strategy.
In regards to the theme of the EP, it’s definitely consistent throughout sonically because there aren’t too many cooks in the kitchen. But like we said, the EP title is just an observation, nothing more.
Which song was your favorite to create? If you can, share a bit of the inspiration behind that.
The favorite was definitely “Floor Seats” because it was effortless to create. We were riding bikes along the LA River when we thought of incorporating the Eric Clapton classic “Change The World” into a song. It literally took like 30-40 minute min to create the whole song.
If you remember, what was the first moment or session you realized you had to create music together as a group as opposed to a producer/songwriter session?
After two or three years of writing for other people, we just wanted to express ourselves more thoroughly. It was apparent we had chemistry from day one and we were just waiting to set aside some time to create music for us. That just so happened to be three days before Aaron (Aalias) moved to LA.
You decided to record this EP in Aalias’ home studio. What made you two decide to use the home studio over a traditional studio? Also, what did you achieve sonically in this space that you both couldn’t accomplish in a traditional recording setting?
For one, it was way cheaper to record at the crib. But seriously, there’s a comfort to recording in your own space, where you’re not on the clock. On top of that, the records have an additional continuity because we used the same vocal chain and gear throughout the whole recording process.
Between the two, you’ve both worked with some amazing artists like Chris Brown, Ro James and Usher. Is there a song you created with them or any other artist that you wish you would’ve kept for this project or yourself?
No, because all of the artists that we have been able to create with have distinct sounds and styles that make what they do unique. So when we worked with them, it’s been really about crafting something different tailored to fit their vibe. That being said, who knows if we end up being the people who could make these songs, without having made all those ones first.
Stream Sex Doesn’t Sell…Anymore below.