THEY. were formed by Denver producer Dante and Washington, D.C. producer/vocalist Drew Love. They both arrived in Los Angeles separately, choosing different songwriting paths: while Drew wrote for R&B singers like Chris Brown and Jeremih, Dante lent his talents to artists like will.i.am and Kelly Clarkson, even winning a Grammy for his work on Clarkson's "Mr. Know-It-All." After a chance meeting, Drew and Dante combined their talents and decided to officially form an act. Once the Zhu track built a large online following -- racking up millions of streams -- they released their debut EP, Nü Religion, in late 2015. The three-song effort featured heavy guitar effects, atmospheric production, and a combination of woozy singing and rapping, like the Weeknd, the-Dream, and Mind of a Genius labelmate Gallant.
In 2016, the duo released "Say When," a biting indictment of police brutality against Black Americans that layered jagged guitar and Drew's gritty rapping. The ominous "Deep End" followed months later as THEY. were in the midst of a world tour with Bryson Tiller. These tracks would appear on their debut full-length, Nü Religion: HYENA, which arrived in early 2017. THEY. returned the following year with the singles "Thrive," "Ain't the Same," and "What I Know Now," featuring Wiz Khalifa. The latter track appeared on their star-studded Fireside EP, which recruited Jessie Reyez, Jeremih, Vic Mensa, Ty Dolla $ign, and Gallant for six genre-blending collaborations.
In 2019, THEY. teamed with Dillon Francis for "'Til I Die," which they followed with "Stop Playin." The duo began 2020 with the stand-alone single "Red Light Green Light," then began issuing tracks like "Count Me In" and "STCU" with Juicy J, which appeared on their next album, The Amanda Tape. A version of "Count Me In" featuring Kiana Ledé was released in 2021. The next year, THEY. released "Blü Moon," "Comfortable" (featuring Fana Hues), and "Lonely" (featuring Bino Rideaux). ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi
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U Rite |
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Deep End |
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Dante's Creek |