Making music by yourself can be hard, and finding someone who you work well with creatively can be even more of a challenge. To top that off, releasing the collaboration — the most important step — is where many creatives butt heads.
Needless to say, it can be hard to successfully collaborate with someone, especially a person you haven’t known for very long. However, in the case of rapper Jo. Flip and producer VININ, the case couldn’t be further from different.
Jo is from North Carolina, representing Asheville and bringing to the table a certain sonic landscape only heard in the Carolinas; VININ hails from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, which leads to a type of “All-American” sounding style that, if invested in, could spark a whole new trend.
Both men cite hip-hop and EDM as their primary influences, and one could argue that the connection forged between adolescent music taste, regional soundscapes and love for new melodic rap is what makes this duo work so well.
“When I finally got Spotify in 2016, I was quickly impressed by rap music…like Lil Wayne, Migos, Big Sean and Kendrick [Lamar],” Jo. Flip said. “Not only rap though; I also started listening to EDM as well…Kygo was always one guy that I could listen to on repeat.”
“I feel like I got into the rap scene a little late in terms of producing,” VININ added. “I began my music production journey trying to produce EDM, but I always listened to rap music though…guys like Eminem, Logic and Lil Uzi Vert.”
As for “Frozen” itself, it veers more toward 2000’s rock and SoundCloud-era rap, something that both artists did on purpose. It sounds less like Juice WRLD, Trippie Redd and Polo G and more like Blink-182, Boston Scorpion and a little Iann Dior.
“Typically, we make melodic rap music, but we wanted to branch out and try something new,” Jo. Flip said. “We both agreed that this would be a perfect track to blend that classic rock sound with the new age sound of the SoundCloud rap era.”
“When I made the beat for Jo, I knew I wanted to go with a pop-rock vibe,” VININ said. “A lot of the inspiration came from Iann Dior, and that can be heard in the drum patterns and structure of the song.”
Each aspect of production and engineering was handled by VININ himself, which just goes to show you: These guys are not relying on anyone else to succeed.
So, is the collaborative era going to end anytime soon? The answer to that is a resounding no, in fact, 2024 is going to be filled with Jo. Flip and VININ, so be ready.
“We decided that with the rate we make music, it would be beneficial to release as much of it as possible,” both Jo. Flip and VININ said. “That being said, in 2024, we will be releasing a song every week on Fridays. We both agree that it’s time to really put our heads down and get to work…It’s time to let the world see our whole creative process.”
To learn more about Jo. Flip, follow him on Instagram and listen to him on Spotify.
To learn more about VININ, follow him on Instagram and listen to him on Spotify.