As a duo, Big Sean and Jhené Aiko form TWENTY88—combining an angelic singer songwriter from Los Angeles with a catchy Detroit lyricist—to take us on a journey through a relationship.
“Music now doesn’t really cater to the feelings of a real relationship,” says Aiko via Skype from New Zealand where she’s on tour. “It’s all about trapping and bragging. I feel like this project is something that’s needed right now.” Sean nods—he currently sits on a couch in his living room in Hollywood Hills. “The whole idea of the man and woman duet” Aiko continues, “Especially a whole project, is just good for people to see. That duality is a perfect combination.”
The frequent collaborators—most notably on “I Know” off of Sean’s latest album Dark Sky Paradise—have created an album that conjures ’90s R&B and ’70s experimental rock/soul with their eponymous TWENTY88 record. The album also mixes neo-soul, ambient beats, and trap drums courtesy of producers like Da Internz.
As a whole, TWENTY88—out in April on Def Jam—is a departure from each artist’s individual sounds. “It’s a wide range,” says the 28-year-old Aiko. “It gets turned up,” adds Sean, “then it gets melodic, then it gets vibed out. It touches all these things, but it sounds very cohesive.”
“Two-Minute Warning,” which features K-Ci and JoJo, is the most sexually explicit song on TWENTY88. It’s on this track that Aiko says she, “Stepped out of my comfort zone. That was a part to of me that I haven’t really shown to the public.” On “Talk Show” Aiko calls Sean out for ****ing around on her before admitting she stepped out on him too. “Since we invited everyone in the bedroom, let’s take the covers off,” Sean spits.
No shade.
I'm super excited for new music 
