Top-tier brother duo Baby Gravy are ready to release their best project yet!
It’s no secret that music has never failed to let us feel whatever we need to feel and channel all the pent-up energy and creativity to create something. For others, it’s a way to circumvent thoughts they can’t explicitly say, while many see it as a mood boost. And if you’ve ever listened to a few seconds of Goodness Gracious by BABY GRAVY—the rap duo made up of Yung Gravy and bbno$—we all know that they’re ready to bring everyone else a damn good time. After all, who would launch into song and dance after getting washed on a deserted island?
Many might know Yung Gravy (Matthew Hauri) as the voice behind the pandemic hit called Betty, and bbno$ (Alexander Leon Gumuchian) as the rapper who made the addictive Lalala. But the two are also known to be best friends and frequent collaborators if their BABY GRAVY releases are any indication. Regardless of the carefree attitude on-screen and via our quick Zoom call, Yung Gravy and bbno$ approach music with a no-nonsense attitude. They play and have fun, but at the core of it is a high appreciation for each other. And while people go against working with your best friend, it’s work that brought these two brothers together.
“It's just two dudes, shirts off in the studio making music and having fun,” shares bbno$ when asked about their dynamic. “Because at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is just trying to have as much fun as you can, right?”
“It's like a blessing to have kind of a collab partner and be able to bounce ideas off each other, especially when we're together in person, but unfortunately, that's rare,” expresses Yung Gravy. “We both love making music, and if there's anything we ever disagree about, it's some sort of creative for a song or something, and we always find a medium.”
Up ahead, we speak to the artists of Baby Gravy about working together, Goodness Gracious and what else is cooking for BABY GRAVY 3.
View this post on Instagram
RELATED: Big Night Out? 10 Best Songs to Get You Pumped
Wonder: During the gap between BABY GRAVY 2 and BABY GRAVY 3, you guys also hopped on each other’s solo projects, so your joint work has been steady. But what made you decide it’s time to return as a duo?
bbno$: It’s difficult to find someone you want to work with. That doesn't make it impossible if that makes sense. And [Yung Gravy] and I just have fun making music, and it's just like us giggling most of the time. And I think we both respect each other enough to the point where it's just like, whatever he's going to do on a song is good enough. It's sick. We just don't make it that difficult. We let it flow. And realistically, if we wanted to make more music with each other, I think Baby Gravy 18 would probably be out at this point. But we have to do our own thing sometimes.
Yung Gravy: We're both so busy that it doesn't work out like that. BABY GRAVY 3 is coming now because we both ended up having some time off for work. We made a big sum of the whole project in a few weeks period when we were both together, and then all of the smaller things we've been doing remotely, which is actually working out well. We’re both perfectionists, and luckily, there's a huge crossover in what we both think is perfect, so we both will touch things up to our own tastes, but we end up almost always agreeing on what's our favorite, what needs to be released, all that sort of thing.
W: The first taste of BABY GRAVY 3 comes in the form of Goodness Gracious. What is it about the song that made you think, “Hey! Let’s start the era with this one!”
B: I don't know… The song rips, I guess? That was, realistically, one of the more finished songs, and people liked it from our team. And I was like, you know, this kind of goes crazy. And then, he was going to do a show in Hawaii, and I was like, “Yeah, I'll just pull to Hawaii!” We just did a music video [there] and had a great time.
YG: Yeah, we both liked Goodness Gracious, and we had both tried this sort of style. It's more like a surf-rock, rap-duo deal. I think part of it is, honestly, it just came together because I had a show in Hawaii and he just happened to have off days at the same time. And I was like, “Yo, this song sounds like surfing. Let's go surfing and make a video.” And then it all came together; it was the first single I saw.
B: I feel like we don't put that much thought into things. When it comes out to the rollout of music, it's like if the song is good, let's just put it out—[that's] how it works. And I do think that [BABY GRAVY 3] is easily our best project. I mean, there are only three to work after and go against. But the first one was like an EP and the second one has more misses than this one. This one is like pretty much all bullseye, in my opinion. Everybody's got a lot better at making music.
YG: We knew we had a really beautiful place to shoot—it was on an island and we both like the movie Castaway. “Oh my God, let's do something like that!” But you know, throw a twist on it, and the videographer that we had pushed us to go out to these places, take our shoes off and embody the castaway vibes. We had a good shoot. It was fun, but we were acting the whole time.
RELATED: Owfuck Drops Debut Album ‘ACIDIC’
W: Speaking of Goodness Gracious, what’s the origin story behind the song? How did this track come about?
B: I remember I was sitting at my manager's house, and I was just writing a bunch of lyrics like the pre-chorus where it goes like, “I got that wet hair, don't care.” And then I went into the studio with Diamond Pistols, and then I sent it to Matt. He said, “This rips!” And that was it.
YG: I heard it, and I was like, “All right, it's pretty much it was done.” [Goodness Gracious] was already put together. So we listened to the structure of the song—it’s like his hooks in my verses, which we've done a few times. The song was so perfect in my eyes that if I wanted to add something, I didn't want to take away from the hook, so it's up in the verses. I think that's something we're good at— finding what you know about the song, who can provide what's necessary and perfect it.
W: Which part of the song are you extremely proud of?
B: I mean, I like the song in full. My favorite part is how we both come in on the first verse. It's like objectively the best part of the song.
YG: And the whole video and everything. I guess, I associate everything together now because we dropped it all around the same time, but the video makes me like the whole thing.
View this post on Instagram
RELATED: Take a Sonic Trip Through Time With Space-Ta’s New Album
W: So part of it is mostly having fun with each other?
B: If we weren't having fun, I don't think we would do this, to be honest. How could you not be having fun when we're taking our clothes off in Hawaii for one singular day? You know what I mean? Sometimes I get lost in the numbers and expectations of how things should go. But then I realized, I just came out from China after doing 19 shows and I just played 19 hours of my favorite video game and didn't give myself any sleep. And now I feel like absolute horseshit. So life's great, you know?
YG: We kind of got used to it, and it feels it’s fully weird hours and overworking ourselves. But overall, it's so many cool experiences, a great time and we both reflect on that together. It's good to have someone else who's experiencing the same thing. So [bbno$] and I have a good dynamic when discussing everything.
B: Sometimes, our jobs can get a little overwhelming in reality, and it's difficult to relate to other people, even in the business. Sometimes, people don't give you the time of day in the business to speak about genuine emotional well-being, and I feel like I've been doing tons of work. I know [Yung Gravy]’s been doing tons of work on himself. So it's just brotherhood. Yeah. It's nice to have someone that actually gets me in this business.
YG: Yeah. And it was great to become friends before partners. You know, we were already tight before all the success occurred. That really benefited both of us emotionally.
W: If you could describe BABY GRAVY 3 in one sentence, what would it be and why?
B: How about this? “It’s better than a turkey sandwich.”
YG: How to describe BABY GRAVY 3 in a sentence…”The boys are back in town.”
RELATED: Felip Fully Breaks Away From Expectations in “COM•PLEX”
So while we wait for the glory that is BABY GRAVY 3 to drop, we’ll be playing Goodness Gracious on loop with You Need Jesus in the mix.
Art Macky Arquilla
