June and Johnny, Sonny and Cher, Jane and Serge, pop culture is no stranger to romantic pop duos. But the context, and the intimacy has shifted (I see you, Instagram), and for Big Sean and Jhené Aiko, their connection is both immediately palpable and on blast for public consumption—every sweet glance, expressed admiration, and symmetric giggle of their productive creative partnership. Read more…

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.”

It’s powerful and inspiring to see two souls sharing a sweet fantasy, but it comes with great risk—public scrutiny. One only has to mention TomKat or Bennifer to invoke memories of turbulent mass media breakups, bite-size nuggets of drama threading pop culture with painful play-by-plays, and exploitative tabloid recaps.

Hands up for Aiko and Sean, though. Their chemistry today is a sight to marvel. 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.”

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