The Homies: On A Mission

First things first, please introduce for me The Homies…

Ace Pro, QuiisO, Shloob and 2forwOyNE make up The Homies. We are a dope collection of 4 artists based out of Louisville, Kentucky. We produce, engineer and manage ourselves.

Let’s hop right into this latest single, “White Lies,” featuring Jack Harlow — Tell me about this particular track; how did it come to fruition?

This track came about in Mean Streets studio in Atlanta. 2ForwOyNE and QuiisO were in the studio with Jack going through some tracks, and we decided to cook up something new. 2Fo made the beat on the spot, Jack went in and killed his part while QuiisO was writing his. We knocked it out in about an hour and some change.

Of course “White Lies’” comes courtesy of your just released Honest Living project — Although pretty self explanatory, still tell me, conceptually, what this title represents both to and for you all?

What Honest Living represents is something that we want to live by. We’re just like everyone else trying to make an “Honest Living,” we’re just doing it through music. We want people to feel us. Honest Living puts people in our shoes, and allows people to see us through their own lenses.

From both a personal and lyrical standpoint, what do each of you – individually – bring to The Homies specifically?

Personal: We’re all very much alike, and very different in the same breath. Shloob is a comedian in his spare time. He can also be reserved in most spaces, but he is as cool as cool can get. Ace is a natural born leader, and is a hell of a creative. The way he sees things are second to none. He has a cynical side to him that rubs with Quiis – who is also a cynic – sometimes the fake arguments that come from their dynamic is legend. 2forwOyNE has a bright and loving personality. Everyone that meets him ends up really magnetized to his energy and aura. It’s like he has this glowing thing around him, and everyone just gets all googly eyed and shit. QuiisO is a calm presence, and a part time comedian as well. Like everyone else in the group, he has a way about him that makes people gravitate to him just from how he carries himself. We all like a lot of the same things, and view things in similar lights.

Lyrical: if you want bars and more traditional raps, see Shloob and Ace. They can give you darker moods with bounce. If you want melodies and singing catchy lyrics, see 2Fo and QuiisO. They can give you brighter feels. There are times where we all swap these roles as well when we make new songs. We all make nice hooks and contribute these aspects in our own way. It’s dope to see how we approach songs from each individual perspective. It feels like a vin diagram where we overlap in each area, and it comes together to make dope shit.

Reflecting, tell me your whole inception into music — When did you all first become interested in it? And, how did it all begin for The Homies?

We all grew up in music. QuiisO’s family has a lot of singers and music enthusiasts. His uncle rapped. He played sax and piano in school as well. 2Fo plays drums, sax and piano as well. Ace has been pursuing music longer than all of us, and listens to an impressive swath of music across all genres and artists. Shloob is a student of rap and studies great lyricists. So it’s always been around for us. The Homies began from a larger friend group of the same name. One day during our freshman year [2012], QuiisO went over to 2Fo and Shloob’s dorm and saw 2Fo making beats. He told him he was trying to learn how to do it, too. They started linking and then started coming to Ace’s house to keep it going. We started as a producer group and realized “we should just rap on our own shit tbh!” That’s how The Homies were born.

Now you all are natives of…where exactly? So growing up, who all did / do you all consider to be your strongest musical influences?

We’re all from Louisville, Kentucky. QuiisO split time between Daytona and Chicago before he got there. Louisville is a melting pot in the Midwest, so there are a lot of different flavors as far as what you hear there and what the city likes. You will hear a little bit of everything there. As of right now, we’re our own influences. Mainly because we have everything we need. Growing up though, 2Fo and Shloob were influenced by West Coast artists and producers. Ace actually listens to a lot of R&B on his day to day playlists. QuiisO has influences from Chicago and appreciates International influences as well.

That said, how do you all classify your overall sound and / or style?

Our sound is ever changing, and we think something that sticks out for us is the fact that we have something for everyone. That is what’s so dope about us, because we can fill any type of vibe. We have something for every city, every type of person. We’re going to give you a bounce in a multitude of flavors. Take your pick.

When did Jack Harlow step into the picture? How did you all even manage to catch Harlow’s attention? And, as far as the group is concerned, what’s his specific role in it all?

We met Jack in 2014. Ace actually reached out to him after some of his work came out, and told him that he wanted to link and work with him. They had a few conversations and figured out they were aligned in how they view things. Then Jack started coming around the rest of The Homies, creating their own personal connections with him. That’s when we started having talks of doing this thing together, thus Private Garden is born. He is the face and one of the leaders of Private Garden; he serves as the standard for where we want to be and is showing us how things can go in this industry. But his main role is just being our friend, and being present for us when we need him.

Switching gears here,.. Longevity, what do you all feel it’ll be that’ll continue sustaining you all in music?

We feel like our ability to make a lot of different types of music, our work ethic, our talents and personalities, will keep us as a staple in music. We’re here to stay and people will realize it soon.

What do you all want people to get from your music?

The main thing we want people to get from our music is that we’re alike in a lot of ways. We’re just like everyone else, and we’re all in this life thing together. We want to be people’s soundtrack to life. We want people to feel good when they hear our stuff.

On a more serious note, are you all happy with the current state of Hip Hop music?

The current state of Hip Hop is more good than bad in our eyes. Hip Hop is more visible than ever before. Hip Hop artists are doing more than ever before, and it’s only getting bigger. There’s lanes for everyone, there’s space for everyone. There’s still things that can be different now, but Hip Hop is always changing, too. So “happy” we wouldn’t say necessarily, but no one is disgruntled with how things are going. Maybe that answer will change a little further down the line.

Do you all have any other outside / additional aspirations, maybe even completely away from music?

2Fo wants to start a non profit for basketball in KY to help get kids more looks in the city. Ace is already a jack of all trades, and has things in film and television he is eyeing. Shloob is a big personality and could be everywhere; the fashion industry will love him. QuiisO is wanting to jump into acting soon. He also has a couple businesses he wants to start as well. We all have aspirations to give back to our communities, and to make our mark in more than just music.

To date, what has been your greatest career achievement(s), at least thus far anyway?

So far our greatest achievement is having a song hit 1 million plus streams on one platform in under 3 weeks. Then, of course, being added to a sold out tour.

Finally, what’s next for The Homies?

The next thing for The Homies would be to just capitalize on the momentum we have going. We’re going back to work. We’ve even been recording on tour. We want to make sure we keep elevating and networking until the mission is complete.

Is there anything I left out, or just plain forgot to mention?

Nothing that we can think of.

Any “closing” thought(s) for our readers?

Follow us @playthehomies and stream Honest Living on all platforms! Hopefully the next time you all have us we’ll have some Grammys or something.