Blending together elements of indie, R&B, and hip-hop, the seven-piece collective L0$T Boyz recently burst onto the Chicago music scene with a recent series of amped-up live shows. Forming in 2023, the group’s lineup consists of Jay Fuck, TED, Tasio, Biggs, Malcom ex, Jah Damm, and East Venti. The various members hail from either Oak Park or Lindenhurst and they intend to further solidify their existence with an upcoming debut project set to be released sometime in 2024.

In anticipation of their upcoming project and a breakout year, These Days sat down with all seven members at the end of 2023 to talk about how the group came together, how they work as a collective, and what they have been working on.

How far into the recording [process] are you with the album?

Malcom ex: So right now, with the Lost in Translation project going on, we mainly just have beats sent out. Everyone's sent out beats that we all have from our producers or we produced ourselves. And we've kind of all been listening to them […] in our own free time. We're talking about recording sessions as well. We have the band also going to be doing some rehearsals with us before the show. And we're trying to do more than just one project here. Trying to possibly [have] like a two-piece project where one project might be mainly instrumentals and beats we had and then the other project that will come maybe January, February, that would be a project with mainly plugin kind of sounds for the band. So it'll be a live recording of the band.

Jah Damm: We're hashing out the details for all the specifics, but there’s not like a hard launch date or anything yet. But for like the collaboration efforts, … we're just passing around beats, sending each other ideas, and like what everyone's style is, cause we have a lot of similar, cohesive styles together. Me and East work on a lot of songs together. Tasio and TED have worked together. Malcom and me worked together. Me and Biggs have similar sounds. So like just finding the good match between all of our sounds. […] Once we get everything going it’s going to be a fast process. We just have to sit down while we're planning the show as well. It's like we want to focus on one thing at a time. We don't wanna overwhelm ourselves trying to work on a project and plan a show and rehearse for the show and try to make new music all at the same time. So it's all about balance right now. So we don’t want to like rush anything. We want to make sure we’re getting the best project out as efficiently as possible. It's all about communication between each other, like we’re working on different instrumentals, we’re trying to sync up studio time, work together in person. Just really get a good ear for each other’s sound. What type of production sound they want. All these different type of things that we have to really collaborate on so we can get the best project possible. We’re aiming for something for the end of the year whether that’d be a single drop or a video or something. But next year, 2024 for sure we're trying to put something together.

Will every song on the new project have an individualized approach or will everyone have input on every track?

Jah Damm: I would think of it more like a Wu-Tang type of scenario where like, we may not have every artist on each song, but it'll be a full collective group effort. We may see a song with me and Jay on it. We may see a song with Malcom, Venti and TED on it. We may see a song with Biggs and Tasio or something like you never know. So we just want to be able to put everyone together. Maybe some songs it’s just Malcom on the hook and then everyone else is on it. Or we all go back and forth like a posse cut type of deal. So it's all about just putting it together. It's not gonna be like this one thing where we all just have a tape of our own individual songs and then like throw one or two [group songs] in there. It's gonna be like a whole collaborative effort where we're going to see a little bit of everyone in their own style, but as a group so you can understand where we come from and what we do well, and how we all work together.

What overall sound would you say you're striving for? And if there are multiple stylistic differences, what fusions do you think you'd ideally like to shoot for as well?

Malcom ex: It's going to be a crazy ass project just because of the way everyone's gonna flow off each other and everything. A third of the project could just be some R&B shit you know. Biggs and I could hit some […] melodies on hooks. Jah, he might produce the whole motherfucking thing on that one. And he brings us some funky shit. And East Venti being the fucking MC he is, he’ll come in and burn that bitch out. We can even have TED fucking throw some hooks on that bitch. And then we can turn around and have some indie shit with Jay and Tasio. Instead of Jay’s normal aggressive [delivery], we form it into more of a serenity. So it's like a butterfly flying through fucking machine gun fire. It's aggressive, but it's also beautiful at the same time.

Tasio: For the first project, I think once we established everyone's sound and how we sync up with each other, how the synergy is. I feel like the more we go into it, the more we experiment with each other's sound. There's so much that we could do. And the way I see it, I just can't see us not winning. In terms of like, how each of us go about making our own music and how we're so in tune with each in terms of how we take criticisms and ideas and how we put it all together with shows and how we’ve talked to each other so far. It's all about that studio time now. So I feel like once we get that under our belt, and the more we mingle with each other as well as like, pay attention to each other. I feel like it's just only up from there.

Approximately when do you think this product started really getting conceptualized?

TED: I would say it's like pretty early in that process. The concept is definitely coming together. We're getting a better idea of each other's sounds, which we already had a good idea about. But as far as the recording, putting things down, mastering, and getting us where we want, I think it's still super early into that process. Which is also why we wouldn't want to put a hard date on it or anything yet. Because we just wanted to come together naturally, and you don’t want to force anything. We’re taking our time, but we also are getting it done. Like, it's definitely a priority. But I think the cool thing about it too is this group has a lot of contrast. We have a pretty wide range of things we do but pretty much everyone in the group also has similarities to where like, any one of us could get on a track together and it could work. But if you're getting a project from all of us, it's not gonna be the same song 12 times. It's gonna be something totally different. We have a lot of different ranges of sounds, and contrasts we can hit, especially mixing up the members of the group, who's going where. So I think it'll be really cool to see it come together.

Jah Damm: It really comes down to keeping everybody in the studio. I know we’re all busy with work, and getting shows together. I do […] a podcast on top of everything. So it's all about timing for the most part. But I know the holidays are coming up. So after the holidays, we can kind of start settling down and have a little more structure to the schedule, so we can get the ball rolling on a lot of things.

Are y'all working in an actual studio the whole time, are you doing any home setups or is there a mix of both?

Jah Damm: So I have a studio that I record at and we will probably record [in] moving forward. I'm sure Malcom has his own studios, he goes to as well. So there are a couple of different spots we can go to. It all depends on what location works best for everyone because we're all kind of spread out. We're not in like one central location. So it's all about timing-wise, what's the best location to record?  We're pretty flexible. We're not gonna just be at home sending verses back and forth. We’re gonna link up and like get into the studio altogether.

How did the group come together? When was the official start date? 

Jay Fuck: A big part of it is one night, me and Malcom both went to a mutual friend’s show at a bar. And while we were both ordering at the bar, [we] locked eyes. We hadn't seen each other since high school basically. And we like fully reconnected, talked about music the whole night. He came over. We made a song. And we ended up performing that song at a show like a few weeks later. And [we] just had a bunch of energy from that night where we were like, ‘We need to get some group shit going.

Malcolm ex: I started thinking about like, when I moved back here to Chicago, what I wanted to do was music. The person who was putting me on with shows and people in Chicago when I first moved back was my boy, East Venti. And East Venti and I actually linked up while I was still in Cali. I met East Venti through a mutual friend Malcom Crawford. And East Venti and I recorded our first song called, “Nights.” He was actually St Blvd back then. We linked up with that. And then I already knew Jah (Damm) from way back in the day just because I knew his younger brother. And I've already heard Jah’s music. Jay and I have people around us that we'd already fucked with and we wanted to make music on our own. It got to that point where it's kind of like sitting and trying to do shows and trying to put on shows. And I gotta be honest, people who set up shows now in Chicago, it's shitty. Usually, the shows are shitty G. Not everyone on the lineup is hitting, you know. Was that person a hook up or did you actually think they were good? I was talking to Supa Bwe one day, and I was like, “Yo I’m trying to figure out how to get more shows and shit.” And he told me, “What you gotta do is host your own shows, and do a show with your own homies and your own people and shit.” And I came back to Jay and I was like, “Yo, we need to get on some group shit.” And that was when it was like a fucking dartboard G. And we had to call in who we wanted to bring in to bring on the best shows. Bring the best energy and shit. And we had our first full crew rehearsal and that was when we fucking knew like, this was it. We’re the L0$T Boyz. Everyone boosted everyone's energy in that room. And since then one person comments in the group chat and everyone responds like that. We move in unison.

Tasio: So basically, me and Jay went to college together for a little bit. We met through an eSports club. And we were playing games. Me and TED, […] we already were making music since after high school. It was just like some friend stuff. We were just rapping in this closet, right into a Blue Yeti mic on Audacity. And then eventually, I got a couple of songs under me and I was showing Jay. [He] was already doing his music video stuff. So Jay, before I even knew he made music, he shot me one or two videos […] and then eventually it just started growing more and more from there. We had that first L0$T Boyz show and it's just been so much more after that.

Biggs: So a few of the group members, them being Jay Fuck and Malcom ex, we grew up together. So in high school together we were all artistic in our own respective rights. Come a few years you know, we develop as artists in our own individual lanes. And then they both hit me up and were like, “Yo, we’re putting together a show. Would you like to be a part of it?” And I only knew a little bit early before I knew much about L0$T Boyz or whatnot. And they were like, “Bro, I think we can do something great.” They asked me to be a part of it. And then we had that first show as Tasio was talking about. It was fucking amazing. It was like we was all brothers. I met these wonderful guys at rehearsal. And the story wrote itself.

The group solidified in 2023 but various members had thrown around the idea of starting a collective for years.

Biggs: What really brought us together, at least from when I first met these guys, was just passion and hip-hop man. These boys can rap, you know. And on some real shit. It's organic, it's natural. They're not trying to be like anybody else. None of us are. And it's the individuality, the passion, and then like n***** can really get down to it when it come to it. It's fantastic.

How do you manage the collective input from each other while keeping an overall cohesive sound?

Malcom ex: We all believe the same concept of who you are as an artist shouldn’t be a character. There's no egos in the group. If there's something that's a problem for you, we talk about it or we make it work. If you see behind the scenes [of our last show], there's a little bit of clashing.  But it's like, everyone's on top of each other to make each other the best artist we can be. [Rehearsals] started off slow, but they get better and we work together and we see each other performing. We really were on each other like, “Yo scream your shit. This is your shit, bro. This is your track bro. Own your shit. Speak the fuck up, bro.” I remember telling TED, I told his ass in the middle of rehearsal, “Ted you just blew a bitch’s back out in the parking lot. You got two Dutches rolled up in your pocket G. And your fingers wet. Rap that shit.” And he came in there and murdered that shit. That's what the crew is. Our sound very much resembles who we are as individuals but also shows brotherhood.

How do you approach managing relationships in the collective?

Biggs: We have a big ass group chat and we've just been tossing ideas in there. Beats, pitches, you know, ideas. That’s how we […] keep the energy together and how we stay in communication about what we want to do.

What about when you're in person and there's a disagreement with an approach or something?

Biggs: I will say that I haven't been part of too many of those, but in the small moments we've had it's like as if you were settling a dispute with your siblings. There's understanding, and compromise. We're well-spoken so we can talk anything out. We just chop it up and that’s how we just keep going.

TED: The music is like the driver behind pretty much what all of us are doing I would say. So even when it's like a disagreement, or we’re like, “We can do this thing.” It's not an ego thing. We're not about to get pissed about it because we all got the same mission, the same goal. So we're really just trying to add to it any way possible. It's pretty organic and natural. Like all coming together, doing our own thing, but it felt cohesive still. So I don't think there's too much forcing of like, “We have to do this together. We have to do this at this time.” It kind of naturally grew. And then those little road bumps that we had to get worked out, like we're pretty good at motivating each other and saying that in a positive way versus just arguing or whatever. The music is really what we're worried about. There's not a lot of ego involved. So I think that kind of helps too. 

Malcom ex: Each member of the group is doing their own marketing for their own music. We market as a group as well as try to share each other's art. We do converse on things. So it's like, we have a show coming up […] that was a lot of conversation where it's like, “Hey guys, do you want to do a show on this date? Like this is the day we can get it. Is everyone available? What do you guys think about this and this? How do we want to come out? Are you guys cool with this order? Who do we think should be the first guy to come out with the first punch? A lot of our decisions are very conversed. So we’ll send [an idea] around. And we text around as well just to see what everyone's opinions are before we make a decision. There's no leader of this group.

Jay Fuck: I think the advantage of us being like a group of people that are multitalented is we don't have to lean on any form of outside people doing booking or like setting up shows. We set up, we get our DJs, we get our door people set up, we get concessions, like we'll have vendors at our shows. And we try to make it like an actual thing where we are independent as a group. We're doing the whole thing as all of us.

What can people generally expect from all your shows? 

Malcom ex: Well you’ll have the full L0$T Boyz lineup with the band Lady Loomis. We will [also] have another member of our group, Chief Cairo, who is our DJ of the group. He will be spinning in between sets and the venue will have [a] bar as well. You get to hang out with the L0$T Boyz, talk to us, get to know us as well. And we'll have one or two vendors […] with some merch out there.

How many times have y’all previously performed as a collective?

Malcom ex: Other than our last show as a full group, we haven't done any other shows yet. This is gonna be the second show as a full group, but members of the group have performed separately.

How would you like to see the group progress following the release of this project and this upcoming performance?

East Venti: As far as progression, definitely exponential growth. Definitely a growth that's tailored more organically than anything. We need as much authenticity as possible moving forward in the vein of being cohesive with each other. So as far as growth, it needs to be from an authentic standpoint. Checking in with each other. Bouncing ideas off of each other. Bouncing musical frequencies off of each other and trying to move forward in that vein.

Malcom ex: We have a lot of plans, and ideas out there for future projects to come. Videos and more shows to do. It's just we want to get this project going soon after this show just so then […] we can bring more to [our shows] other than individual pieces. So we can have a full group set where we're performing tracks off a group project as well. Later down the road, we're going to have some things coming in the way. We do a lot of our stuff in-house with videography, photography, as well as even directing music videos and stuff like that. So we have a lot of stuff on our storyboard for our group coming next year as well.

Anything else you feel I should know?

Biggs: I just can’t wait to see the progression. I'm so excited man. Me personally, I haven't met a collective of artists as genuine and as talented as these guys right here. It's really special man. A few of us grew up together so we have the chemistry there. In terms of like going to school, and playing sports together. Coming from that point of view […] the authenticity, as previously mentioned, is going to taste different to the public and I can't wait until they get it.

East Venti: I am excited for what’s to come. You gotta be excited for the future and you gotta be excited for [the potential]. Execution is another thing. Being able to execute no matter what level, what facet of execution. As long as we execute in our respective rights then things will go as far as we’re willing to take them.

TED: I think the potential is like crazy high. It's 2023. We just did our first show this year. We just did our first rehearsals this year. Got the group text going this year. We did all this so recently that it’s still pretty fresh. And even then it felt like we've been doing it longer. I think a lot of us were like happy to get a group like this together of like-minded people with the same mission. And then finally having that, it just clicked right away. The potential for the future is so high considering how well things have gone this newly into it. How well we're clicking and getting along. I think the longer we spend together, the more shows we do, the more shits gonna go up and grow. So I think we're in a really good spot right now.