Interview: Ahead of St. Pete show, Joey Valence & Brae talk Crocs, writing, and getting older

Joey Valence & Brae Credit: Connor Phillips

Before diving into more serious questions about their career and music, hip-hop duo Joey Valence & Brae (which often goes by its initials, “JVB”) took on a hard-hitting question about whether they had heard about Crocs’ new collaboration with Lego.

Brae jumped to respond, showcasing his elite fashion knowledge, telling Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, “Dude, I actually sent that post to Joey and was like, ‘these are pretty fucking cool.’”

Valence admitted the post missed his attention, claiming he’s been a little busy. “Thank you for notifying me,” Valence added, intrigued by this new collaboration of wearable bricks, teasing that they may sport the shoes on stage.

The playful banter mimics JVB’s aura: Never fearful of darker topics, but still silly and expressive.

The duo launched in 2021 with “Crank It Up,” a ‘90s hip hop-inspired rhythm paired with goofy lyrics. The pair has since released three albums (Punk Tactics, No Hands, and its latest, Hyperyouth, stylized in all caps), all recorded in Valence’s makeshift bedroom studio.

“I think it’s not because we don’t want to go to a studio. I think we just feel comfortable in our own house,” Valence told CL. “You don’t really need much. You just need your brain. There’s this stigma around needing a bunch of crazy equipment to make good music, and that’s just simply not true. At all.”

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The bedroom hip-hop studio quickly cemented the boys’ respective identities as resourceful underdogs. Instead of writing numerous albums and workshopping their favorite record into a neatly polished project, JVB sticks to its process. As some artists shy away from their older deposits, the two embrace growth and their sonic evolution.

“I will say it’s kind of hard to write stuff that isn’t really on a topic anymore. It used to just come out so easily. Just like write a bunch of bullshit. Write about anything. But now, in a lot of the songs, we want there to be a theme or a purpose,” Brae added. “You have to tailor it a little bit, but it’s making us stronger writers.”

Hyperyouth’s predecessors implemented purely punchline-based songs, which the duo shifted away from, but didn’t totally abandon. As they tackle penning message-driven lyrics, their third album maintains and reminisces on the central ideas that shaped JVB in the first place: Friendship and humor.

“We’re just developing ourselves as different kinds of writers, but a lot of the time just trying to make shit to make each other laugh,” Brae quipped.

At this point in a musical odyssey that stemmed from self-described “bullshit” to real, thematic narratives, Hyperyouth explores what it means to age in a time where de-aging promotion occupies our screens, and movies like “The Substance” suggest aging is a concept of horror, not nature.

“As you grow older, you shouldn’t lose that sense of your youth. Like, that’s quite literally the whole purpose of the album. I mean, I think about it a lot of the time, too. I get very introspective in terms of like, ‘I’m already Unc in this stage of my life,’” Valence explained, being met with a chortle from Brae. “I’m not, but like, it’s just a thing where life is life, dude. You just make the best of it. It doesn’t fucking matter. You just enjoy yourself.”

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“I think a lot of the time where everybody struggles with their age and how they’re feeling is purely based on time, place, and just overall setting,” Brae added. It is funny when people think they’re super washed up, ‘cause you can feel that way. It’s how you look at it. It’s your perspective on everything. You can be washed up at 15 if you wanna be, or you can be washed up at 65. You probably are washed up at 65, for sure. I’m trying to call it quits by 78,” Brae chuckled in a fairly standard, light-hearted manner.

Like a good chunk of its peers in the genre, JVB interpolates various genres into their unique sound through sampling ‘70s funk and 2000s EDM, just to scratch the surface. Naturally, the guys also favor collaboration, leaning on female and queer icons in recent releases. On the deluxe version of 2024’s No Hands, they featured Ayesha Erotica on the “Badder” remix of “The Baddest,” a testament to dancing. And on Hyperyouth, they feature Ms. “Friday” herself, Rebecca Black, in the 120 bpm club hit “See U Dance.” And that openness extends beyond genre. It also shapes who they collaborate with.

“We are so embracing of [the queer community] and personally just very welcoming of anybody expressing themself in any type of way. The whole point of JVB is that you can be whoever you want to be, and we just fucking love that,” Valence declared.

“I think there’s so much good queer art that comes from that community, and especially with a feature like Ayesha. I think we just naturally gravitate toward these more alternative personalities, and they just so happen to be part of the queer community. We love representing that, not only because we wanted to support that, but also it’s a nice contrast to our stupid voices.”

Hyperyouth’s title track kicks off the album with prerecorded audio of fans chanting “JVB,” highlighting their full-circle moment of evolving from kids with a dream to revered musicians playing sold-out shows on world tours. While the album pinpoints the guys’ success and growth, a deeper message reverberates.

Music is a universal art that extends to everyone, not an exclusionary practice.

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