R&B's Ar'mon & Trey on Staying Focused & Life in Detroit When Everybody Wanted to Be a Rapper

From smoothly transitioning from Vine fame to racking up millions of views for their YouTube covers before eventually signing to Warner Bros. Records, Ar'mon & Trey don't play when it comes to their music or the hustle. Attributing their accolades not to luck but hard work, it's easy to see why the brothers with the dynamic personalities continue to reach new heights with seemingly effortless ease. But, if you're in the grind you already know there's always more to it than it seems. Which is why we had to catch up with Ar'mon & Trey for the next installment in our 2019 interview series.

So, get ready for an interesting read as Ar'mon & Trey delve into their killer work ethic, growing up in Detroit when rap life ruled the city and how their new single, "Just In Case," featuring Yung Bleu transformed from a love song into a slow banger that would make Jodeci proud.

How was it growing up in a city responsible for birthing so many greats like Aaliyah, J Dilla and Stevie Wonder?

Ar'mon: It was lit. Detroit music has always been crazy. But you know, Detroit changed with the time and the music. A lot of people you just named were R&B, like singers. But, it became a point in time when no one in Detroit was singing, everybody was a rapper. Everybody was a hardcore rapper at that. So, it kind of shunned off the singer.

We grew up singing, but if we were rappers I think we would have got accepted more in the whole music world, in Detroit because that's what everyone wanted to be. So, really it took us to break somewhere else for everyone in our city to be like, "oh they're from here." You know what I'm saying? Because R&B was just not what it was anymore, it was just strictly Hip Hop. But, the pressure of it's just been lit. Like, we've never felt like we have to walk behind somebody or fulfill their footsteps.

Trey: Yeah, we just try to be the best we can be. You know what I'm saying? We just do our best and you know, practice and keep working.

That's dope. I know you guys are brothers, but aside from seeing each other every day,what influenced your decision to work together?

Ar'mon: Just how dope we felt each other were. Like me and him always knew we could do music. But, once we really started trying to do this music stuff, we figured out how dope we were and were just like, "Let's do this." So, it just happened to work out. We just ended up being blessed.

What's the one album that changed your life?

Trey: I love everything. I'm a person that can't really choose. It's hard for me to choose between stuff, like I just want to like everything. So, we just push through a lot of stuff.

Like, what were you listening to?

Trey: We were listening to R&B and Hip Hop. First of all, we listened to Destiny's Child. We listened to Jodeci. We listened to Chris. We listened to Trey Songz. We really liked Trey Songz album when he first dropped, the one that broke him, the 'Ready' album. I really liked that one. We listened to the 50 Cent album. We were listening to a lot of stuff and we took from a lot of that. We learned from a lot of things.

"Stay lit, stay humble, be great, talk to God and follow your dreams."

- Ar'mon

Yeah, I can hear the influence in your music. Your music is dope 🔥
What do you guys miss most about Vine?

Trey: I don't know... I really loved vine.

Ar'mon: I miss the atmosphere it brought.

Trey: Yeah, the atmosphere. Like, everybody would be on there posting. It seemed like everybody was just being fun. It was lowkey so many crazy talented people. Like it wasn't just singers, there were comedians, beatboxers, instrument players who were dope...

Ar'mon: And everybody was on a mission. So, it was a lot more fun. There weren't egos yet because everybody was trying to get somewhere. You get what I'm saying? So, it'd be fun to go on the app to see somebody that you watched and thought they were dope and they would be in your DM like, "Yo, we should do a video." The atmosphere was just good. You know what I'm saying? So, when everybody was coming up it was just all love on that app. I feel like that app really put a lot of people on.

I agree. So, your debut EP, 'Long Story Short,' is a banger. What was the creative process behind that?

Trey: The creative process from there was we were just creating. Really, we were just having fun. We recorded some in Miami, some of it Cali and some of it in Atlanta. So, it was just getting different vibes. You know, stuff like that.

Ar'mon: We were just going to different places recording, getting different vibes, writing out our feelings a lot of times. And you know, we're grateful to hear you say that it was good.

It was. 'Cause it just popped up on my Apple Music and then I was like, "who is this??" It was dope 🔥

So yeah, your new single, "Just In Case," is another banger. How did that come about?

Trey: We were just in the studio one night and we turned the beat on... We had brought two girls with us to the studio and we got in the booth... And really, the song was going in a whole different direction. It wasn't this explicit, it was more so going into a direction of love.

But, the two girls we brought, they were basically like, we just want to hear some "can you come pick us up and take me to..." So, then we were like, "alright, cool. Bet." 'Cause we were just writing. So, then when they said that we were like, "alright, bet!" So, that's how we ended up writing this song. We just got in there and started writing it.

"Even if it's just a little bit of progress, that's still something. And eventually what you want in that and what you dream about will come to pass. "

- Trey

You guys are known for giving 100% in everything you do. Where does that work ethiccome from?

Ar'mon: It's us being self-motivated and us knowing where we want to be in life. We got a lot of motivation from being brought up where we were raised at, you know just wanting to see a better life. So, a lot of things that we do, we come from that hunger inside of us, we're self-motivated. We've always been that. So, that plays a major part in how we do it.

Do you have any advice for your fans wanting to know how to stay motivated?

Ar'mon: Yeah, we have some advice. I know it's probably biased because I have my brother with me, but at one point in time we were just all we had. So, I feel like as long as you can talk to God, as long as you stay focused and block out any type of negative energy that anybody's trying to put in your life, and just stay consistent... You know, just don't ever slow down, don't slow up, don't be content. And I feel like anybody can get anything they want to do. By just staying consistent and never giving up.

So speaking of that, what message do you have that you want your fans to take away from your music and your career.

Trey: I want people to know that you can do whatever you put your mind to do. 'Cause we literally come from nothing. We didn't have an uncle or cousin or parent that was into music. We literally were just two regular young black boys. And we're making it. But, we're not making it because we're lucky. We're making it because we're blessed and we worked for it, hard.

I just want people to know that eventually what you work for, you will get in the end. And sometimes it does seem like you're not getting anywhere, but you really are. Even if it's just a little bit of progress, that's still something. And eventually what you want in that and what you dream about will come to pass.

I agree with that 100%. So, is there anything else we should know before you go?

Ar'mon: Just stay lit, stay humble, be great, talk to God and follow your dreams. That's all.