By Sydney Wills
B0YG1RL is everywhere. The Miami-based duo’s latest album Exit 2B was made in collaboration with NOVAGANG and earned a #2 spot among Pitchfork’s ten highest-rated albums of the week. Shortly after, the cut Little Haiti was named Best New Track.
Yet, B0YG1RL members Angela Rio and June “Tété” Vinette weren’t sitting around scouring the print — they kicked off their summer with a show at La Station in Paris just before running to Performance Space New York for another gig. And that same night, fans in NYC, where B0YG1RL made their debut as performers, would have been lucky to catch a series of Instagram stories revealing one surprise set after the next. They went on to appear alongside Doss & Friends at Paragon, followed by an album listening afterparty hosted by Perfectly Imperfect for the new release from Berlin duo Brutalismus 3000. Two days later, they were homeward bound to Miami for yet another show.
That’s an exhausting itinerary for even the most seasoned performers, but these two remained unfazed across the series of high-energy affairs. No matter what night, city, or level of exhaustion, I could check in and see clips of spectacularly engaging performances with fringe boots stomp-traipsing glamorously across the stage and shimmering crowds of supporters loving every second of it. This level of energy has a bit of a ferocity to it, perhaps partly due to the breakneck pace at which B0YG1RL have received recognition over the past year.
Maybe, to keep up, they’ve had to plug themselves into the chrometone, LCD void of Serial Experiments Lain’s The Wired, which they both cited to SoundFynd as a major source of inspiration. Any enjoyer of the genreless and region-inflected roux that their discography consistently provides must know that it has revelatory implications for the direction of electronic music. So, such listeners may not be surprised to find the two in this Lain-esque predicament – all tangled up in occasionally-zapping cables and continually subsumed by a calling to cyber martyrdom. Brandishing a long medieval sword on their recent tour flyer, the two appear well suited for the ordeal of plunging bravely into that digital ether in order to pluck some amazing sound from its jumbled code.
Or perhaps this nonstop energy simply comes from a place of gratitude and commitment towards their work — after all, amidst this chaos, the two made time to do an interview. They speak of their work with deep appreciation and humility, particularly when discussing their early experiences making music. June said:
“Growing up I felt like music was only something I could enjoy and that I didn’t have the ‘natural talent’ for it, but I received a vision in Summer 2024 that told me to make music, and to make it in this very specific way. I remember picking up a guitar at the old age of 18 trying to watch tutorials and feeling so cooked. I was wondering how I would go from knowing nothing about music at all to making/writing full fleshed songs. I just told myself to suck it up and keep going.”
For these two, music was an inevitability that the universe wasn’t going to let them escape. June vouched for this, saying:
“Necessity was definitely a big part of it. I had gotten kicked out right after turning 18 so I had no other choice but to try shit and do it all the way. I can definitely say I’ve lived a lot of life, I’ve gone hungry and at the same time I’ve had blessed experiences. The most important part of the music making process for me is living life as much as I can, especially if it hurts.”
Angela’s own early musical experiences stemmed from the simultaneous occurrence of being online and questioning her identity at 15, around when she found a haven in the experimental trap of Atlanta-based Osquinn. She commented:
“Specifically [Osquinn] changed my world—I bought a mic and everything and started writing to ‘free hyper-pop type beats.’”
Angela Rio
That same sense of necessity extends beyond their personal journeys and into the city that shaped them. Growing up in Miami meant witnessing both the fragility and resilience of its underground music communities. Angela spoke to this in reference to their coverage in Pitchfork, saying:
“We know how much it means to that larger ongoing conversation that is Miami music history. We don’t get a lot of press in Miami – big artists don’t really like to come here, and the arts are severely underfunded. It feels bigger than music, and it was a Haitian artist that wrote about us – that kind of thing is really special.”
Such large scale coverage certainly is special as spaces, particularly around Little Haiti, disappear entirely under the pressure of gentrification. This city has spent decades cultivating its identity as a nightlife capital and international cultural hub, yet it bears an unsettling contradiction at its heart whereby the same diasporic communities that make the city feel alive are often the ones most threatened by the attention their creativity attracts. The sounds and spaces built by working class and immigrant communities become part of Miami’s brand, even as those same communities struggle to remain in the neighborhoods that produced them. On the topic of gentrification in Miami, Angela said:
“That’s why I love cinema, it’s all about active perception and the preservation of memory as a practice. There is a lot of shared grief at how fast and violently the city is changing. We need the arts to help us process that when our bodies alone can’t.”
As such, Miami’s underground has always existed in a state of flux: constantly generating new art while watching its infrastructure disappear. And for B0YG1RL, this instability has – perhaps forcibly – sharpened their momentum. Their unstoppable thrust through culture is tied to an understanding that nothing is guaranteed, and that the spaces they create and inhabit must be fought for, protected, and continuously reinvented.
“The Miami music scene 100% shaped our sound and the way we present ourselves now. The spectrum is really wide and I was feeling inspired on a consistent basis. Even though the Miami underground club scene definitely struggles at times with spaces closing and people having to move away, there’s a resilience that definitely keeps me inspired.” – June Vinette
So the story of Miami’s underground is also one of constant renewal. The city’s music scenes have long been shaped by the convergence of Latin American and Caribbean diasporas, resulting in what Angela referred to as a “very particular palette which I’ve always felt called to try and understand.”
“It’s definitely Miami-brained music – a lot of the album can be attributed to the sounds we encountered & picked up while in the club.”
Angela Rio
EXIT 2B is the latest from the duo and was released this past May with Surf Gang Records. It was notably produced alongside Novagang, which boasts associates such as KAY KNIVE$, xaviersobased, and quinn, as well as founding father and Miami native/Haitian-American experimental artist prblm. According to Angela, the two first met prblm at a Bassvictim show in Miami, after which they all instantly clicked.
“They are like our stubborn older brothers, they introduced us to a lot of what the world of music had to offer… I think they matched our freak very well, we knew they were no strangers to the intensity we were trying to achieve. The group has always been melodically gifted, and I think as songwriters it was very easy to roll off of those instincts.”
The digital freewheelers’ influence on the album is apparent; Novagang and its collaborative turnstile has consistently had the ability to punch the labels of “underground rap” and “hyperpop” into distorted shards of experimental music that can range from the emo murkiness of Goth Money Records to the soft low-ends of ambient plugg. June added:
“Their production and overall approach to sound is so boundless. They can really make anything, especially prblm. We made the album in 11 days which is definitely a result of all of the revolutionary stuff they’ve been making since they were kids.”
EXIT 2B is certainly filled with this genre-revolutionary chaos, all grounded in a deeply acute sense of rhythm and melody that keeps the heart of B0YG1RL intact.
“It’s all just B0YG1RL music. Even if we try to work within specific genres, we just end up wanting to do so many things at once.”
Angela Rio
This rings true for the producer, whose dynamic production evokes slick musical alchemy: bachatón’s melodies and rhythms, funk brasileiro, and Haitian kompa – all over a densely compressed solution of electro-pop.
One of the first sounds heard upon playing this record is an echoing, descending pitch akin to a missile dropping on commanding opener “My people will destroy you.” This leads right into a beat dense with hair-raising 808s. The revolutionary anthem’s syncopation with blood-curdling screams and the sleek metallic swishes of an unsheathing sword might overwhelm the voice of a less adept vocalist, but June’s powerful delivery is uncompromising in a way that draws listeners in with urgency; it’s like he’s reaching out through the hulking bassline to grab a fistful of your shirt and pull you in – like he’s shouting “LISTEN!” in the midst of an explosive dancefloor so packed that you’re forced to pulse with the sweaty crowd while being forcibly laser-focused on one person the entire time.
And this frantic desire to break through indifference and achieve resonance makes sense. June noted that the Haitian Revolution is a source of inspiration for his approach to music-making, and it certainly feels like a historical reference point for this track and others — it is a reflection of the urgency that defines liberation movements across generations. And given the Haitian Revolution’s status as the beginning of a centuries-long struggle over Haitian sovereignty, this ferocious vocal command transcends a mere plea or appeal, becoming instead the language of resistance. This outstanding vocal delivery remains a spellbinding force throughout the whole project as June’s voice towers unrelentingly over these textured beats, continually provoking.
EXIT 2B then transitions into “Bél,” where bars such as “Tout pèp mwen ap detwi ou… Oui ou pral viv pou ka wè” (All my people will destroy you… Yes you will live to see) turn smoothly to “Wi mwen bèl konsa / Wi wi / Mwen bèl konsa” (Yes, I am beautiful like that / Yes yes /I’m beautiful like that). Amidst the barreling sonic weight, there’s effervescence – a sheer ray of wispy light across the party dance floor. These delicate moments are also found on “Love + War,” which pulses and bubbles with Dembow-inflected drums and crooned lyrics about love and gratitude, as well as the haunting and vulnerable “Bon Dieu” with its airy synths.
Another standout track is “Soleil,” which features crystalline vocals from Honduran pop artist Isabella Lovestory, a wonderfully frenetic drum pattern, and the hypnotic repetition of “Nananananananana / Je suis le soleil” like a lullaby-esque plea for everyone to realize their power. Angela expressed:
“We always want the work to feel cinematic and larger than life. Worldbuilding and characterization are very important to us – granted, we’re dealing with our own images rather than that of fictional characters, which adds a whole layer of surrealism to it all. It’s very self-reflexive and internet in that way, which reminds me a lot of 2010s YouTube, where real people’s identities began to dissolve and blend with their digital personas.”
B0YG1RL handles this oscillation between fragile luminosity and heavy shadows with finesse, and the result is something that does feel grand and out-of-body; you stagger through their murky drums, pawing at the fog, to emerge all at once at some panoramic vastness – a pocket of fresh air in the middle of the mosh pit – transformed.
Masisi Radio is one Miami institution that sets a paradigm for straddling both representation for the underground club scene and the necessity of its protection. June found refuge in the local queer art collective at a young age.
“[Masisi] definitely gave me the space to grow into myself and it was honestly a blessing to have black queer people supporting me.”
June Vinette
The independent internet radio station boasts some incredible sets across Latin club, Jersey bounce, R&B, and jungle. It serves to platform Miami’s queer, local, and diasporic community.
“The Masisi collective saved us as young queer people. It was a space unlike any other. That’s how we started throwing parties and learning to curate… That will always be our family, and I feel as if they will always hold a lot of relevance because we’re releasing work with them in mind.” – Angela Rio
B0YG1RL has also been involved in other Miami art scenes, particularly those around arthouse film, club, and contemporary art. Angela believes these spaces were important in shaping B0YG1RL, even if inadvertently.
“I think we always wanted to see what those spaces could look like if they weren’t married to convention. When we got sucked into the club, we saw a lot of those rules and boundaries break down – granted, with a whole new set of issues of their own – but I always felt like both spaces could learn so much from one another. People weren’t coming to the cinemas, and the clubs were too impersonal. I hope the spaces we create can bridge that gap and allow for mass collective experiences that are equally as emotionally fulfilling as they are physically stimulating.”
June spoke to this bridging of worlds, saying:
“I think those borders are so far blurred that there isn’t much contemplation. There’s a trust that people will engage with this just as they’ve engaged with anything else that’s ever existed. I think now more than ever we are starting to understand how everything is connected in a non-linear way.”
B0YG1RL’s various pursuits in each of these worlds are all a part of their very own the Wired, this howling digital sea where they’ve dropped each of their respective anchors so that everything might come together—a space that is, for them, transcendental. Us listeners might just be fortunate enough to find our place among the humming powerlines that needle through the world of B0YG1RL – to plug in and patiently await their next transmission.
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