Known for their gospel roots and ’90s revival sound, 2BYG is back with their new single, “Be Mine.”
Hailing from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, 2BYG is an up-and-coming R&B boy band featuring Matt Brown, Tourè, Nixx, and KD—each having grown up in church, singing in gospel choirs. The group started as a trio, then became a quartet with the addition of KD in 2022. After competing in high school talent shows and gaining popularity for their covers on social media, 2BYG signed with Def Jam Recordings in September 2025. They released their debut mixtape, “The Yearbook,” later that same year.
A blend of R&B and soul, “Be Mine” is filled with rich harmonies and heartfelt lyrics. At a press conference with °1824 of Universal Music Group, 2BYG discussed how their shared foundation in gospel choirs informed the song’s harmonies.
“You can really hear the church soul in the background,” Tourè said. “I really don’t know how to articulate it, but just when you feel it, you feel it; when you know, you know.”
Adding on, KD described the group’s harmonies, specifically on “Be Mine,” as an “extension” of their gospel choir experience.
“The intricacy, I feel like they all stem from gospel, they all stem from the church, so it’s almost like anything we do with harmony is going to come from that,” KD said.
For Brown, creating harmonies rooted in gospel music is both an emotional and a technical process.
“It’s something that you feel, but at the same time, it also has a science to it,” Brown said. “We just bringing it back, and it’s dope.”
Together, 2BYG aims to offer a fresh take on the traditional genre.
“When you think about those ’90s groups or ’80s, ’70s groups, they all came from mostly a gospel background,” Brown said. “So it’s not as hard as some people may make it seem. We just trying to put our modern twist on it.”
Brown said “Be Mine” is his current favorite 2BYG track, describing it as a “slow groove” that speaks to what the group is currently experiencing as young people navigating love and relationships.
“It’s really from us, what we really be talking about …. It’s really tough, great music, and you can really feel it from your soul,” Brown continued.
Inspired by Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted and Black,” 2BYG’s name stands for “to be young and gifted.” The group strives to honor the legacies of the artists who came before them, not only in this way but also in their music itself.
“We got this saying: history creates the future,” Nixx said. “Everything from the past, we just kind of take that and just put it in everything now.”
2BYG has already begun reimaging the works of artists past, including in their song “Do 4 Luv,” which interpolates Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do for Love.” The group hopes to continue incorporating the work of their musical influences into their own, setting their sights on iconic artists like Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Isley Brothers, and Michael Jackson.
“Stay tuned,” Brown said. “It is so much great history in our music.”
When asked how they plan to stay authentic in today’s competitive music landscape, 2BYG emphasized that, for them, longevity is about staying true to their sound and themselves.
“That’s where we are right now, really finding our world so we can just stay true to ourselves for real,” Tourè said. “Nobody can do you better than you, so as long as you stay true to yourself, then having longevity wouldn’t be that hard.”
2BYG described themselves as currently in a transitional period, where fans can look forward to hearing a new sound in their upcoming music.
“Sonically, you will hear a difference, and you will feel the difference, like the music that we were writing recently, really coming from the heart, so—not saying that the past music hasn’t, but we’re a lot more intentional about our releases,” Tourè said.
“Be Mine” is out now and available to stream on various listening platforms.
Featured Photo Credit: Canon Carter
Taylor Graham is a student at Columbia University, majoring in Film and Media Studies with a minor in Political Science. She has reported for numerous publications, including the Valencia Voice, Glitter Magazine, and Heritage Radio Network, and is currently the 150th Arts and Culture Editor for the Columbia Daily Spectator, one of the oldest college newspapers in the nation. With a passion for storytelling in the digital age, Taylor covers all things entertainment, from film and television to media and pop culture, interviewing professional actors, musicians, and content creators alike. When she’s not writing her next film review or feature story on an emerging artist, Taylor can be found playing tennis, reading literary fiction, or thrift shopping in NYC.