The diaspora has always been one of the Caribbean’s greatest strengths. From the Windrush Generation to the fearless immigrants who helped establish historic districts like Brooklyn’s Little Caribbean, West Indian people have been transforming and reinvigorating global culture across music, dance, food and fashion for countless decades. And that reverence for family and lineage manifests in Leigh-Anne, the history-making Little Mix alumna who looked to the core of her identity to reclaim her power and craft a splashy solo debut in the genre-traversing My Ego Told Me To.

Born and raised in England’s High Wycombe, Leigh-Anne grew up in a Jamaican-Bajan household, chowing down on dishes like ackee and saltfish and gungo pea stew as she soaked up her family’s kaleidoscopic soundtrack. While her mother was partial to Alanis Morissette and Pure Swing CDs, her father went deep on reggae, and her two older sisters gravitated towards jungle and garage, as well as ‘00s R&B of the B2K/Jagged Edge/Brandy variety. But it was the one-two punch of Rihanna’s ascent and Alexis Jordan’s breakthrough that opened up Leigh-Anne’s worldview of what a Black Caribbean pop star could look and sound like.  

“I remember going to my first X Factor UK audition and saying that I wanted to be the female Justin Bieber,” she reflects with a laugh. “I used to watch Alexis Jordan, and I saw myself in her as this really cute Black pop girl. I basically mirrored her look for my audition. I wanted to be a pop artist, so I’ve [blended] those influences with everything I listened to growing up.”

Alongside her Little Mix bandmates — JADE, Perrie and former member Jesy Nelson — Leigh-Anne won The X Factor UK, earned three Brit Awards and scored 19 top 10 singles in the U.K. (including five No. 1s). That kind of success immediately placed those ladies in the pop music history books and presumably prepared them for instantly successful solo careers. But as it happens, no one is immune to label woes, especially Black women fighting to express their singular, diasporic vision to suits who don’t — and might never — get it.

After Warner Records forced her to make countless versions of “Most Wanted” instead of her preferred Valiant-assisted rendition, Leigh-Anne parted ways with her label, quickly pursuing an independent partnership with Virgin Music Group to ensure a solo debut that arrived on her own terms.

My Ego Told Me To — a personal manifesto of reclamation and independence rooted in samples of Denise Belfon’s soca classic “Work” and nods to Sister Nancy’s timeless “Bam Bam” — arrived last month (Feb. 20) to a historic chart debut buoyed by Leigh-Anne’s relentless belief in herself and her music. Not only did she top the U.K. Official Independent Albums chart, but Leigh-Anne also became the first Black British girl group member to reach the top three on the U.K Official Albums chart with her debut solo album. The only two Black girl group members to accomplish that feat? Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland.

Now with the numbers to back up her steadfast bets on herself, Leigh-Anne is formulating the next stage of her debut solo era — including how to continue bridging her sizzling record with both new audiences and the islands from which she draws so much inspiration.

Below, Billboard’s Caribbean Rookie of the Month for March chats about the years-long making of her debut album, her journey as an independent artist and the unending influence of her family and heritage.

When did My Ego Told Me To begin to take shape?

I’ve been making this album for four years. My first [writing] camp was right after Little Mix decided to go on a break. I took a little bit of time, and then I went to Tulum, Mexico, and had a camp with Khris Riddick-Tynes and Leon Thomas, which was my first ever time making music on my own. I always wanted to create something that sounds like mine, but also incorporates R&B, reggae, dancehall, and all the different genres that I love.

Then I had a camp in Jamaica, where we made some of the best music, and it felt like the album was shaping up. When I got back, I was still working on the album, and the label decided they wanted “Don’t Say Love” as my first single. Great track, but it was so far away from what I was creating in Jamaica. They wanted something easily marketable or more of an overnight hit. I wanted to listen to them, but ultimately my gut was saying something different. That’s when the disconnect started happening.

Within the next year, I went independent, but that freedom to do what I want to do is the best feeling ever. I am right where I’m meant to be.

How did those writing camps compare to your Little Mix days? Did the physical change in location impact the way you created?

We stayed in Portland [Parish] at a place called Geejam in the mountains. Khis Riddick was there, so were Tayla Parx, Dyo and Abby Keen. I felt even freer in Jamaica. Coming out of Little Mix and writing on my own and exploring myself was a really incredible time.

Who did you look to as influences while putting this record together?

I made a playlist that had Janet Jackson’s All for You, Kehlani’s “Nights Like This,” Beres Hammond, lovers’ rock, Gyptian, etc. I incorporated all those sounds to ultimately have a Leigh-Anne sound.

“Dead and Gone” is such a statement. What was that recording session like?

That was the first moment where I was like, “I’ve unlocked something here.” We put together the most random tracks — Rihanna’s “Man Down” and Kelis & André 3000’s “Millionaire” — and managed to get “Dead and Gone.” I just wanted to experiment. Owen Cutts and Clarence Coffee Jr. were the dream team. There were no limits, and we made this at a time when I wanted to block the label noise out. Even the way I was singing felt like my attitude and boldness were coming back. That’s what this whole era is about: bringing back my younger self and her fearlessness.

What are some nods to your heritage on My Ego Told Me To people may have missed or not even realized yet?

Obviously, collaborating with Valiant and Rvssian; Valiant added that extra essence “Most Wanted” needed. There were so many different versions of that song. Rvssian suggested we put Valiant on it, so we called him, and he wrote his verse on FaceTime right then and there. Immediately, I was like, “This is the version.” I really, really want to shoot a video in Jamaica.

I’ve always had this dream of performing the album in my granddad’s back garden and doing an interview series there, like how Miley [Cyrus] did her Backyard Sessions. I’d love to have my granddad and grandma walking around, cooking and doing their everyday things. They were on the “You Are a Star” interlude as well; they’re a huge part of me.

What specific label feedback about “Most Wanted” proved the final straw for you?

The fact that they made me do 20 different versions of this song was enough. To make any artist do that… it’s just not how you create. And then when I played them the version with Valiant on it, they just did not get it. They wanted something that would fit more comfortably in the pop space. They weren’t seeing the vision, and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to make an album that I love with them. Being in a group and compromising for so long without being able to show my full self — I wasn’t about to be controlled anymore. As cheesy as it sounds, I needed to be free. And it’s not easy being independent! There are more obstacles, but I would choose this over anything, any day.

Where does your resilience come from?

My mum. My husband tells me how inspiring I am all the time because I don’t give up, and it’s like… I could never. I don’t have that in me. My mum is so strong and can do everything on her own, so I’m inspired by her. I’ve watched my two older sisters raise kids on their own. I have an amazing family of women around me. And I have kids myself! I have little girls I’m raising, and I want them to look up to their mum and see a strong fighter.

There was a call where my manager told me, “I’ve sent [the label] the music, and they said they don’t think it’s going to do what [you] think it’s going to do.” That was their response to “Dead and Gone,” “Revival,” “Goodbye Goodmorning” and all these other amazing tracks. I didn’t even hesitate; I literally said, “Alright, we’re going.” I believe in myself, and I believe in this music.

What are some of the harshest realities of indie life?

There’s such a massive team at a major label. With an indie, everyone has to work harder because it’s smaller. There’s also not as much budget. Everything takes a little longer as well. I’m in a weird place: I’m starting again, but I’m also not.

You sang Rihanna’s “Only Girl” in an early X Factor UK audition. Was she an inspiration for blending your pop and Caribbean sides?

Rihanna is the queen of everything, and I love how she’s had eras so she’s constantly evolving. The way that she introduced a Caribbean sound to a mainstream audience was incredible. Of course, she is the blueprint for me, and I really look up to her. She is my favorite artist of all time. And one thing I feel me and Riri might have in common is that we’re good A&Rs for ourselves. I sequenced this tracklist myself!

Have you ever jumped Carnival?

Yes! I’ve been going to Carnival since I was old enough to go on my own. It’s somewhere I could immerse myself in the culture and have the best food and the best time.

Did you speak Patois growing up?

I’m so bad. My granddad has a very thick accent, so it’s only now that I can really understand him. When I was younger, sometimes I would just nod. [Laughs]. And my dad’s Patois is terrible. He tries all the time, especially when we’re out and about in Jamaica, and I’d be like, “Dad, stop, they know we’re tourists!” I remember struggling to understand my cousins as well, but I’ve definitely gotten better. My husband likes to give me Patois lessons too.

The same week you dropped your album, Manon announced a hiatus from KATSEYE. What’s it been like watching this age-old story of the sole Black girl group member getting sidelined? Have you been able to speak to Manon?

It does feel like a vicious cycle. The more I think about it, the more I want to go into a dark hole. It’s exhausting. We have to look out for each other. I remember when I was in Little Mix feeling less than, feeling like I didn’t have as many fans as the other girls, and feeling like I had to work 10 times harder. I still do. But I can’t let that fester, for the sake of my mental health. I did reach out to Manon — how could I not? It’s like seeing history repeat itself again and again. When is it going to stop?

Knowing that I made history as the first Black British girl group member to make the top three in the U.K. [with a debut solo album] was crazy to me. It’s only ever been Kelly [Rowland], Beyoncé and me. The fact that Mel B didn’t? What?!

How did you react to debuting at No. 3 on the U.K. charts?

And getting a No. 1 album on the Independent Albums chart! I got a No. 1 trophy! It’s mad because that was on my vision board. I was with my sister when I found out, and we both cried. [As we were rolling out the album], I remember her saying, “Leigh-Anne, I just want you to be prepared that we might not get a top 10, but it doesn’t matter. You’ve worked so hard, the album’s amazing; I just need you to be prepared that it might not happen.”

I was like, “Okay.” But I wanted this. We fought for that top three spot, so to get it feels so freaking sweet. And I did it as an independent artist with music that’s very different from what people are used to hearing from me

Are there any tour plans?

The stage is where I belong. I love performing. I don’t even care how small the venues are; I just want to be in the States.

Belly Gang Kushington (born Victor Thomas) has gone from jail cells to getting flowers from J. Cole and Drake, along with hopping on FaceTime with NBA star Kevin Durant.

Born in Atlanta, BGK’s mother left at birth, and he was raised by his dad, along with his great aunt and her daughter. Seeing his uncles and father partaking in trap activities, Kushington immersed himself in the trap boom of the 2000s and the street tales of ATL legends like T.I., Jeezy and Gucci Mane. “That’s what I thought was cool,” he tells Billboard during a trip to NYC earlier in March.

Kushington followed in his family’s footsteps, which led to legal trouble and a handful of jail stints, the last of which came in 2023. “I got so used to jail that I knew something was wrong then,” he quips. “I’m getting locked up and I know everybody on the cell block. This s–t’s just regular.”

The Atlanta rapper promised to leave the pen behind for good and take his rapping career seriously, as he also has a son to provide for. BGK took on the adopted stagename from a nickname given to him based on having “kush by the ton,” and putting on weight.

Kushington began to gain traction in Atlanta by freestyling to the beats from some of his favorite songs, and caught the eye of ATL-based label Love Renaissance, which is home to 6LACK and Summer Walker. He ended up signing to LVRN in late 2024.

He brought his relentless hustler mentality to rap and hit the gas pedal full-throttle for 2025. With traces of the trap titans that paved the way, Kushington’s motivational raps filled his trapper-friendly The Streets Is Yours debut project, which arrived last March.

His rise was accelerated by a few viral moments increasing his exposure along the way, including selling his $100 white tees packaged like cocaine bricks, rapping in the middle of a shutdown expressway, and having Druski release a skit loosely based on his biracial image.

Kushington continued to build momentum when he recruited fellow ATLien YKNIECE for the “Friend Do” remix in September, which became a breakthrough club hit into the fall, topping Billboard‘s strip club chart for three months, and remaining at No. 2 in February.

With a taste of success in his system, BGK’s looking to elevate and make his presence felt even more in 2026, as he’s preparing an album, which he expects to arrive before the summertime.

Check out the rest of our interview with Billboard Hip-Hop’s Rookie of the Month for March, who touches on an upcoming collaboration with BigXthaPlug, plans for ’26 and rubbing elbows with Drake and J. Cole.

You’ve been all over the place this past year, just non-stop working.

I can’t believe we did that much — tour and all type of s—t, shows, songs and videos. I be looking at the videos sometimes like, “That s—t only eight months ago? That s—t had to have been three years ago!” Every hustler plans for it to work, but this still feels like the beginning. I don’t even count the wins, just coming to work every day. 

You’re buzzing in Atlanta — do you feel it everywhere else across the country as well?

We can’t go nowhere [without being recognized]. I think it’s how I look. There’s so many reasons why people walk up [to me]. Some people dead-a– think I’m the white tee guy. Some think I’m the guy on the expressway. The majority of people say I’m the “Friend Do” guy or “Popeyes” guy, then like real music fans. But I can tell there are some people asking for a picture who don’t know where they know me from. We’ll be in L.A. or up here in New York and they’ll ask for a picture and really be like, “I remember him.” That showed me my face got more reach.

It’s getting to the point now, at certain places they ripping my clothes and s–t at shows, it’s getting crazy. I’m happy for all of it. I take every picture, bruh. I just feel like I’m blessed and I could make their whole day. My manager told me the other day, “Bro, you asked for this.” I’m like, “Damn, he’s right.”

You’ve been one of the most in-demand featured artists. Feels like we’re getting something every other week. How do you decide which tracks you want to hop on?

I don’t got one way of deciding. The Bally Baby “Hustlin Mf” was one of them ones I actually listened to in the car. I get in the car, feeling good, that’s what I put on. I started rap by rapping on just other folks’ s–t freestyling. I was about to do that and get back into my bag and then I’m like, “Hold on, bro, I’m him now. I could just be like, ‘Ay, bro, I’ma get on this s–t.’” The Dess [Dior collaboration] came when they actually sent it to me and I actually liked it. I caught a flow instantly. When I can do a verse in 10 minutes, I know. I sent it back.

The Montana [700 collab] was more so real n—a, recognize real n—a. We know what I’m putting down and I know what they putting down in Dallas. I gotta f–k with them. They hit me to kick it at the studio. I gotta link with n—as who putting it down likewise. There ain’t a lot of us anymore. If I feel it’s reason to get on this song, I’m getting on it.

BigXthaPlug hit me up. When I heard the song, I’m like, “This s–t is so hard!” I know he strategically was like, “I want Kush on there.” I had to do that. The beat was so hard and what he was saying was so crazy, I gotta go in.

So the inbox has to be flooded with feature requests right now.

Yeah, inbox is flooded. I wasn’t doing features at all. YKNIECE and YTB Fatt were the only features I did. Inbox been flooded with money, but I just feel like I’m not here to make money off collabing. I think being strategic about it or going off a natural feeling makes more sense. It makes more sense to link with somebody or put art together than pay for something. If you gotta pay for it, I don’t even need to be doing it. 

Who’s on your potential feature list you’d want on a track?

I don’t sit around like, “I want this person on a feature.” Obviously, I’m a businessman and I’d take a Drake or Travis Scott feature. Maybe like a 2Pac verse or an Adele hook. That’s dream s–t. We can go downstairs and there’s a n—a playing the violin — a homeless man — and that could be so hard [that] I want a feature. 

The “Friend Do (Remix)” was No. 1 for three months on our strip club chart. Did you feel that when you were out in Atlanta?

I was on tour when it first took off. I had to get home. The day we got home, I went to Candyland that night and we previewed YKNIECE’s verse and s–t went crazy. 

What’s the plan for you album-wise for the rest of the year?

I’m working on an album right now. Soon as it’s together, it’s dropping. Probably in the next couple of months. Probably gonna drop again after that. Every dope boy got elevation, but a good artist don’t ever leave what got them there. That’s a thin line between trying to show elevation and you gotta think my life’s different now. If I’m rapping the same way about my life and memories, it’s going to go hand-in-hand. I don’t got a title for the album yet. We got a lot of songs with a lot of people.

Do you feel any more pressure to deliver now that you’ve made it in a way and got some spotlight on you?

Nah, if anything, just new fans and different types of supporters. I got 12-year-olds rocking with my music. If anything, I really shouldn’t introduce them to Fentanyl. No other pressure other than that. 

Is that something you’re conscious about when creating?

I think people could feel that. I always refer back to an interview with Pharrell and he was talking about how you could feel the energy and the confidence in a song. I could have the same delivery, but you could feel that confidence. 

I think that’s what makes you special in a way. It would be so hard for me to remain motivated and do this again and continue to chase success.

I always been a person that [feels like] someone’s chasing me and I gotta keep running. My music is motivational, because I’m motivated by everything in front of me. I’m meeting new people and it shows me how broke I am today. I ain’t nowhere near comfortable. 

How was linking with J. Cole in Atlanta?

We just went to support, and he was like, “Shoutout Belly Gang.” He came over there, “Ay, boy, you going crazy, don’t change nothing. Keep that s–t just like that, I’m watching. I’m a fan.” That was crazy, because I didn’t think J. Cole knew who I was. Especially from a conscious artist. I’m kinda street, but vulnerable too. I don’t think he was necessarily saying sonically, but keeping that s–t 100 like you been doing. It’s always good getting flowers from people who made it that big. I know I’m doing something right. 

How was seeing Drake in Houston at Area 29?

His team had seen me post-I was out there. Like, “Pull up, The Boy wanna meet you.” I pull up and out the gate, he gave me my flowers. His first words were, “Is that Belly Gang?” I didn’t know they know who I was. He actually told Area 29 to give me rest of the money he had in there, too. Walked in the club, he got a mic set up right there where they dance at. I don’t understand how he records on it. I guess he makes the club be quiet. 

You were on tour with Lil Wayne last year as well. How was hitting the road?

I ain’t gonna lie, I can even see in my peers that tour really broke me in as a performing artist. My manager was kinda worried that my performance wasn’t moving as fast as the buzz was going. Now my performance is in front of the buzz. I controlled the crowd. I’m really comfortable and feel like I’m in this [office] right here. Doing 17,000 people every night and I ain’t have no hit or nothing out. I had to win them over back then. Now it’s like clockwork. First show I was really nervous. Just did the songs and I had a script. By the last show, I was going out there and winging it and those were the best shows.

Your mom left at birth and you reconnected with her at 23 for the first time?

I met her for the first time at 23. I might have been an infant or something [before that]. I just wasn’t feeling it, bruh. Not my type of person. I ain’t sitting around longing for a momma. Why am I gonna bring on these problems? Family is hard enough as it is, I don’t need more of that s–t. 

Have there been family members popping out since the fame?

I was talking to Jelly Roll one time, and I had asked him for his number, because we were on email. He was like, “I ain’t got no number, I just work on the email.” He was like, “Bro, I don’t want anyone reaching me like that.” I was like, “What the hell?” Now I understand. I’m the highlight of everybody’s day in my family and I’m already working 24/7. You got the bills and people get mad. 

What’s your goal for the rest of the year?

I just want to continue to be able to work every day. I don’t really got no money goals, no number goals. I just want to learn how to be happy. I’m still learning how to be free and a regular citizen. I still think people are watching me. This s–t is bliss for me right now.

Megan Thee Stallion just changed the trajectory of one dog’s life after finding out that he was hours away from being euthanized.

In a video posted Friday (March 27) on Instagram, the rapper showed off her new canine friend and revealed that she’d rescued him from a kill shelter, which she says she didn’t know was a real thing. “I was yesterday years old when I found out that there’s a such thing as a kill shelter, and they are putting down dogs when they can not find them a home,” she told followers.

“That is insane. They were going to put him down yesterday,” Meg continued, sounding shocked. “And I said, ‘No, wait. Just give him to me. I’ll take him.’”

The hip-hop star is already a dog mom to French bulldog Foe, about whom she said in the video, “I don’t know how Foe is going to feel about this.” But overall, she’s happy with how her family — which also includes Maine Coon kitty 9 and pup Dos — has grown. “Meet my new rescue son TYGER,” she captioned the clip.

The update comes just a few days after Meg made her Broadway debut in Moulin Rouge!, becoming the first woman to take on the historically male character of Zidler. On Tuesday (March 24), she posted a video of her first-ever curtain call and wrote, “So grateful for this incredible cast & crew & everyone who worked so hard to make opening night a success!! HOTTIES IM ON BROADWAY!!”

The Houston Hottie hasn’t dropped an album since 2024, when Megan reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200. Last year, she unleashed singles “Whenever” and “Lover Girl,” with the latter peaking in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.

Check out Meg’s video below.

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Out today (March 27) Fcukers’ debut album Ö is an accomplishment not only because its stylish, interesting and fun, but because for awhile it wasn’t clear if and when it would be made at all.

The New York dance-rock duo — Shanny Wise and Jackson Walker Lewis — released their debut EP Baggy$$ in 2024, with the project making them instant critical darlings and one of the buzziest new acts of the post-Brat dance scene. Songs like “Bon Bon” and “Homie Don’t Shake” put forth a sound merging electronics beats, guitar, flecks of disco and singer Shanny Wise’s helium voice, with project putting Fcukers squarely in the holy lineage of indie sleaze and DFA Records.

Amid the EP’s September 2024 release, Fcukers played taste-making festival including Portola and Pitchfork London, collecting fans including Billie Eilish and James Murphy. In February 2025 they were announced as the support act for Tame Impala‘s global 2025/26 Deadbeat Tour. The time was very much right to make a debut album, but the pressure to do so also was stifling.

“We didn’t expect to be touring for a year off an EP,” says Lewis. “It was this unexpected success, so then it almost felt like the debut album had the pressure of a debut, but also [the expectations] of a sophomore album. Usually with a debut, nobody knows what your vibe is yet, but we had established a vibe. So it was like, ‘Where do we take this?’

“I was feeling a lot of pressure,” Lewis continues. “There were a lot of people in my ear saying like, ‘Whatever you do, it has to be good.’ I hit a wall where I was like, ‘I can’t do this.’ I went to the label and was like, ‘No deadlines. You might not get any music this year. I’m not in [a] great spot.’”

Kismet intervened when Wise and Lewis were in Los Angeles around the time of their Coachella debut last April. Their manager had set up a meeting with lauded L.A. producer Kenneth Blume, long known as Kenny Beats. Blume had recently finished work on Geese’s debut Getting Killed, although that project wasn’t yet out. “So he wasn’t top of dome [for] everyone,” says Lewis.

He was barely top of dome for Fcukers. “We were on the way to something else,” Wise says of their first meeting with Blume. “We were literally just going to stop by for a coffee.” But the other afternoon plans were scrapped when Blume and Fcukers came up with two new songs during that first meeting, a breakthrough that effectively dissolved the pressure paralysis they’d been feeling. They cleared their schedule for the rest of the week and posted up at Blume’s studio.

“We ended up working with him for two weeks straight, and in that time wrote and recorded most of the album,” says Wise. While they’d brought two previously existing song ideas to these sessions, everything else was made from scratch. A key difference maker was their faith in Blume’s dexterity as a producer, which “freed us up to really just focus on writing and allowed us to do it so much faster,” says Wise. “It wasn’t like, ‘Does the kick drum sound good?’ We knew it was going to sound f–king great.”

The three artists got into an 11-hour workday rhythm that “was literally on some crazy,” says Wise. “We’d wake up, get coffee at nine, drive to his studio, work until 8:00 p.m., go to sleep and do the same thing again the next day.” They made three songs a day during the first week, using the second week to refine and narrow down the ideas, by which point the 11-track album was essentially done. Inspired by Prince’s symbol era, and deciding that “every word under the sun has been used for album titles,” they called the project Ö.

With additional production by Dylan Brady of 100 gecs, the album is out today on Ninja Tune, an insitution Lewis calls “one of the few labels out there that could really straddle a project that’s both a band and electronic.”

Before forming as Fcukers, Wise and Lewis, both 28, were each in myriad New York bands, with Lewis also DJing around town while working in bars. Members of the same social scene, they were formally introduced by a mutual friend, and together found a shared interest in shifting their creative focus to electronic music.

“I was DJing in New York a lot, and remember one of the first times I played Le Bain,” says Lewis. “I was like, ‘Okay, this is what it feels like to play a packed club.’ I was spinning vinyl and really into ’90s house and other dance music — so when Shanny and I met it wasn’t like a grand aspiration, but more thinking that it would be fun to make music like the music I was DJing.”

“I didn’t listen to any house music before I met Jackson,” adds Wise, “so I feel like we’re always coming at it from different sides in a cool way. Because I didn’t have any preconceived notion of what house music is, or how I should sing and sound. I think that maybe adds something cool to it.”

While both of them were adept with multiple instruments and each knew how to use a DAW, “When we first met Shanny was like, ‘Do you know how to make electronic music?’ and I was like, ‘No, but we can figure it out,” says Lewis. Ultimately, they locked in on a sound that mashes up genres and eras, bringing together trap, drum & bass, garage, R&B, rock and elements of the Y2K era artists they grew up with, like Nelly, Lily Allen, Outkast and Dizzee Rascal.

Fcukers will be presenting this hybrid sound to audiences during a 42-date tour extending from April 2 to September 20, with the run including headlining shows in North America and England, festival dates at Bonnaroo and Barcelona’s Primavera Sound, opening slots for six Rüfüs Du Sol shows in the U.S., and even a gig opening for Harry Styles this July 17-18 in São Paulo. Presenting music from an album they weren’t sure they could even make adds a special sort of thrill to experiences they’re already finding to be life-defining.

“We recently did three sold out nights in London and the crowds were crazy, singing all the words,” says Wise. “I got chills. I’ve toured a lot in other bands and have never felt that type of connection before. It’s sometimes easy to not realize growth as it’s happening little by little, but then there are those moments where it’s like, ‘Whoa, what the hell.’”

“We’ve made it way farther than I ever thought we would in my wildest dreams,” echoes Lewis. “Anything that happens beyond this is a bonus.”