It’s More Than a Moment for THOTTWAT
A$AP Rocky, responsible for the formation of THOTTWAT, has an astounding ear for their duality.
Photo by Emil Danelian
On the first warm day of the year in New York City, I linked up with Chicago and Harlem rappers, producers, and artists ICYTWAT and THOTO, who make up the epochal duo THOTTWAT. We wandered around the bustling Lower East Side on a 70-degree day, and the art scene guys did anything they could to get a word with them. Despite packing out Market Hotel with A$AP Rocky the night before, they were energized and eager to be out and about in the city.
THOTTWAT and their friends may have been dressed in coordinating camo outfits, but they did anything but blend in. From fans recognizing them to people wittingly thanking them for their “service” in the street, the evening was far from chill — similar to how THOTTWAT’s lives have been lately.
A$AP Rocky signed THOTTWAT to his label AWGE. They performed their song “Shirt” during Rocky’s Rolling Loud set in New York, and THOTTWAT’s career has reached milestones ever since. ICYTWAT and THOTO met in Atlanta at rap boot camp, and there was instant chemistry. While they didn’t record together at the boot camp, Rocky’s ear could hear how well they would sound as a duo. A few weeks later, ICYTWAT flew out to THOTO’s Harlem hometown, and they made so many hits that ICYTWAT ended up extending his stay and slept on the recording studio floor.
When Rocky heard their song “Fed Up,” he said, “You guys need to be a group. You need to do THOTTWAT and just make an album.” They didn’t hesitate to follow that advice. Coincidentally, Rocky can be heard saying “THOTTWAT” in a near decade-old song with Aston Matthews and Joey Fatts — long before the duo formed. Because Rocky was determined to put THOTTWAT on the map, ICYTWAT and THOTO shared their love for similar inspirations like Three 6 Mafia and have since switched off verses and hooks for a timeless sound.
While they’ve made music individually for years before formation, THOTTWAT’s contrasting yet harmonious flows have made the duo irreplaceable. 1202 MAGAZINE has supported THOTTWAT before they were THOTTWAT, and we spoke with ICYTWAT and THOTO to get insight on their recent growth, how their chemistry led to continuous success, and what’s on the horizon for THOTTWAT.
How did you two meet, and how did it turn into THOTTWAT?
THOTO: It was all Flacko. He singlehandedly manifested this shit. There was a song with him and Joey Fatts. At the very end of the song, he says, ‘Let me get that thot twat, ma.’
ICYTWAT: And this was in 2012 or 2013 before this was even a thing. Fast forward to rap camp, he calls us three weeks later and says, ‘I ain’t gonna lie, y’all are THOTTWAT. Y’all gotta make an album.’ It was up from there.
How long did it take to make that debut album after just getting to know one another?
ICYTWAT: We made something as soon as I got to New York.
THOTO: We also made some music in the A. We always had a connection that was a real vibe.
Who are some of your inspirations and dream collaborations?
THOTO: My guys, that’s it. Me and my niggas.
ICYTWAT: I fuck with Future, but me and my niggas, man. Tyler is an inspiration for me, but other than that, me and my niggas.
THOTO: Three 6 Mafia and Flacko (A$AP Rocky) too. I’m inspired by the guys.
When did both of you start making music individually, and why?
ICYTWAT: I started in 2011, and it was because of Tyler, the Creator. I heard his beats, and I couldn’t find his instrumentals, so I found his piano tutorials, and then I started fucking around and ended up producing. I wasn’t on any rap shit. But when I met Thot, I really got on my rap shit. It was 2018 when I took the rap shit seriously from there. It’s been a minute — over a decade for me.
THOTO: I ain’t gonna lie, it’s been five or six years. I’ve always been dibbling and dabbling with my producer, Vintage, but I started locking in three years ago. I really saw how this shit could change my family situation. I had tunnel vision, put my head down, and just focused on this shit. This is for me. I met Twat in the A at Flacko’s rap camp. He came back to New York and fucked with me for like three years. Niggas showed me how to fuck around with beats, and I was showing him how to twist the flow up. We went crazy from there.
ICYTWAT: The best duo, literally.
You guys are from Chicago and Harlem. How do you fuse the music styles of both cities into your own? Or do you try to veer away and create your own sound and style?
THOTO: He’s from Chicago, I’m from New York, so it’s like we live this shit. We breathe this shit every day. It’s in us, you know what I mean? As far as expanding our minds and being creative, we’re not gonna just stick to a hardcore New York or Chicago sound. We’re trying to make our own sound — which we are doing — so people can sound like us.
ICYTWAT: We’re our cities forever, but we’re also our cities’ only influence artistically, you feel me? Creatively, we’re doing it differently from everybody in our cities, and that’s what makes us stand out because our sounds come from all types of genres — Whether it’s R&B, old soul, rap, pop, indie rock, or house. No disrespect to other artists, but they might just stick to drill or a certain sound. We’re not doing that. We think outside the box.
So, you want to expand and be as musically experimental as possible?
ICYTWAT: We love music, period. We try to incorporate all genres into our music. We even have a song that has a seven-minute guitar solo on our album; No rapping or anything.
THOTO: The solo was so beautiful. It was damn near a verse to us. We just let that shit rock out. It was beautiful.
What does THOTTWAT making music look like?
ICYTWAT: Most of the songs are done in one sitting. Once we get in the studio, we hear a good beat, and we’re going. Even if the beat is somewhat okay, we still do a ref on it. We just do it. We’ve made fifteen songs in a day, and we’ve made five songs in a day. It just happens naturally. That’s the beauty of it. It’s so natural coming from us because we love this shit, and we breathe this shit. We don’t have to talk about a subject, just turn that beat on.
THOTO: My creative process is more or less no process. It’s a feeling when the beat comes on. Real shit happens. Once the beat comes on, we get tunnel vision, and it’s ballgame. We’re not gonna give niggas cookie-cutter shit.
ICYTWAT: That’s microwave music.
THOTO: Exactly. We’re not doing that. We’re really trying to give y’all a Thanksgiving meal. See, I might have some leftovers like it’s soul food. We’re making soul food here. It’s a process. People just have to trust our process and believe that we’re not about to give you bullshit.
Do you freestyle once you enter the studio, or write your songs first?
ICYTWAT: It depends. Personally, I write and freestyle. I’m always writing about my life. It’s about how the beat makes me feel and what thoughts it brings to my mind. I might be thinking about my shorty or somebody I lost. I might be thinking about beating a nigga’s ass. I do whatever it takes to make the best music.
THOTO: Yes. I freestyle and write depending on what the beat is telling me — more of a feeling thing.
How have your lives changed since joining AWGE?
THOTO: There are many ways you could approach this question. It’s more or less a respect and morals kind of thing. It’s not even about changing the situation or feeling. Even though the situation does change, I’m not going to make it seem like it doesn’t. The things we’re seeking and manifesting — we’re taking that shit. Life is really what you make it. You can have some shit in front of you all day and not touch it, but as soon as you touch it, you go up.
ICYTWAT: I remember in 2019 before I linked up with Thot for, like, three years out of New York, he told me to just go and figure it out. He didn’t give me any other advice but that. I did what I did. I feel like his (A$AP Rocky) believing in us and bringing us on stage and to Rolling Loud definitely gave me a different outlook on the possibilities. Somebody who I used to listen to when I was twelve can fuck with me, put us onto opportunities, and make our lives better. It’s definitely opened my mind. He didn’t have to do that for us, but he did, and I respect that.
THOTO: As much as you want to say somebody put us in the forefront of something and us carrying that on, we’re also making sure we do that for somebody else. That’s the most important thing that bro (A$AP Rocky) expressed to us. He’s not going to put us here if we’re not going to put somebody else there. He’s a real OG with morals and respect. No matter how we feel, we’re a family and brothers sticking to this shit. It’s more than a moment. You can’t put a time or date to it.
Did either of you expect something like this to happen in your career?
ICYTWAT: At 14, I told myself I was making music. I didn’t expect anybody to give me a handout. Everybody does drill, but we’re different artists from my section.
THOTO: Literally, his city does drill, and my city does drill.
ICYTWAT: But the fact that it did happen, I didn’t expect it at all. It was the last thing I would have expected, but it did happen, and I was grateful. I’m still grateful to this day.
What was performing at Market Hotel like?
ICYTWAT: In my heart, I believe this — and I don’t want to sound arrogant — but I know that we’re always going to turn up every city we go to. Whether it’s LA or Brooklyn, everyone pops out. My expectation was that they were gonna pop out, but the fact that bro (A$AP Rocky) popped out was a good feeling. It was probably one of my favorite shows.
THOTO: It was definitely one of those ones, but it wasn’t the last one. We just wanted to see your faces.
What can fans expect from THOTTWAT now that you’re starting to blow up?
ICYTWAT: Takeover.
THOTO: Literally, a takeover. A whole bunch of new shit, a whole bunch of new sounds, new waves, and new everything.
ICYTWAT: Give it two to three years, and everybody’s. us. Quote me ongoing to be like can expect the whole world from us soon.
THOTO: Expect the unexpected from us. We’re not just artists, we would epitomize to be an artist.
ICYTWAT: We’re not just rappers and not just producers.
THOTO: Please do not put us in a box. We don’t like that.
ICYTWAT: The THOTTWAT tour is coming soon, and the album is coming soon. More music is on the way. We love our fans.
THOTO: Our fans are the reason why we do this shit. Without them, there’s no us. I know that shit sounds cliché, this shit is so real. We wouldn’t be here right now doing this interview. All love to the fans. Keep supporting us, keep showing up, and being there. That means the world in itself.
