R&B duo THEY. says their new partnership with the NFL is ‘incredible’

Dante Jones and Drew Love formed THEY. and released their debut EP hit in 2015. Now the rhythm and blues hitmakers are featured in the NFL’s latest television campaign, Unpredictability.

The pair’s U-Rite has amassed nearly 10 million plays on YouTube and Spotify combined and is the soundtrack for the NFL ad, which spotlights Tennessee Titans running back DeMarco Murray, Philadelphia Eagles running back Jay Ajayi (recently traded from the Miami Dolphins), New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas and Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.

“We are massive football fans,” said Love. “Our music, specifically U-Rite, tailors itself to a lot of energy. I believe the NFL felt the same way. We watch football every Sunday, Monday and Thursday, so to hear our song during commercials is incredible.”

The Los Angeles-based pair, who have opened tours for PartyNextDoor and Bryson Tiller, are in sync when it comes to their music. But when it comes to the NFL, Love is an Oakland Raiders fan and Jones follows the Denver Broncos. THEY. spoke with The Undefeated about their music, their NFL partnership and how they got started.

What made your song ‘U-Rite’ complement the NFL’s campaign ‘Unpredictability’?

Drew: I think our music in general lends unpredictability. It’s what we preach and what [our album] Nu Religion is all about — being unpredictable, taking chances and risks, because you never know what can really happen. The same thing happens in the NFL. That’s what makes it so exciting.

What went through your mind the first time you saw the campaign on TV?

Dante: I went bananas. It was so surreal because we heard it might be a possibility, but you never really believe it until you see it.

How would you describe your music?

Drew: We’re both R&B at the core, but we draw influences from emo, punk and grunge. The lines of R&B are starting to get blurred.

Who and what has influenced your music?

Drew: I grew up to the music my parents listened to, with my dad loving jazz and my mom always listening to Motown. Dante was a pop producer when he first started, so we draw from that too. My first CDs I bought were Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys, so pop is at my roots too. We’re a melting pot of a bunch of ideas and genres.

How did you guys come together to form THEY.?

Dante: It was a chance meeting. I’d been working as a producer in Los Angeles for about three years at the time. I had a few songs with artists like Kelly Clarkson and Chris Brown. Drew was fresh to L.A. and had been cutting his teeth as a writer where he, too, was working with Chris [Brown] and other artists like Jeremih.

We instantly connected. After we got comfortable with each other, I played him a little bit of my music. I didn’t have much expectations of whether he’d like it or not, but then he was like, ‘Let me do my thing with it.’ Next thing you know, we had a song. It was the first song we ever did together. It’s called ‘Africa,’ the second song on the [Nu Religion] album.

What’s the story behind your group’s name?

Dante: The next song we wrote after ‘Africa’ was ‘Back It Up,’ but the original file name for that song was called ‘They.’ When Drew saw it on the screen, he thought it looked cool and that it should be the name of the group. I said we’ll go with it for now, but then it stuck, and once time passed we really couldn’t imagine being called anything else.

What is your creative process?

Dante: There’s really no formula with it. We just try to find something inspiring and build off of that. My perspective as a producer is to find something that feels really good and then build on top of that. We take a little more time than the typical factory mentality that a lot of producers have these days. We just really have a respect for the process. I think, too, some days I’ll be on fire, but other times I just sit back and record Drew because he’s killing it. Having that partner to create that spark is very valuable.

Did you always want to be in the music industry?

Dante: Back in the day, I wanted to be a sportswriter and wrote for a Denver sports blog. I used to send emails from my AOL account to [The Undefeated’s senior NBA writer] Marc J. Spears when he was a Nuggets writer for The Denver Post. I’d write, ‘You’re my favorite writer,’ and ask for advice on sportswriting. That’s how big of a sports geek I am.

What’s next for you?

Drew: We’re back in the studio, doing a lot of traveling and growing, and slowly chipping away at our next project.