Before PARTYOF2 stepped out as a rap duo, and before they were signed to Def Jam, they were a party of four.

At the time, Jadagrace and SWIM were half of Grouptherapy., a friend group-turned-music collective formed in 2019 alongside TJOnline (Tyrel Jackson Williams) and RHEA (Elijah Rhea Johnson). After RHEA left the group in 2020, the trio continued to fuse hip-hop, pop, R&B, and rock with striking visuals on singles like "Nasty" and "Peak," and on projects like Truth Be Told and I Was Mature For My Age, But I Was Still A Child.

The three created a buzz online and in the indie music scene, but in March 2024, Grouptherapy.’s foundation cracked once and for all. TJ’s abrupt exit triggered a year of grief for Jadagrace (Jadagrace Gordy-Nash) and SWIM (Coy Stewart), who channeled their emotions into therapy sessions and making music. While SWIM tells GRAMMY.com that there were times "where we could’ve just hung it up," the two ultimately reignited their passion for music and decided to rebrand as a PARTYOF2. 

"We started to realize how special this could be if we handled it with care and with a lot of intention, just being a co-ed duo in the space that we're in [with] the type of music that we make," SWIM says. "It felt special to acknowledge the fact that [we’re] a duo within the name, but it was really difficult to find that thing."

The L.A.-based duo is proving that they’re here to stay with their debut album AMERIKA'S NEXT TOP PARTY!, out Oct. 17. Its 11 songs are a hodgepodge of sounds, demonstrating their ability to exist in different pockets. It also boasts some production from Kaytranada, a breakout hit with "POSER," and has no featured artists — underscoring the strength of their collaborative chemistry.

"It was difficult to do anything other than work because we were in this unique situation where we had signed with Def Jam as a duo, we didn't have a name, [and] we didn't have any music out," SWIM says. "The process became very cathartic for us, in the sense that that was our main vessel for healing, making music."

Jadagrace and SWIM spoke with GRAMMY.com about the Grouptherapy.’s aftermath and their plans to introduce PARTYOF2 with their debut album AMERIKA'S NEXT TOP PARTY!

The following has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Let’s start with Grouptherapy. How did that concept come together?

Jadagrace: It was accidental. We started out as creative friends that all had the same interests, and we started making records together with no intention of releasing it.

SWIM: Also, we were all working [as actors]. We weren't in school, we weren't really like normal kids, and so it was hard for us to relate to regular kids. We would link up every day when we all got off work and we would make music and videos, and it was kind of a safe haven for us to just be ourselves.

Jadagrace: We got approached by a manager who was like, "You guys should be a group," and we were just like, "OK, sure, let's do it." [We had to] come up with a name and Grouptherapy. felt right because it represented exactly what we were doing at the time. It was really therapeutic for us to be vulnerable, write together, work together, and create. It was completely not planned at all.

PARTYOF2 you addressed your new group situation on "all 4 the best," which is on your three-song EP, we owe you an explanation. Was that track created more for yourselves, for the fans, or both?

SWIM: It was definitely both. We didn't go into that project with a title or a concept or anything. We were making music and "all 4 the best" kind of just came out of us. Once we sat with it, we realized it was very cathartic and [that] people deserve to hear this. It didn't feel authentic to just come out as a duo and not say anything.

Jadagrace: That whole year was [a] transition so we wanted to open up and be vulnerable with our listeners. It was a challenge, though.

SWIM: I think "all 4 the best" was a turning point for us in finding our sound as a duo. That record — more than any of the other ones we made during that time — really proved to us that, like, we could do this. It was special.

Do you feel pressure to prove that you both are here to stay despite the dissolution of Grouptherapy.?

SWIM: We did feel it. I think that's what put the battery in our back for songs like "Get Up" [and] all the freestyles we were doing — [but] I don't feel it anymore.

Jadagrace: I don't feel it anymore. I feel as though we really had to prove it to ourselves that we really wanted it, and that this was the final form and something that we wanted to take forever. I feel like we did that with the EP and in the creation with this album, the vision is there and we're really locked in so I don't feel the pressure anymore. It's always going to be something that people say, "Where’s the third one? Where’s the fourth one? What happened? Why?," but I think the music speaks for itself.

AMERIKA'S NEXT TOP PARTY! is like a bust-through-the-door introduction to you as a duo but also a coming-of-age, finding yourself type of record. What specific experiences informed this album?

SWIM: We went through a lot of life. Obviously, some of the stuff we were just talking about with Grouptherapy., [but] one of the first things that comes to mind is my parents were going through a divorce while I was making this project. My parents have been together for 25 years. You know, we're from the South. A very big staple in my house and in my community, is marriage and that foundation that my parents had. 

That was really difficult for me and a lot of change happening at once. We touch on things like that. We touch on getting older, having to take care of the people that took care of you. You know, going from a place where life is fun to now you have to survive [and] figure out how to live and turn the things you love into money.

Jadagrace: "Survivor’s Remorse" starts off the album and it captures exactly what we were feeling going into this new era. We touch on a lot of different grief experiences, like me mourning my dad's death. That's been something that I've been dealing with for years, and so there's a lot of experiences that we've been through even before Grouptherapy. that we had yet to really touch on and open up about, and heal through the music. [It] was really nice to have that space.

What other duos or groups do you guys look to for inspiration?

Both: Outkast.

Jadagrace: We were studying. . .

SWIM: a lot of Black Eyed Peas.

Jadagrace: . . .the chemistry between will.i.am and Fergie.

SWIM: Jay-Z and Beyoncé. Every time they linked up, it was something special. 

There was a part of us too that was also kind of ignoring other duos to not be too influenced by anything else that was out there. We approached [the album] like two individuals coming together versus from a group perspective, but I would say the first thing that really comes to mind is the Black Eyed Peas. [They] were on repeat. I think they held a special place in culture where the music was pop but the streets loved it still. It was playing at cookouts, in high schools, at graduations, and at the club. It was crazy. I think that's a new space that we want to occupy [and] we haven't really seen since them.

Who is each of your dream artists to work with?

Jadagrace: Pharrell.

SWIM: Tyler, [the Creator]. I would love to work with Tyler on the production side, not to say that I wouldn’t love for him to rap with us, that’d be sick, but I would really love Tyler production. 

Jadagrace: Clipse. That’s another duo. Fred again..

SWIM: Disclosure, Tame Impala, Teezo [Touchdown].

Jadagrace: Solange.

SWIM: The list goes on and on.

You performed on the runway at the Etam show at Paris Fashion Week. You also have Tyler, The Creator's Camp Flog Gnaw coming up in November. What can people expect from that performance?

SWIM: Jada has this notepad she’s been working on since we found out, and it’s the stage design, the visuals, all the choreography that’s going to go into it.

Jadagrace: I’ve just been plotting; it only makes sense to me. We’re taking this very seriously. [Camp] Flog Gnaw has been something that we’ve wanted to do since we were kids. We honestly didn’t think it was going to happen this year because the album wasn’t out, but when we got the call, I started crying.

SWIM: Just the confirmation of that and knowing it’s not a Coachella, or a thing that’s just like, clout-based that your team can get you; it’s curated [and] special so it’s an honor to be on that stage. We’re prepared for this. I’m not nervous for [Camp] Flog Gnaw at all because I’m going to be at home.