A lot of things go hand in hand: Tequila and lime, heartbreak and music, summer and long nights. But if there is one thing that fits together like a lock and key, it’s Toronto-hailed duo DVSN and Cali-bound Ty Dolla $ign. Individually a force in the contemporary R&B scene, the two recently came together after mounting petitioning from the scene, and the results are staggering. Through the grace, pain and romance, the two deliver an elegant project that brims with honeyed ballads and buoyant productions.

Through the streamy slathering vocals from Ty to the silky smooth touches from singer Daniel Daley, the project brings out the best of both vocalists, as they bask in the sensual harmonies intimately crafted by producer Niineteen85. Both parties are naturals in all things love and romance, as they playfully and confidently detail both sex and the drama that follows through the airy and thrumming productions.

An ode to fleeting moments and promising futures, the project comes with vivid vulnerability, with track titles like “Memories” and “Better Yet”, showcasing the depts of betrayal and hopefulness for the future. From the first meeting in the decadent club-like vibe to the more private and closed-off bedroom moments, both artists prove they are a double entendre and deliver an alluring collaboration that captures the duality of love.

“It’s a vibey ass sex playlist” Daniel confidently says on our late evening Zoom call. “I didn’t even really notice that until after everyone was talking about it. When it was done. I was like, ‘Oh shit, we did talk a lot about sex on this!’”

Both masters in their individual craft, the long-awaited relationship formed out of mutual respect and love, Daniel revealed, recalling that after meeting at a party the rest became history. Sitting down with Wonderland to discuss their latest venture, Ty and Daniel go back and forth on their individual paths, giving each other their flowers and how their single with Mac Miller was a pivotal moment.

Check out the interview below now…

But how is this past year been for you guys?
Ty Dolla $ign : Well, 2021 or 2020? Because that’s a different question.

I mean, if you look back on the 12 past 12 months, how’s it going for you guys?
Daniel: Um, interesting for, for me, but I think it was good. I think that it gave me a chance to like, stop and reset. And like reprioritize. And, you know, just come back with a new focus, I guess. Cuz that’s what happens when you’re forced to sit down for that long, you know?

Did you kind of feel like it affected you guys with like creativity as an artist as a producer, because so much things changed!
T: It affected me in a good way. It led me to discover new things. And just expand on what I already had. So for me, it was like, I just looked at it in a positive way and take those things away from it. I definitely learned a lot more and I love the fact that I got to kick it with the fam a lot more.

So this project, was it made during lockdown?
T: it was wrapped after it started. Me and Daniel, since we met for the first time we’ve been homies, so we just stayed locked in. In the last few months, we’ve we just decided to get back together and finish what we started. So I’m glad we got a chance to do that. I feel like it came out pretty nice. Seems like the people like it.

It’s a pretty amazing project, I think it was needed. You guys coming together was something that was never really said but needed for the culture. How did you guys meet?
D: We met at a party in Miami. I remember going up to him – you know, Ty’s a very recognisable figure – I was like, ‘yo, what’s going on? My name is Daniel, I’m from a group called DVSN’. He was like, ‘bro, what are you talking about? I just listened to you the other day, my girl listens to you all the time!’ I was like, ‘Oh, shit’ I didn’t realise! We quickly realised we were like fans of each other. He pulled like one of the biggest OG stunt moves and was like, ‘I got a yacht tomorrow, just come and pull up and hang out with me.’ I was like, alright, I’m not gonna say no to a yacht! We went out there and we kicked it. We played music back and forth and just held a vibe. We said that we were gonna lock in and make a record one day. I checked in with him like maybe like a month after and was like, ‘Yo, I’m serious. Let’s, let’s do that’. He was like, ‘Well, I’m on tour right now. But I have a studio on my bus. So if you want to pull up, we can probably hook up on the bus’. I was like alright, cool. What city? I flew out to him to make a song, and by the end of the day, we made like four.

That’s a fast production process!
D: Yeah, yeah, it was it was.
T: I got four songs out of him. I got a performance out of them! (laughs)

D: I forgot about that! He was like, ‘Yo, you want to come out and perform. You gotta hit the stage!’ I didn’t end up leaving his tour bus for the next month, I was just on the bus hanging out and rocking out. We were cooking up 85s, sending beats, Murderbeatz was on the tour with him and he had beats. We came together we made certain songs. That was around the time that we actually called in for Mac (Miller). Ty called Mac to the studio, just to come and listen, and we all ended up vibing. And I said, ‘I don’t know, if you want to jump on anything’, then he heard “Believe It”, and Mac was like, ‘Oh my god, I gotta get on this. What I got to do!’ It was crazy because we didn’t think we were making a project, we were just kind of vibing. Then we kind of looked up and was like, ‘It would be crazy if we like dropped a joint R&B Watch The Throne, What A Time To Be Alive mixtape, but we’ve just kind of laughed it off. We didn’t think it was gonna really take off like that. But I think both of our friends and our camps for the past year and a half was like, you got to get back in and finish that one time, because it was crazy. So we locked in over the past, month or two and finished cooking up the mixtape and feed it to the streets.

Wow, that’s an incredible story! What for you was a focal moment when creating the tape?
T: I think for me, the important moment was the end. Once we had all these songs, and I put together my playlist of what I think it should be, Daniel put together his, Paul put together his , and then we had to fight through like, who’s right about what the intro song is. I was trying to take “I Believed It”and move it closer to the beginning. Daniel was like, that’s got to be the outro. There was a lot of back and forth until we finally all agreed on our final plan. That was definitely an important part when it came to making the project.
D: I think a pivotal moment for me was when we was making “I Believed It” before Mac was even on it. Ty does what Ty does and pulls out his phone and gets all his fans hyped. He posts a little story of the song on his Instagram, and we saw the reaction from Instagram ending up on Twitter to the Joe Budden Podcast talking about it. I was thinking these people would really fuck with this if we continued to make shit together. People are really into the idea of that, and then realising that we both you know, use the symbols in our names, and like him having the dollar sign and us with the division symbol. I don’t think R&B has ever done anything like this.

It sounds like it’s very much a clash of different cultures. You’ve got that Toronto chill vibe and that Cali vibe as well, how would you guys describe the project?
T: It’s definitely a blend of those. It’s just R&B. It’s taking the 90s and everything we learned from that, and then bringing it up to date and going hard at it. Daniel was always challenging me on all my verses and all my hooks like, ‘Nah, that’s cool. But why don’t we do this?’ Mac challenged himself, he was like, ‘Yo, I got this verse that I think is cool, but I could beat it.’ So he did another verse. I feel like all of us just wanted to make the best that we could possibly make. So that’s how I look at the project.
D: I think it’s a bunch of high-level R&B that the culture needed. But at the same time, it’s a vibey ass sex playlist, to be honest with you. I didn’t even really notice that until after everyone was talking about it. When it was done. I was like, ‘Oh shit, we did talk a lot about sex on this!’

The project is like a journey. Was that important or is that something that kind of just happened?
D: It’s kind of both. I give Ty all the credit for the record Cheers to the Memories, because we felt like the project was done and he was like, ‘I don’t know, man, I feel like we need an intro.’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean, we have “Don’t Say A Word” right there, they’re gonna be hooked.’ And he’s like, ‘Nah, something is missing.’ So we found this beat that 40 had given us and Ty took the lead. He went in and did a verse and then he came out like, ‘Okay, well, what’s the hook gonna be?’ I think us figuring out that hook together, and making a tie into “Memories” was interesting. As far as the interludes, I mean, I love “Rude”.

Why the name Cheers to The Best Memories?
T: We were going through a lot of different names and just trying to come up with the best title that fit the songs and that fit us and our lifestyles. One day we came up with it, I don’t remember exactly how…
D: We were in the studio and me, you (Ty) and 85 was there that day, and we had a room full of people who were bouncing names off each other. I think the first part of the name might have came from before…I don’t remember what it was. But we were trying to find a way to make it something that people can live by.

When you guys were creating the project, did you look to outside influences or did you just bounce ideas off each other?
T: I don’t feel like we’ve listened to much other music at the time. 85 would just feed us beats, and we would just go back and forth with ideas and come up with shit. I was inspired by Daniel and Paul the whole time.
D: We were definitely really locked into what we were doing. I mean, we heard everything that was dropping around the time, but we really used each other as the bar.

Do you feel like you guys would work together again in the future? Could this project be apart of a series potentially?
D: I mean, we’ll have to see! You guys go run it up! But I can definitely tell you, we’re still sitting on records.

Oh, so there is definitely a lot more?
D: There are records that we are sitting on for sure!
T: Like I said, on the first day, maybe two or three (songs). Then the next day, maybe six! Then when I was making a Feature by Ty Dolla Sign, I made a whole nother album, Daniel’s on there, he was there for that whole process. So we got joints.

I definitely think it’s the start of something for you guys. Something very special… what’s next for you guys? What are you most excited about?
T: I’m excited to get on stage and perform these records and just get that debt payoff for the fans. I just want to see them singing every word out there. I can’t wait for that.
D: I’d say the same thing, I’m excited to get on stage. And I’m excited for this new era of DVSN that we’ve been mapping out. It’s definitely some of the most exciting music that we made.