You’ve probably seem them dashing across your TikTok For You Page. Quite literally: The electric new rap duo Flyana Boss has made a habit of sprinting in the videos promoting their buzzy new single “You Wish.” From grocery stores to the Santa Monica Pier to Disneyland, Bobbi LaNea and Folayan Kunerede have taken over the app with “You Wish” content, catching the attention of Lil Nas X, Missy Elliott, and Timbaland in the process.
“We didn’t account for ‘You Wish’ doing this well,” says Kunerede, sitting next to LaNea during a Zoom call from Los Angeles. The two besties had been dedicating their time this year to just getting music out on a regular basis. Though they originally planned to release two-song EPs every month, they scaled their music back to every other month, dropping three projects so far. Make It a Double was their third in the series. Released in June, it included the spunky “You Wish” alongside the slow jam “Trashboi.” Both songs are brimming over with personality but “You Wish” was bound to make millions of ears perk up with the lines “Hello Christ?/I’m ‘bout to sin again/I said I love you to that man but I’m not feelin’ him/I’m made of sugar, spice, kankelon and cinnamon/Me and my bestie are the same/Like a synonym.”
LaNea and Kunerede originally met in Los Angeles at the Musicians Institute on Hollywood Blvd. Born in Detroit and Dallas respectively, they were both musical talents with penchants for performing for anyone and everyone around them. The pair met their first year at the Institute.
“It was definitely love at first sight but also a slow burn,” Kunerede explains. “We both really enjoyed each other’s presence and made each other laugh and felt very comfortable and safe around each other.”
“We’re both very introverted and only hung out in groups the first year we knew each other,” LaNea adds.
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They had a shared love for Diana Ross, who inspired their name, and Beyoncé. It wasn’t until after they graduated that the decided to join forces, at Kunerede’s request. In the middle of 2019, Flyana Boss became official and they secured management a few months later. With the help of up-and-coming pop producer Marky Style (Royal & the Serpent), they also figured out a sound that would help emphasize “the joy and the weirdness” they want to inhabit as performers, as LaNea describes. Photos of them on Instagram show the pair embodying their colorful identities, with ever-changing hair colors, elf ears and individualistic fashion senses. Videographer Evan Blum, who films all their viral “You Wish” content, has been a partner of a different kind for the same reason.
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The pair began performing in early 2020, but Covid slowed them down. However, over the last couple years, they found themselves on a steady rise to this moment. It’s felt particularly world-changing for them, given the amount of views they’ve accumulated simply by having a great song matched with a distinct, engaging visual approach. With the song becoming its own beast, the duo have thrown all their previous plans out the window and focused on making the most of what’s happening right now. More importantly, they want the world to get to know what makes Flyana Boss so special.
“I think our voices together as two weird Black girls who make music for fun is a cool thing,” Kunerede says. “Our vision was to make music that makes us laugh.”
