By Akili King ·Updated July 2, 2024 < />
Much like their ballad “No One Comes Close” suggests, there’s no one quite like Infinity Song. The soft rock musical group– consisting of siblings: Abraham, Angel, Israel, and Momo Boyd– has a nostalgic sound that’s been compared to the likes of The Mamas & The Papas and ABBA. But, the Detroit-born, New York-based crew still have a sound that’s uniquely their own, thanks to cheeky viral hits like “Hater’s Anthem.” And this especially shines through on their new album, Metamorphosis Complete, with relatable lyrics atop cheerful guitar melodies on songs “I Want You Back,” “Lotus,” and more.
“This is probably the first project we’ve made where we actually do not care too much about what anybody else thinks,” Abraham tells ESSENCE in Central Park– where they performed for many years growing up and where Roc Nation’s Jay-Z discovered them. “Not because we didn’t make it for people,” Abraham continues. “But, because we’re our own worst critics and we overcame so much to get to the point where we can say, ‘I am happy with this.’”
Infinity Song after chatting exclusively with ESSENCE in Central Park.
And, since dropping the album, they’ve continued to stay busy. This includes everything from touring in Europe to performing at the Culture Creators event last friday. Of course it was a time to not only showcase their new music and engaging performance skills, but also their captivatingsrc=”https://www.essence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/L1380008-scaled.jpg” alt=”Get Ready With Infinity Song For Culture Creators” width=”400″ height=”600″ />
ESSENCE: What excites you most about BET Awards weekend?
Abraham: The BET Awards are one of the most important platforms showcasing and celebrating Black art and culture. We’re excited to attend, for the first time, such a historic and legendary tradition. There’s a tangible energy in Los Angeles that’s impossible to escape. It’s electric.
Dressing up, being rockstars, putting on our “Superhero Capes”, getting cute, getting fly, that’s a feeling that’s priceless. It’s all about being happy when you look in the mirror, not so much about comparison. It’s a great art form to be able to express oneself through fashion. It’s freeing. Getting ready for the The BET Awards is super exciting.
How would you say growing up in Detroit has influenced your musicaldecoding=”async” src=”https://www.essence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/L1370959-scaled.jpg” alt=”Get Ready With Infinity Song For Culture Creators” width=”400″ height=”600″ />
We sang together here actually in Central Park for several years as a family, just working on our craft, working on getting better and also using it as a way to support ourselves financially.
When did you realize you wanted it to be a career?
Momo: It’s definitely a choice that you have to make every day. But, we realized we wanted to when we had the ability to write songs and had a certain level of confidence. That was about 10 years ago.
Who are your biggestdecoding=”async” src=”https://www.essence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/L1370814-scaled.jpg” alt=”Get Ready With Infinity Song For Culture Creators” width=”400″ height=”600″ />
Abraham: Musically, I’m inspired by so many people coming from Detroit and growing up in the church in Detroit, people like Fred Hammond, the Winans family, Mary, Mary, The Clark Sisters, etc. We grew up in the church and so we didn’t listen to music outside of gospel, jazz and classical. And then there was some soul music in there as well. So those are definitely big inspirations.
As I got older, I discovered Brandy, Erykah Badu, Miss Lauryn Hill, Jay-Z, and Destiny’s Child. A lot of the cultural jewels of the nineties. Also Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Of course the seventies is a big inspiration, too: Stylistics, The Dramatics, the OJs. Obviously Marvin Gaye. It’s a long list of people. And then being soft rock, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones.
On the fashion side, I don’t really think about it as much. Everything is a feeling for me. Like Angel said, New York taught us a lot about fashion. New York is one of the most fashionable places in the world. I thought it was the most fashionable place in the world, then we went to Paris and it was very clear that we weren’t number one.
What are the most important self-care lessons you’ve learned thus far? Especially as things are getting busier for you all.
Momo: Something I decided I’m going to implement more often in the last 24 hours is making it a priority to keep my space clean and organized. I just typically have the most cluttered room. We’re constantly on the go; packing and unpacking. But having a clean room really helps with stress.
Israel: Self-care. What is that?
How you take care of yourself.
Israel: I’m kidding haha. But knowing when to go to sleep has been important. On the road, you’re in different cities. It’s tempting to stay awake, but it’s good to use your time off to rest and recover. What else? I guess don’t stink.
Abraham: I think eating healthy food, salads, vegetables, fruit, nuts etc. is important. I should probably implement some of those things. Also exercise. Another challenging thing, but very, very important to self-care. I also find myself very much a new connoisseur of facial skincare. My wife put me onto a face regimen. If I take a break from it, I notice a difference. I used to have super dark spots on my face, and they’re gone. I’m like, “Oh, snap.” So I’m a big fan of benzoyl peroxide, double cleansing, and SPF. I’m learning that skincare isn’t about spending a lot of money. It’s one of those things that basically anybody can do to make themselves feel like a million bucks.
Angel: I think, for me, it has stages and evolution. So it’s also a practice of constantly renewing your mind, and growing as a human being. It’s about getting in touch with your actual feelings, and learning yourself, and studying yourself, which is self-discipline.
Okay ladies, you’re both always giving effortless and classic in the beauty department. What are our tips?
Momo: I think it really is more about the philosophy, like what you said, effortless and classic. That mostly informs the decisions that I make and I know Angel makes. But, it’s different for every person, so I can’t give a blanket statement of, “Oh, you should do this.” But I’ve really studied my own features and face shape and I try to do what compliments them.
I use a lot of bright blush. That’s really the main thing. I like to use hot pink, and mix that with a darker pink and then bright orange. It creates just this really glowy face and brings so much color. Then I use a brown liner with a hot pink gloss.
Angel: I would say the same thing. It’s not about what you use, it’s about how you use it. There are some days where I might not have access to my makeup bag. Maybe I’ll have to use a cherry to do my makeup. But, as long as I know what I’m going for, what my intention is, I can achieve the look. It’s going to be elegant, it’s going to be playful and feel like me. I realize when I experiment too much with beauty things, whether it’s lashes or lipstick, I feel so fake. I feel like all of a sudden I don’t know who I am. It’s so important to just feel more comfortable in my skin.
Abraham: I think we have a high level of commitment to being leaders and not followers. It’s more fun to just be adventurous. I hate to look around and see everybody wearing the same things. There’s something special about charting your own course and having a good time. For us, it’s all about letting nothing limit your expression or what you want to do as a person.
Tell me about the inspiration behind the new project
Israel: It’s the same as it was for the first project. It’s the desire to express ourselves in a way that other people can understand and identify with. To express not just the low moments, but also the moments where you’re growing. The inspiration was the desire to be understood and to understand others. It was really to continue on ourdecoding=”async” src=”https://www.essence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/L1380127-scaled.jpg” alt=”Get Ready With Infinity Song For Culture Creators” width=”400″ height=”266″ />
You mentioned this is a culmination of all the things you’ve learned. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned thus far that is reflected in the album?
Abraham: I think to not conform, to not shapeshift. Tell your story. Tell your story how you want to tell it.
What are you excited about coming up?
Momo: I’m excited to continue building our synergy as a group. That always feels great when we’re on the same page. Otherwise, we have some exciting things coming up like tours and magazine covers. There are no bounds to what we can accomplish and that’s so exciting.
Israel: I think I’m just focused on this post album-release phase. It’s all about what we do and how we push people towards the music.
Abraham: I’m excited about our North American tour and then we’re going back to Europe and Australia. That’s super exciting. We just came from Europe and the fans were crazy. Actually to be on stage in London and Paris and in the Netherlands, there were some moments where it was euphoric. I’m excited to recreate those feelings across the country and around the world.
Angel: I don’t know why, I just have a feeling I’m going to be falling in love this year. So I’m excited.
I love that. I’m excited for you. I’ll be waiting for the updates.
Angel: I sense an interview part two.
Literally. I’ll be back in a year to ask, “So Angel, how’s it going in the love department?”
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