In a world where miraculous vocals and incredible harmonies come few-and-far-between, wouldn’t
it be nice to be able to double the ear-pleasing sounds? Enter Philadelphia-based sister duo Ayana and Ayinke Hipps
— formally, and collectively, known as AAries…
For Ayana and Ayinke, growing up in the Baptist
church meant beginning to sing at an early age, and before the pursuit of a musical career even entered their minds, the two
were already no strangers to gospel or classical music. Throughout their teens and early twenties, they worked steadily on
Philadelphia’s “new jack” circuit, finding themselves becoming fast musical soulmates with the likes of
fellow Philly artists Jill Scott, The Roots and, of course, Musiq. “We started at Blue Funk and we participated
in all the Philly venues,” says Ayana. “Everyone was just giving off what they had to give, so we were a
part of that same class, continuing the tradition of soul music.”
In 1998, the
duo’s management team, Mike McArthur and Jerome Hipps (aka/Mama’s Boys), began a more intense working relationship
with Musiq — so much so that, by the time Musiq released his debut album Aijuswanaseing, AAries had already been touring
with him as back-up singers. With their distinctive songbird vocals, AAries were subsequently featured on Musiq’s hit,
“Girl Next Door” — a twist of fate that further led to Ayana’s stunning, on-screen cameo appearance
in the video version of the song.
“Working with Musiq was just kinda natural,”
offers younger sister Ayinke, ”and, doing ‘Girl Next Door’ was a blessing in disguise, because it opened
the door for people to inquire about who we were.”
That open door not only led to both the start of work on the duo's official debut album "Always
Remember," but also, the subsequent inking of a deal for the album with Atlantic Records. In-house, co-executive
"Always Remember" Producers CarMuI — (an acronym for the team of Carvin Haggins, Musiq and Ivan Barias), who
are also managed by Mama’s Boys — have been an integral force in the overall creation of AAries as well. As Ayinke
herself tells it, "Mama's Boys is a production label and management company where everything is very home grown —
we even have our own production studio called Home Cooking.”
As for their highly anticipated
debut 'Always Remember', AAries will no doubt spread their infectious vocal styling and warm spirited Philly soul to the masses.
