AARIES......SIGN
OF THE TIMES
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.
