Next Wave: From grouptherapy. To PARTYOF2
Before PARTYOF2 became a duo, Jadagrace and SWIM were two parts of grouptherapy., a Los Angeles collective that brought together music, friendship and visual experimentation. What started in 2019 as a group of friends making music without much intention of releasing it eventually became a serious creative project, with Jadagrace, SWIM, TJOnline and, initially, RHEA building around hip-hop, R&B, pop, and rock. For Jadagrace and SWIM, grouptherapy. was a space where they could create with people who understood them, particularly as young people who were already working as actors who felt disconnected from the more conventional routines of their peers. When the collective eventually fell apart, the two were left with a difficult question: what happens when the creative environment that shaped you no longer exists?
That question became the foundation for PARTYOF2. After TJOnline’s departure from grouptherapy. in 2024, Jadagrace and SWIM spent a year processing the loss of the group and questioning whether they wanted to continue making music at all. They have spoken openly about how difficult that period was, with music and, ironically, therapy becoming ways to process what had happened. Instead of treating the end of grouptherapy. as something to move past quietly, they made it part of their introduction as a duo. Their first release, “all 4 the best,” directly addressed the group’s breakup, followed by the three-song we owe you an explanation EP. They understood that listeners would want to know what happened, and they wanted to address it on their own terms.
Two Artists, One Identity
The transition from a four-person collective to a two-person group also forced Jadagrace and SWIM to reconsider what made their partnership work. While their previous group had been built around several personalities and creative perspectives, PARTYOF2 had to establish its own identity with only two people at the center. That difference became part of the appeal. Rather than trying to recreate the sound or structure of their former group, they leaned into the contrast between them.
Their debut album, AMERIKA’S NEXT TOP PARTY!, released in October 2025 through Def Jam, became the first full expression of that identity. The 11-track record brought a mix of hip-hop, punk, rock, house, R&B, and electronic production in one perfect debut. The lack of featured artists is especially important. The album is built entirely around the chemistry between Jadagrace and SWIM, making their ability to move between different styles together more important than any individual guest appearance.
That chemistry is most obvious when the music becomes unpredictable. “POSER,” one of the album’s most recognizable songs, is confrontational and loud, while tracks such as “FEEL LOVE” and “HEAVEN ON EARTH” reveal a softer side of the duo. “JUST DANCE 2” has more club energy while carrying social and political observations beneath its surface. Rather than choosing one sound and developing it across an album, PARTYOF2 treat the record as a reflection of the range of things they are interested in.
Growing Up in Public
The themes running through AMERIKA’S NEXT TOP PARTY! also make sense within the circumstances that produced it. Both artists were entering a period of adulthood where music was no longer simply something they made with their friends. They were figuring out how to build careers from it, how to support themselves, and how to deal with the responsibilities that come with getting older.
SWIM has described making the album while his parents were going through a divorce after 25 years of marriage, something that challenged the stability he had grown up with. Jadagrace was processing the death of her father, an experience she had carried for years but had not fully explored through their music. Those experiences appear throughout the album alongside broader questions about success, grief, survival, and growing up.
What’s Next for PARTYOF2
The most interesting thing about PARTYOF2 is that they are not trying to erase where they came from. While grouptherapy. remains an important part of their history, it is not the identity they are attempting to preserve. Instead, Jadagrace and SWIM have taken the lessons, relationships, and creative instincts that came from that period and built something that belongs specifically to the two of them. For Jadagrace and SWIM, becoming PARTYOF2 was born from losing something. The challenge now is proving that the duo can become more than a continuation of grouptherapy.‘s story. With AMERIKA’S NEXT TOP PARTY! and its extended edition, they have already established a world of their own. The next stage is seeing how far they can take it