‘New York Is a Genre’: WHATMORE on Music and NYC

Who would have known that a friendship forged in the band room of Manhattan’s LaGuardia High School could go on to form one of music’s hottest rising groups? Certainly not the five members of WHATMORE. Comprised of Cisco Swank, Elijah Judah, Jackson August, Sebastiano and Yoshi T., the group describes their genre-melting fusion of jazz, indie, pop, and hip-hop as “very New York,” evoking the Big Apple as a de facto sixth member of the squad.

After gaining popularity on social media for their flips of popular tracks like Leon Thomas’ “Mutt” and Doechii’s “Anxiety,” the quintet has released their debut self-titled album “WHATMORE,” a 12-song affair with a wide range of sounds crafted over the past year. Over that span, the group has amassed hundreds of thousands of monthly listeners across streaming platforms and an equally impressive social media following.

Not only has their group dynamic translated into love on the web, but on stage as well. WHATMORE is set to hit the road with Laundry Day for a United States tour soon after their album release and has been tapped as one of the performers for Coachella 2026.

The genre-defying group sat with Newsweek to discuss their friendship, their unique sound and their debut album WHATMORE.

Building the Band

Before WHATMORE, the collective was still in love with music, bonding throughout the years over their shared passion. “We were all instrumental majors, playing, me Jackson and Elijah played saxophone, Yoshi played clarinet, Cisco played drums and piano,” reflected Sebastiano.

Even though they’ve been friends for over a decade, WHATMORE didn’t coalesce into a fully formed group until last year. “After high school, we stayed friends, but we also made music together here and there. We have features on each other’s songs,” he continued.

That long-standing musical connection made forming a group a no-brainer, but it wasn’t instant.

“I feel like we were always just making music collectively with each other, so it wasn’t a huge decision, where we’re like, ‘This is the day we’re going to be a band.’ Last year, we kind of all just linked in my crib, like, ‘Oh, let’s make a couple songs for a show,'” reflected Cisco. “We made three songs at the crib, and then it kind of just started snowballing into the bigger thing that it is over time. It was a slow, exponential increase into what WHATMORE is today.”

WHATMORE’s diverse backgrounds and prior musical experience together form a perfect storm, crafting something wholly unique. Incorporating a trio of deft but idiosyncratic emcees and an indie crooner seems like a tall task, but the members of WHATMORE see it as an opportunity.

“We all come from super different musical backgrounds,” August said. “Cisco is super in the jazz world, Seb and Yoshi live more in the kind of hip-hop, alternative R&B world. I’ve definitely been more of an indie guitar kind of alternative world. I feel like it was so fun to get to experience kind of stepping into everyone else’s world.”

Bridging those gaps offered a new vision for the group, which was especially crucial when recording the album.

“When you live in your world, it can get bananas. I feel like that’s half the battle as a musician is that. WHATMORE has just been opening up different kind of ways to work in creativity, music and different genres, and that feels f****** lit,” August said.

Musical Mashup

As the group delved deeper into their collaborative process, they discovered that blending their distinct musical identities not only challenged their creativity but also sparked unexpected inspiration.

“The artistry is so strong independently too. So, when we all come together, it’s just like a big explosion of all this different stuff, and then we’re moving all the pieces around, and putting together something cool,” Judah said.

Moving those parts around has been crucial in blending WHATMORE’s distinct personas. “Mii Music,” a standout solo track from Yoshi T. featuring WHATMORE interpolates a previous recording from August into the track to create that harmonious sound.

“That was a fun one, because we sampled my voice. I originally tried to sing a hook on it, yeah, and it just didn’t fit. I tried to sing a hook on it, but it just was kind of corny. It just didn’t work with the song. Then Elijah chopped it up, and that’s my voice pitch, the f*** up,” reflected August.

Creating those complementary sounds isn’t as difficult as it sounds for the group. Whereas some struggle to define the group’s sound, to WHATMORE, it’s all the sounds of home.

“It’s very fluid, very New York. I feel like New York is a genre. We just touch on a lot of different sounds and feelings. I feel like our music is lived in. That’s a big thing, because we kind of went to Pennsylvania to record a lot of it, and a lot of our sound comes out more the further away you go from home,” Swank said.
 
August concurred, adding, “The genre does kind of just feel like New York City. We all have very unique New York stories. We always talked about that just as friends. We all literally live scattered, between South Brooklyn and the Upper East Side, which covers a lot of ground in between. Everyone has their own journey.”

Those unique stories were told through vignettes focused on each member of the group while introducing the album’s five lead singles. Those varying singles, “eastside w my dogs,” “chicken shop date,” “go!,” “jenny’s,” and “Bombay (keep it alive),” act as hors d’oeuvres for the sonic adventure that is their album.

Rapper Yoshi T. stressed the importance of sequencing the project, saying, “We wanted to make something where you never knew what was going to come next throughout the whole project.”

“We try to make it tasteful and not make it too brash, but also slowly lead people into some of the sounds. Especially on the first listen, starting with “Never let go,” kind of like the soft, slow song, going into “chicken shop date,” that kind of sets a meter for the spectrum of this project,” he continued.

As their debut album hits stores and streaming services, WHATMORE is ecstatic to perform the wealth of new songs they’ve been honing over the past year.

“I’m excited for ‘emptyy.’” Yoshi T. said. “‘emptyy’ is one of the first songs we made, and it’s just the fact that it’s coming out. It went through a lot of different changes. It almost didn’t make it, even in the beginning. The fact that it made it all this way, it’ll be a good time. It’s just kind of like a good bop.”

“That’s a Cisco and me personal favorite, it was on the chopping block at every stage of making this album. It was like, ‘Is this gonna make it? Is this gonna make it?’ And it was the most Frankenstein one,” August remarked on the track. “At one point, all four of us were on it. And then now it’s just Yoshi and Cisco on it. Yoshi and Cisco took parts here and there that were in the original, and then they put it in their voice. I think it’s kind of the first time that I’ve really, that I’ve really done that. So I’m hype and it’s a fun one. We say it’s our club banger.”

Forging the Future

The group’s meteoric rise still leaves WHATMORE astounded. Not only have they catapulted to stardom, it’s even more bewildering to be doing it with your friends from high school. Their debut album is just the tip of the iceberg for the collective. They’ll be hitting the road with Laundry Day, culminating in a performance at Coachella next year.

“It’s still really surreal. We’re just looking forward to embarking on this journey together. I’m excited to see how our performance evolves because it’s kind of a ways down the road,” Judah, the group’s resident producer, said. “We have a lot of touring experience to go through before that happens. I’m looking forward to all of it.”

The former band room buddies are attempting to remain even-keeled in the wake of their rise by staying focused on their collective goals and enjoying the moment.

“We’ve always, always loved music and wanted to do music in life,” Sebastiano said. “Life takes you on different roads, here and there. I mean, I went to college for not even music. It’s just surreal, it’s a blessing, and we’re very excited for this journey.”

How would those freshmen in the band room respond to this meteoric rise? “Tweaking,” Sebastiano added. “Definitely tweaking,” replied August.

“We would be really shocked. Also, my younger brother currently goes to the high school that we went to, and it’s just crazy to hear him be like, ‘Yo, people are talking about y’all, in our school.’ I’m like, ‘Wow. That’s nuts.’ There were artists when we were in that school that we were obsessed with, and to be among that is incredible,” Judah said.

‘WHATMORE’ is now available on all streaming platforms.