Some of the best music collaborations are built on friendships. “Paradise,” a smooth and spirited song about love, is one recent example of how a friendship can lead to musical success.

Released on April 26 by Apollo Liberace and Tyla Yaweh, “Paradise” replicates the bond the duo has in real life to provide a unique melody just in time for summer. 

“Everything we do is organic,” Apollo Liberace said in an interview with All Hip-Hop. “We knew each other for years before we even did a song together.”

Tyla added, “We ended up doing “Paradise” on some organic s###. I had a studio session and asked him to pop up. I’m tired of everybody giving the same message. It’s no real message to give our next generation of people that look up to us. We’re at a point: ‘Yo, you gotta put that s### in the music.’ ‘Paradise’ feels sad, but it feels happy at the same time.”

Paradise is a love song. Apollo and Tyla, who are both in loving relationships with their female partners, were able to channel those experiences into the overall vibe of the song and visuals. 

“The song is about when you have somebody, you could be at the most beautiful place in the world or the best place, but it don’t feel the same unless you’re with that special person,” Apollo said. “That’s what ‘Paradise’ is about. Even if I’m in paradise, it don’t feel the same unless I’m with you.”

AllHipHop caught up with Apollo Liberace and Tyla Yaweh in Los Angeles, where they discussed how they met, how “Paradise” came to be, what their ladies mean to them and more.

AllHipHop: How did you guys meet initially?

Tyla Yaweh: It’s an insane story. I met this guy on Worldstar. He was the top box on Worldstar, it was in a group called BDS Monstaz.  

Apollo Liberace: Facts. 

Tyla Yaweh: This is when you get on the top box, you gon’ blow up. And that’s what happened to them. This is that primetime WorldStarHipHop and they had that video up there for a cool three months. They bought that slot, it was crazy. It was a few weeks…

Apollo Liberace: Yeah, it was a few weeks. It felt like three months [laughs].

So y’all were kicking it before you made music?

Apollo Liberace: We knew each other for years before we even did a song together. 

Tyla Yaweh: We ended up doing a song on some organic s###. Had a studio session, I told him to pop up. 

Apollo Liberace: We recorded “Paradise” over here [Tyla’s crib], right at that desk right here.

Because I know you made the song a few years ago, right? 

Apollo Liberace: Yeah, I started a few years ago, but I only had a little idea. I finished it here. 

What were the vibes? I know it’s more alternative. 

Apollo Liberace: Everything we do is organic. 

Tyla Yaweh: Hey, I just tell people to live. Figure out that energy you want to create. I really been staying away from a lot of outside things. I be home, I be with my family. I’m growing up so much as a person, every single day it’s dope. I’m learning myself who I want to be and what type of sound.

He has that same exact frequency of staying away from all those outside resources that’s going to make you try to — we’re not here to fight for a spot. We’re here to make good music, have a good time and spread love. That’s something that we really came to a point with each other like “Yo, let’s make music people gon ’love.”

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Apollo Liberace: Because neither of us really give a f### about the fame aspect of it, or any of that stuff. That’s why the only people we really around, and I know that about him too, are people that genuinely love doing this. Because anything outside of that, we’ve been around all that already. The blue checks. We never even started doing this for a lot of reasons. People do this whether it’s girls, money, fame — none of that. It’s for the love of the craft.

Tyla Yaweh: One thing I’ve been saying is I’m tired of everybody giving the same message. It’s no real message to give our next generation of people that look up to us. We’re at a point, “Yo, you gotta put that s### in the music.” “Paradise” feels sad, but it feels happy at the same time.

Apollo Liberace: Straight love. We spread love.

Tyla Yaweh: The message that’s going on right now. It’s unauthentic. I refuse to go that far in life to get a click or a view on some music. I’m not losing my dignity for that, for no one.

Apollo Liberace: For a check or nothing!

What is “Paradise” to you? 

Tyla Yaweh: It’s this m########### right here, look where we’re at [points to view].

Apollo Liberace: The song is about when you have somebody, you could be at the most beautiful place in the world or the best place, but it don’t feel the same unless you’re with that special person. That’s what “Paradise” is about. Even if I’m in paradise, it don’t feel the same unless I’m with you. I’d rather be at home with you than be at the Taj Mahal or whatever the case may be.

It’s about spreading love. It’s a challenge going around on TikTok naturally with couples and love. Instead of some gimmick doing dances like ass shaking and pop locking, it’s real love. You got people with their kids, people they really care about that they will want to spend those moments with. That’s what the song is about. Naturally, that feedback is coming back to us when we put that out there, which is beautiful. 

Tyla Yaweh: That was amazing, bro. 

Apollo Liberace: It’s real, come on.

Y’all are both in relationships, how much do your ladies inspire your music? 

Apollo Liberace: My girl [Ericka Wolfe] is my partner in everything. I don’t really need a full team, even though I have a team I’m building right now, but my home team is just me and her. We do everything together. Creatively, everything. She thinks she’s smarter than me. 

Tyla Yaweh: She has a Ph.D, bro.

Apollo Liberace: She does. She is smarter than me, but I got street smarts [laughs]. She does a lot of things.

Tyla Yaweh: She’s a girl that rides and dies for you. That’s there, supportive. That’s down to be there through the thick and thin of everything.

Apollo Liberace: I don’t want to speak for her, but I am anyway. It’s cool for me knowing him for a while and seeing his relationship with Natasha. Seeing when they got together, both their hustles just maximized. They turning each other up even more. It’s crazy, from my point of view at least.

Tyla Yaweh: I love my girl [Natastha Graziano] a lot because she’s a motivational speaker. She’s always making sure she’s putting those affirmations [out there]. I just went to one of her conferences in Tampa, it was Risecon. Hella different, like David Grutman.

Apollo Liberace: Deion Sanders was there.

Tyla Yaweh: Mad people you see on Instagram. It’s a whole different world for me, too. Because I’m in music, this is what I do all day. But I support my girl no matter what. Seeing her side of the world, she’s making people cry. She’s making people really believe in themselves. She has this thing called Scripting, it got me into scripting. Ever since I started journaling my life and foretelling it, it taught me how to manifest so much more in my life. 

Man, that girl motivates the hell out of me every single day when I wake up. And she’s having my baby girl, so that’s pretty cool. You treat your woman right. I say all my homies need to have a relationship with a woman that’s going to motivate them. That’s what I’ve been on.

What was the moment you found out that she was pregnant? 

Tyla Yaweh: I just remember coming home. They rushed to the door, I’m like, “Why y’all rushing to the door so much. Yo, what’s going on?’ In my head, I knew s###. I started seeing symptoms. You just know when a woman’s pregnant. You feel the energy. As a man, you start getting tired. You felt it. She showed me like “here look.” She’s pregnant. F### yeah, let’s go.

Apollo Liberace: We were in Dallas for New Years when he told me.

Tyla Yaweh: I said, “She’s pregnant. Crazy! I’m having a kid.” I’m happy. I’m super excited. I’m just gearing up. That’s why we’ve been working on so much music. I’m working in the crib instead of being in the studio, late nights. I bring it at home. I don’t need to be out, I don’t need to be around certain energies. I want to make sure I protect my family. 

What are your other records like?

Apollo Liberace: Tyla’s working on a project right now. We putting together an EP also. 

Tyla Yaweh: You’re on that project too, though.

Apollo Liberace: I know, we’re working everything? Think of what “Paradise” sounds like, just “Paradise” variants. If “Paradise” had kids and all them m############ were different. One was bad, one was shy, one was angry. That’s what all the music sounds like [laughs]. “Paradise” babies. “Paradise” Bebe’s Kids.

Y’all both have vibrant personalities, so what would the EP be called? 

Tyla Yaweh: [Laughs] Dum & Dummer.

Apollo Liberace: [Laughs] That’s already Key Glock and my dawg, rest in peace Dolph. 

Tyla Yaweh: Beavis and Butt-Head.

Apollo Liberace: Beavis and Butt-Head would be fire. We talked about different ideas, but something big. 

Tyla Yaweh: He named my project that’s coming out, it’s called Everyone’s A Critic.

Apollo Liberace: Facts. When he showed me the picture, for some reason I thought of Sherlock Holmes. He said “Bro, what does this make you think of?  I was like: everyone’s a critic.That’s where we are in society. People with no background or anything they talk about, they feel like they have the answers.

Apollo Liberace: This music that he’s working on right now, it’s legendary. It’s my favorite project from him, but got some joints.