US Virgin Island hip hop brother-duo R. City return to the airwaves with the release of their latest track ‘W.A.P.A.‘ on Friday (October 13), which celebrates their native Caribbean roots.

Through ‘W.A.P.A.‘, brothers Theron and Timothy Thomas are serving up a Caribbean twist on UK drill, and is a listed single from R.City’s forthcoming mixtape ‘This Is Not A Drill…This Is Really Happening!‘

A tapestry of elusive raw energy, R. City skillfully melds music cultures together in this hypnotic track. ‘W.A.P.A.‘ embraces island rizz and the unique facets of identity that make Caribbeans the smoothest in the game. With witty banter that takes a stab at pop culture, ‘W.A.P.A.‘ builds a rolling wave of momentum for the impending mixtape release.  

The Thomas brothers are best known for their smash hits including Billboard Hot 100-charting ‘Locked Away featuring Adam Levine in 2015. R. City have contributed to numerous Grammy-nominated albums, including Rihanna’s ‘Unapologetic‘, Jennifer Hudson’s self-titled album, and Ariana Grande’s ‘My Everything‘.

Born in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, the brothers decided after high school that they were going to try to make it in the music business. A move to America was necessary and they migrated via Atlanta before settling in Miami. There, they began writing for Akon, who quickly signed the brothers to his Kon Live label. After their song ‘The Rain‘ landed on Akon’s hit album Konvicted, songwriting for others kept them away from their own music. It wasn’t until 2008 that Rock City released their infectious single ‘Losing It‘, along with mixtape Put the F*cking Album Out. The album in question was Wake the Neighbors, which Kon Live promised for later that same year. The label never delivered, and eventually the album was shelved, while the duo continued releasing mixtapes (issuing no less than eight volumes of PtFAO).

Rock City finally left Kon Live in 2011 and started their own label, Rebelution Records, briefly changing their name to Planet VI for a few years before settling on R. City. Despite all the hassle releasing their own music, they had no trouble scoring hits for other artists, penning enormously successful singles for Rihanna, Justin Bieber, and Miley Cyrus. 

Dr. Luke signed R. City to his Kemosabe Records, and in 2015 the duo released #WhatDreamsAreMadeOf, an album about the struggles involved with their upbringing in the Virgin Islands.

The album’s first single, ‘Locked Away‘, featured Maroon 5 frontrunner Adam Levine—peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. With recent hit collaborations among the likes of Jung Kook, Latto, Ciara, Lil Durk, and J. Cole, there’s no telling what R. City will accomplish next.