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AG Club: The Cali-based Creative Collective With the ‘Fuck Your Expectations’ Mentality

Baby Boy and Manny (777Media) let us into the club on the rise.

AG Club (aka Avant-Garde Club) was birthed from the depths of the internet generation back in 2017. Barely legal enough to touch a drink, all fourteen members have one goal in common: to take over the world

Much like their online birthplace, AG Club knows no bounds. They refuse to be boxed in or limited, Avant-Garde is radical and experimental, and AG Club stays true to that as a genreless collective, committed to their greatest creative instincts. Each member is multi-talented and has a distinct role to play, whether that be a vocalist, graphic designer, video director, actor or a combination of a few; all of the content they put out is made directly in-house. Erupting from the East Bay Area of San Francisco, AG Club have turned their wildest dreams into their reality, having created an electric team dynamic that pushes a high-energy and undeniably fun style that makes you wish you were a part of it.

AG Club released their debut EP ‘Halfway Off The Porch’ early last year and gained recognition for their cinematic visuals and for their standout song ‘Memphis’, which was picked up by viral Spotify playlists, further propelling them into the spotlight. With more eyes on them, AG Club caught the attention of A$AP Ferg and NLE Choppa, who jumped on the explosive ‘Memphis’ remix, leading to them being named by Complex as one of the rising artists to watch in 2021.

After a hectic late night at the studio trying to wrap up their two-part album FUCK YOUR EXPECTATIONS, we caught up with Baby Boy, the lead vocalist and graphic designer, and Manny (aka 777Media), their go-to director to discuss all things AG. Jumping on a Zoom call from their house in Hollywood, we chat about their new project, the major influence of Odd Future and Frank Ocean, the impact of the pandemic and a television show in the works.

So, does the whole of AG Club live in the same house together?

Baby Boy: Yeah! There’s like 14 of us in this house.

Oh wow! That sounds like a lot of testosterone to me.

[Manny and Baby Boy laugh]  Baby Boy: we have people coming over a lot so it’s like, it’s a balance.

You know, being able to live with all of your friends, creating art together and taking on the world together is such a huge aspiration for a lot of young people. What do you guys hope to gain out of this whole experience?

Baby Boy: Honestly, like of course we want to put everybody on. Just for all of our families and our friends to be set. We really just wanna take over the world. We wanna do every single thing we can, like, we wanna have our hands in everything. Any kind of art. Film, fashion, any type of media, music obviously. Just whatever we can. We wanna do everything. Just try everything that the world can give us.

So with the living situation, I would say it’s probably the best way to get to know each other. Who would you say is the messiest member of AG Club?

Baby Boy: [laughs] Bruh. I mean.. (looks at Manny)

Manny: I know what the house’s answer is….

Baby Boy: Yeah we know what the house’s answer is! Shit. I mean… Doug. [both laughing]

Manny: Yeah, he’s the one that’s been getting called out lately.

Baby Boy: There are some people who like, sleep closer to him, you know what I mean, like in the same space. I don’t really see it much but yeah,

Manny: That’s the household’s answer for sure. 

When you guys released your debut EP Halfway Off The Porch last year, it seems like you were in a different position than where you are today. Now AG Club has a bigger platform as well as a bigger fanbase and you’re set to release a new project. How does it feel reflecting on that?

Baby Boy: It’s honestly really weird cause social media and Youtube and all that stuff aside like it feels the same. Just because a year ago we were at Joey’s house, in his garage making music and we didn’t leave. We went to sleep, we woke up, we worked in the studio and that was it. That’s pretty much what we do now because of COVID and everything. We go to the studio, make music, come back and just hang out like we did. But seeing like everything blow up on like, Spotify, socials and shit, Youtube, like that’s insane. Seeing people really fuck with it. It’s touching people in ways that I never thought it could’ve. It’s beautiful.

So, AG Club is a genre-less collective, you’re not limited to a label and I feel like that’s a reason behind the upcoming album name FUCK YOUR EXPECTATIONS. Do you think you guys can explain that a little bit more?

Baby Boy: So FUCK YOUR EXPECTATIONS is pretty much just us saying like, you’ve heard Halfway Off The Porch, like a lot of people know us for ‘Memphis’ and like, you might—like what you said was pretty much really good. You might expect us to do something, you might expect it to be some type of way but sorry, like no… no. [both laugh] It’s not gonna be like that, and there’s gonna be some tracks that are hard, but there’s gonna be some tracks that are more experimental for us. That’s just always how we wanna be. FUCK YOUR EXPECTATIONS is kinda just setting us up for the rest of our careers like this is how shit’s gonna play out and if you’re ready for it, congratulations. I don’t know if that makes any sense but honestly, Jody is the one that answers that question so you got the first Baby Boy answer for that one.

I feel like AG Club is such a creative force as each one of you are multitalented in more than one area. I know music is just one aspect you want to take over. What other things can we expect to see from AG Club in the near future?

Baby Boy: So, we have this thing in the works, it’s called ‘Dooda and the Bandman’, it’s this TV show we’re tryna like get it together right now and that’s all I can really say about it cause like, we’re still working on it. [laughs]

Since there are so many of you, how do you make decisions or harness all this creative energy?

Baby Boy: I’m not gonna lie, usually we’re on the same page when an idea starts. Everybody’s around to hear it so it kinda just gets moulded into like, what everybody thinks will be fire. Like if me, Jody and whoever else are like making music, we’ll have the idea of the direction of the song. If it’s for a video, it’s pretty much the same thing. It’s kinda weird.

What would you say is one of your most favourite songs off of the album and why?

Baby Boy: So we have this one song called A BITCH CURIOUS which is my personal favourite, cause my girlfriend has a part in it.

I’ve listened to the song and that’s actually my favourite part!

Baby Boy: That’s for sure my favourite song coming off the project, what about you Manny?

Manny: I think UGUDBRU is for sure a special one. I’m excited for that to come out.

It seems like the Odd Future era might play an influence on AG Club, from your style and aesthetic, to your sound and team dynamic. Can you tell me about your connection to Odd Future and Tyle, The Creator?

Baby Boy: Yeah, Odd Future definitely played a big part in a lot of our childhoods cause when Odd Future was coming up, my cousin showed me them and like I was 12 years old. It kinda took me out of what I was usually listening to—the radio or whatever. I was really into T-Pain at the time, and I still love T-Pain but hearing Odd Future and Frank Ocean was life-changing almost. I remember being obsessed with Channel Orange and my mom asked me like, “Who is this guy, can you turn his music off?” But yeah, Odd Future, watching Loiter Squad, listening to their music— it made me want to have friends, honestly. [laughs] I was an only child and I never had a good time making friends but just seeing their comradery was fire. Manny do you want to take that one too?

Manny: I think it’s just what we grew up on, like naturally as kids of the internet and being from like a boring ass town in the suburbs, it was really dope to see people doing the shit they want to do. It never really was “oh I wanna do that” you know what I mean? I thought it was impossible but over time, I kinda gradually met these people that were fucking talented as shit, and we slowly became closer and closer, and it just kinda became reality but I never thought it was possible, for sure.

Since you guys are really into film and television, what would you say is one of your guys’ all-time favourite shows or movies?

Baby Boy: One of my favourite films is this movie called Mr. Nobody, that one really changed the game for me. I watched that first in high school and I always show people that movie. It’s fire.

Manny: I don’t even know, I’m trying to think of something I’ve just watched. I recently watched something called Greener Grass, it was really stupid and weird and I fuck with it.

Do you guys have anything to say to your down under fans before we wrap up?

Baby Boy: Shout out Australia and New Zealand, we wanna come visit you guys so bad, we’ve never been there so it’s definitely gonna be a wild time. Our homie Nick, like he’s from Australia so he always tells us like “yo they’re gonna-” oh I don’t wanna do an accent [laughs] but yeah we’re excited to come see you guys.

Follow AG Club here for more, and stream their new album FUCK YOUR EXPECTATIONS below — part 1 is out now, with part 2 set for release in the coming weeks.

 

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