NAME: No Guidnce

WHERE THEY’RE FROM: London

WHEN THEY STARTED: Josh: “I started making my own music in 2018 but started singing and performing from the age of 7.” Kaci: “I wrote my first song at 13 for a songwriting competition at my school. So 2016!” Zeekay: “I wrote my first song when I was 6, so probably around 2009. I went to my first proper studio session when I was 11 and released my first song and booked my first West End show when I was 12, so I’ve been doing music professionally since 2015.” Ebubé: “Although I’ve been performing since I was, like, 8, I only started writing my own songs recently, in 2020. Lockdown forced me to learn new skills, like playing the guitar, songwriting and producing, and for that, I am grateful.”

FILE NEXT TO: FLO, Leon Thomas, Lucky Daye

SOUNDS LIKE: Josh: “I would define our No Guidnce music as classic R&B sounds with a modern-day twist. With our music, we want to show the world that we can cross into different styles of R&B.” Kaci: “The No Guidnce sound is something new; it lives in the modern R&B world, of course, but also has lots of nostalgic elements to it, too.” Zeekay: “I personally don’t think there is a definition to our sound yet. I think everything we’ve released so far is still experimental and it’ll be, like, another year or so before we can officially define our sound.” Ebubé: “The No Guidnce sound, I would say, is a 2023 refresh of old-school R&B. We place a lot of emphasis on harmony and range our style from slow jams to bouncy R&B grooves. I feel like our sound is quite versatile.”

FIRST MUSIC THAT INSPIRED THEM: Josh: “I don’t have a particular song, but I would say the Purpose album by Justin Bieber was definitely on repeat when it came out and for sure inspired me to want to create my own music.” Kaci: “Khalid’s American Teen album.” Zeekay: “There wasn’t one particular song that made me want to start making music. I’ve wanted to make music for as long as I can remember and, ultimately, I believe it’s down to my mother’s love for music.” Ebubé: “The whole Daniel Caesar album, Freudian, was a big inspiration of mine. In particular, the song ‘Get You’. I’m particularly inspired by the uniqueness of his voice and the emotion his music is able to bring to the listener.”

Between them, Ebubé, Zeekay, Kaci and Josh have been making music, really for their own amusement, their entire lives—or at least since they were old enough to pick up an instrument.

In one form or another, it was always the vocals that inspired them. Whether that was Ebubé stirred by gospel music and his mother’s singing in church, the ‘90s R&B and garage that soundtracked Kaci’s upbringing, the ‘70s soul and pop of Zeekay’s childhood, or the Boyz II Men, Jodeci and Usher jams that Josh’s parents raised him on. Even as they started discovering their own tastes, like Daniel Caesar, Justin Bieber and The Weeknd, it was always the vocals and the harmonies they focused on—no surprise for a group built on those very foundations.

And even though they came together as a group only recently, on some level, they always knew they’d take music seriously. In Zeekay’s case, he took it really seriously and knew exactly where he was going. “In school, every summer my friends would ask me if I’m coming to Wireless,” he tells TRENCH, “and I’d always say my first time being there I will be performing. I also predicted it for No Guidnce a year before we did it, so I’d definitely say Wireless has to be up there. I don’t think it was our best performance but the fact that we did it at all is a huge achievement.”

Now that they’re here, though, it’s a lot of pressure and a harsh spotlight, particularly as one of the only R&B groups in the country. Still, they seem to be taking it in their collective stride for now. “There’s pressure on everyone to succeed and it’s a natural thing to feel pressure,” Ebubé says. “I think the only way to deal with it is preparation. When you work as hard as you can on everything and feel as prepared as possible for every situation, you’ve done your absolute best and nobody can fault you for that. I feel like that’s our mentality. We’ll work hard and exhaust every option to give ourselves the best opportunities.”

Since emerging with “Committed” in March this year, No Guidnce have kept the releases coming thick and fast. Building that momentum without taking their foot of the pedal—they’ve released six singles and now, including the recent arrival of Spicy, two EPs—has earned them credibility and kudos for their work ethic. With those stripes earned, the next step is to scale up and take their music global. “My next big career goal would be to do a world tour, travelling to places I’ve never visited and meeting fans,” Josh tells us. “That would be amazing! I can’t wait to see how far our music has spread globally and how it has resonated with our fans.”

They all seem to be on the same page on that one, and they’ve certainly put enough time in on the live circuit, honing their show and making sure they’re as tight as possible. Kaci, however, hints at another phase in their plan that’s starting to come into fruition. “I would love for us to have a song that travels the globe,” he adds. “We also plan to drop an album next year.” The stadium roars.