Joey LaBeija is returning, and he’s bringing the future with him. His new single, “Less than Three,” is a spectral, devastating plunge into experimental R&B, a genre-blurring meditation on love, loss, and the beauty in between. Known for constructing sonic universes that are at once grotesquely intimate and extraterrestrial from his work as Frank Ocean’s DJ to the sonic architect behind Mowalola’s fashion shows, LaBeija steps into the foreground once more on a track that’s like a whispered idea from another dimension.
Founded on a base of lonesome downtempo grooves, haunting synths, and glitched-out textures, “less than three” is an unvoicemail left in the dead of the night. The foundation from which the track springs, pedal-driven improvisation, brings a raw, unquantized energy, but its polished, high-tech sheen prevents it from ever feeling accidental. It’s melancholic but mesmerizing, like a slow-motion memory rewound through a cracked screen.
LaBeija’s voice, filtered, layered, and at times nearly disembodied, doubles as an instrument, gliding into “less than three” sonic crevices like a ghost echo of desire. You can hear the influence of the avant-garde electronic visionaries Coucou Chloe and Sega Bodega, but this is unfiltered Joey: emotionally overwhelming, immersive, and completely transportive.
“Less than three” feels like a return and a transformation. It’s a song that stays with you well after it leaves you, revealing itself anew with every listen. A soundtrack for those evenings when nostalgia comes in like a fever dream, LaBeija has built an anthem for all those who stroll this world where we have to learn to love and let go all at the same time.