In the South of all Souths, South Florida, one R&B artist stands as a growing example of Florida’s rich and ever-growing R&B music landscape. Now, almost 10 years into his career, Twelve’len is taking on intentionality and purpose even further through his work, putting the sounds of the Alt-R&B South into more ears than ever.
Born and raised in Carol City, Florida, Twelve’len’s musical style exemplifies something you wouldn’t always expect to come out locally. Growing up in the church, but having connected experiences with artists like longtime collaborator Denzel Curry and Robb Bank$, his musical start always had roots within the two worlds of R&B and Hip Hop.
Starting as a band and later branching into a solo effort, he was finding his footing from 2011 to 2015. Moving between works and writings tinged with the musical influences of Andre 3000 and the sunset-tinted backyards and donks of Miami-Dade hip hop culture, his music in this era was “formed out of pure creativity and just doing it to do it.” It wouldn’t be until 2016, with the release of his first full body of work, Fri(end)s, that he felt he was seriously taking to his craft.
“I was going through a lot at the time, and I didn’t think I had much fight in me.”
After meeting and gaining the backing of Coach K of Quality Control, along with other contributors who helped produce and develop his first project, the foundation of his artistry began to take shape.
Even in hearing his story of manifesting his path through this time in his life and diving into this specific sound within the R&B genre, it is reflected in his music on this first project, from songs like “Florida”, “All Night Long”, and “Girl From Nowhere/Carol’s City”. Taking on this malleable blend of the genre that current alternative-leaning “R&B” artists like Kelela and Ravyn Lenae acknowledge within the expansiveness of the genre label, and how it can exist outside of that label. The elements of dance music and rap that influence his project are hard to ignore, and they serve as a glimpse into the further exploration Twelve’len would pursue in these realms throughout his career.
“I was being creative; at the time, I needed music that was an escape. The music wasn’t for reality. It was based on the Book of Enoch, and I interpreted it in the way that it’s like if it were our last days on Earth, how would you want to spend them?”
This cathartic release would continue to come through the releases of features on Denzel Curry’s projects “Imperial” and “TA13OO” (released in 2016 and 2018, respectively), his “Swim” EP in 2017, and his “Tomorrow After One” EP in 2020, before his follow-up full-length project, “Sugar Hill Express,” was released in 2021.
“That was the first time I went and made music outside of Miami. I was in Los Angeles working with FNZ. We were in a studio for 2 weeks, and it was a different experience compared to before.”
This jump in sound production, vocal production, and writing, along with continued exploration of this unique R&B sound, is evident throughout this project. Listening to this project, amongst his other work, and seeing him, as he reminds me so much of so many people I saw growing up locally, is a dichotomy I never really think I see too often. Someone who presents more so in the vein of someone who I wouldn’t think to be crooning over melodic mid-tempo and slow jams, but can do so with ease, truly is something that even in conversation I kept trying to shake.
After having a song featured in “They Cloned Tyrone,” his following release, “Solace in the Night”, which dropped at the tail end of 2025, was a collection of singles released from 2023 to 2025. However, the intentionality of his work began to come through during the development of this project.
‘I wanted to focus on heavy bass and soothing musical sounds for my son, because he was having a problem sleeping. So I would play jazz music and play, like, heavy vibrations for him. I was like, you know what, I already have the records for this project, but I’m going to reproduce them.”
The attention to detail in his son’s ability to listen to and be soothed by his music is also felt throughout the project.
Through songs like “For Crashing Out” featuring DRAM, “Lady Draco” featuring Denzel Curry, and “Klub 24” featuring 03 Greedo, this smoothness and heavy bass add to these songs in the best way. Especially “For Crashing Out,” this slow, crawling song with DRAM adding the Midas touch through his vocal additions, has easily made its way into my weekly rotation.
“The production was the focus for my son, but the writing and delivery was me just experimenting vocally and seeing how far I can push myself with my pen.”
Through it all, his music and his artistry are truly within their own lane.
“I just want to create what the people who f**k with me like. I’m not trying to compete with anybody. I don’t want to compete, no way. I want to create the best art I can make visually, conceptually, and story-wise.”
Alongside Twelve’len, particularly in South Florida, R&B artists have been getting more eyes and ears on the sounds coming out of the area. Artists like Savanna Christina, Q Marsden, Phoenix James, and many others are helping expand the new and established R&B sounds of areas often overlooked in the R&B and Alt-R&B space. Despite not having the same access or chain of command for music as in other states like Georgia or New York, Florida artists are making waves in the spaces they deserve.
“What I do love about Miami is that it’s like the city of gods, and to make it, you have to build a foundation and create it yourself and go out and actually interact with people.”
This is evident even in his work with Velvet Velour. This creative agency creates spaces for local Miami creatives to express themselves, cultivate, and build connections with lovers of creative events and cultural connectedness.
Still, ten years into his career and still within the spaces of South Florida, he continues to remind his listeners and himself why he’s even doing all of this in the first place.
“Of course, my son, my family. But for real, seeing my friends making their art and loving what they’re doing gets me gassed up to get involved with them, and I fall in love all over again. The people I surround myself with are my biggest motivations.”
For his upcoming project, he promises that love is the center of the message.
“There’s nothing negative; there’s no heartbreak. I want people to feel whole and warm inside their homes with this next project. We can love, and we can love passionately.
Looking beyond this project, though, you can see that same love oozing through his words when he talks about his music, his process, and how he creates the bodies of work people can carry with them today. This same love and passion for his craft, still being so bright and clear at this point in his career, shows that there’s so much more to tell through his music beyond the city limits of Miami-Dade County.
