Threetwenty Named Billboard R&B Up-and-Comer for September
Billboard has named Threetwenty its R&B Up-and-Comer for September 2026. The feature was published on September 24 and centres on the independent married singer-producer duo of Ivana Nwokike and Filip Hunter. The pick was confirmed by Billboard, which uses the monthly slot to highlight an emerging act in R&B, shorthand for rhythm and blues.
The name is a date. Nwokike and Hunter met in Los Angeles in 2018. Threetwenty takes its name from the day they met, a personal marker turned into a group title.
Nwokike was previously a member of VanJess, the R&B group she formed alongside her sister Jessica. That background brings prior experience of recording and performing as part of a close vocal group. Hunter made his name as a producer in the Swedish hip-hop scene. He also holds a writing credit on Mariah the Scientist's song "Impalas & Air Force 1s".
As a new duo, they went straight to listeners. Threetwenty shared its early music by posting songs on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. The approach skipped a long traditional rollout, where singles are teased for weeks before release. Instead, songs arrived directly on feeds that fans already scroll every day.
The debut album, "separate from the noise", arrived in December. The title is styled in lower case. A second instalment, described as a Side B, followed in August, according to Billboard. In album terms, a Side B usually means a companion or extension to the first collection rather than a wholly separate second album.
The personal story has also moved geography. The pair met in the United States but has since relocated to Sweden. The move was discussed in the Billboard interview and puts Hunter back in the country where he built his production reputation. It leaves Threetwenty working between American R&B roots and Swedish studio life.
For listeners meeting the duo for the first time, the feature pulls those threads together in one place — a marriage, a meeting date used as a name, an R&B group past and a production background in Swedish hip-hop. There are two album instalments already released and a move to Sweden behind them. The September spotlight gives that background a single, easy entry point.
