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THE PLEASURE IS YOURS OUT FEBRUARY 27TH VIA LEX RECORDS
FIND LIV.E ON THE 3LWORLDTOUR WITH EARL SWEATSHIRT
GENA, the duo of Liv.e and Karriem Riggins, announces their debut album The Pleasure Is Yours, out February 27th via Lex Records. Liv.e & Karriem first hinted at the idea of a thorough collaboration during several one-off live performances under the mysterious moniker GENA at New York’s Nublu and the Detroit Jazz Festival earlier this year. The duo officially cemented their pairing last month with their first single as GENA, “Circlesz”, which received praise from the likes of Stereogum, Pitchfork, Pigeons & Planes and Billboard, who simply said, “we most certainly aren’t worthy of such a jam”.
Along with the album announcement, the duo are also sharing a new offering from the forthcoming album with new single “HOWWEFLOW” and its accompanying music video, directed by Mackai Sharp. One of the more subdued tracks on the album, “HOWWEFLOW” draws on the hip-hop inspirations behind GENA with a looped, echoing chorus that captures the lightning in a bottle moment of Liv.e & Karriem meshing their styles together seamlessly.
On January 31st, GENA will be playing a live show in London at ICA (tickets HERE), following early performances together in New York, Detroit, and Karriem also popped out as a special guest with Liv.e for her set in New York on Earl’s 3LW tour.
The Pleasure Is Yours is a byproduct of kinetic collaboration, with the album serving as the document of a conversation between two kindred musical spirits finding each other in real time. Together as GENA, the duo crafted an imaginative, amorphous body of work that overflows with silky melodies and a warm nostalgia for soul, hip-hop and R&B, while leaving space for futuristic ideas and the alchemy of those genres being experimented with and innovated upon. The album is simultaneously analog and ethereal, mirroring how it was made over a series of virtual sessions with contributions from guest musicians like Isaiah Sharkey, James Francies and Telemakus.
Immerse yourself in “HOWWEFLOW” below, see below for more details on The Pleasure Is Yours, and stay tuned for more from Liv.e and Karriem’s collaborative project GENA, coming soon.
GENA
The Pleasure Is Yours
February 27, 2026
Lex Records
1. Who’s Got a Problem With Gena
2. Theybetterbegladihavetherapy
3. Left The Club Like “Really Nigga!”
4. You’ve Outdone Yourself Today
5. Unspokern
6. TGD
7. readymade
8. Douwannabwithastar
9. This Is So Crazy
10. Lead It Up
11. HOWWEFLOW
12. Doobie Doo Wew
13. Circlesz
14. Dream a Twinkle
15. Thatsmyluvr
16. omo iya ati baba
More about Liv.e:
Liv.e’s musical journey embodies the freedom of experimentation that she first showed with critically acclaimed debut album Couldn’t Wait to Tell You…. Her subsequent followup, the widely celebrated Girl in The Half Pearl marked a breakout year for Liv.e in 2023, receiving praise from Billboard, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Vulture and more, as well as making surprise appearances at last year’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival to join both Earl Sweatshirt and Andre 3000 on stage for their respective sets. Liv.e has continued to tinker with her place in music and has allowed her creative moniker to exist as a conduit for her ideas, most recently venturing into synthwave with her PAST FUTURE.e project released in 2024. Liv.e is currently on Earl Sweatshirt’s Live. Laugh. Love. world tour, joined by ZelooperZ and Cletus Strap, where she has been slowly teasing out GENA songs to fans’ overwhelming praise.
More about Karriem Riggins:
Detroit native Karriem Riggins has solidified himself as one of the most respected drummers and beatmakers in music today. Over the course of his career he has played with and produced for the likes of Common, Erykah Badu, KAYTRANADA, Steve Lacy, The Roots, Madlib, Paul McCartney, Norah Jones and notably formed a close kinship with the late Detroit legend J Dilla. In 2017, Riggins won an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and lyrics for his work with Common and Robert Glasper on “Letter to the Free” from Ava Duvernay’s film 13th. Most recently, Riggins reunited with Common and collaborated with James Poyser to create “Victory”, the NBA on Prime theme music for the 2025/2026 basketball season and beyond.
Connect with LIV.e:
Connect with Karriem Riggins:
