Exclusive Premiere: “Love Remains” (Featuring Lyrics Born) by Tha Building

When funk meets rap music, the results are generally great.

To wit, the Bay Area band, Tha Building, has teamed up with beloved, accomplished emcee Lyrics Born to bring fans this exciting new crossover hit, “Love Remains,” which American Songwriter is exclusively premiering here today.

Founded by multi-instrumentalist J. Brewster, Tha Building is bolstered by the guitar player-producer Cam Perridge, who, with Brewster, worked through the recent COVID-19 pandemic to create the band’s upcoming LP release, Outside Ourselves, which is set to drop later this year.

“My goal with Tha Building was to write songs with originality, depth, and swag,” said Brewster of the project. “The title ‘Outside Ourselves’ is really about the idea of looking outward in an era of a ‘Me’ culture with selfies, TikTok, and the like. It’s a social commentary on how to change course with what has gotten us to the place where we are right now.”

Also in the group is Brewster’s childhood buddy and bassist Uriah Duffy (Alicia Keys, Whitesnake, Christina Aguilera); producer singer and songwriter Trance Thompson; Bay Area soul royalty Naté the Soulsanger; Grammy-winning instrumentalists violinist Shaina Evoniuk (Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello, Leon Bridges, Roy Ayers); saxophonist Tony Peebles (Fred Wesley, John Lee Hooker, Karl Denson); young badass drummer James “StickNasty” Small (Fantastic Negrito); and multi-instrumentalist Adam Theis (Bobby McFerrin, Roy Ayers, Jazz Mafia)

“‘Love Remains’ is one of my favorite tracks on the record! The demo for this song started with the drum groove, which quickly inspired the bass line, followed by guitars and basic keys—musically, it fell together pretty quickly,” Brewster adds of the new single, which features standout Bay Area rapper Lyrics Born. “Once I brought the demo to the band in the studio, we all sunk our teeth in and elevated the song in a big way. 

“This song is about loving someone but knowing you need to let them go—the idea of being in a situation where the relationship has run its course and it’s time to move on. Unlike a heartbreak or a dramatic breakup, there’s still a lot of love there which makes it every bit as tough—but you both realize it’s time. 

“For the bridge, I wanted to go bigger and reflect the tension of the lyric, so we just went for it. After the bridge, I immediately knew it needed bars. The first person that came to my mind who has endless bars was Lyrics Born. He’s an amazing writer, rapper, and recording artist, and 100-percent reps the Bay Area as well as anyone I can think of. His wife Joyo actually sings lead on another song on the record, ‘No More Darkness,’ so it was a nice bookend. Hope folks enjoy the song as much as we enjoyed making it!”

Indeed, “Love Remains” is full of insights into lost love and the grieving process of letting go of exes. Adds Brewster, “It’s about how just because two people can’t be together, it doesn’t mean they have to be enemies.”

For example: Whether you’re missing this / Or you’re busy living your bliss / You’re right on both accounts and ain’t no goin’ back in time / And now I’m looking for another mountain to climb. 

In addition, Lyrics Born drops some wisdom with his opening lines: When you love someone you can’t just flip a switch and turn it off / Feels like your heart won’t heal all the images, words and thoughts / And I can’t erase those memories; I feel sick, hurt and lost / We must proceed eventually can’t reverse or pause.

Check out the new song below.

Photo courtesy Public Display PR