FKA Twigs and Jorja Smith Were Collaborators Before They Knew They Were Cousins

Imagine waking up one morning to discover that your coworker is related to you. That’s exactly what happened for British singers FKA Twigs and Jorja Smith.

While working on their song “darjeeling,” FKA Twigs was surprised to find out that her collaborator and co-writer, Jorja Smith, were actually cousins. 

Their single is a part of Twigs’ album, Caprisongs, released this past January. Only after recording the song and becoming friends with each other did they connect the dots. 

The singer told British GQ of their similarities in an interview. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘gosh that’s strange. We’ve got exactly the same kind of skin,” Twigs told the magazine. “A few months later, I was on the road to go to LA and Jorja left me a voice note saying, ‘you’re never going to believe this, but I’ve just spoken to my dad and he’s spoken to his sister and we’re related.” 

Twigs’ album Caprisongs features collaborations with Daniel Caesar and The Weeknd among others. The album reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Music Albums and No. 3 on their Top Alternative Albums charts. She also released her most recent single “Killer,” earlier this June. 

In the meantime, Smith has recently collaborated with musical duo Ibeyi on their song “Lavender & Red Roses,” as part of their album Spell 31.

You can listen to Twigs’ and Smith’s song “darjeeling” below.

Photo by Joseph Okpako/WireImage