When Phonte and Nicolay began working together some 20 years ago, they were an eight-hour transatlantic flight away from each other — more than 4,000 miles between Durham, North Carolina, and Utrecht, Netherlands. Despite closing that to a manageable two-hour drive, they haven’t changed their collaboration process: they record separately and share files digitally.

“Our partnership with The Foreign Exchange, we always allowed space. I don't want to listen to him tweak a snare, he don't want to hear me re-sing harmonies,” Phonte laughs. “You gotta give each other space to have your own version of crazy.”

It’s tough to fault them for it. What started as a side project for a member of a beloved rap group has become one of music’s most respected self-contained R&B/soul collectives, with a Grammy nomination, the score of a new ESPN documentary, and several Billboard-charting albums to their name.

Before forging their musical kinship, Phonte and Nicolay noticed each other’s diverse palettes on Okayplayer, the insular online community co-founded by The Roots’ drummer Questlove. Nic had admired Little Brother, Phonte’s esteemed trio with Rapper Big Pooh and 9th Wonder, and Phonte applauded Nic’s creative approach in an OKP sample flip challenge. Early plans were for Nicolay to helm a Little Brother EP, but Pooh didn’t vibe with Nic’s mellow production style. He began crafting his solo debut Sleepers instead, but idealized The Foreign Exchange’s group name at a studio session.

“At that time, we had recorded with each other so much that it made sense to take that fork in the road,” Phonte said. “So it was like, well, it's going to be me and Nic.”

Both artists had hurdles, though. Phonte didn’t own a computer, so he had to use his homie DJ MC’s laptop and collaborator/rapper Median’s computer lab pass at North Carolina State University to retrieve Nicolay’s beats. Meanwhile, Nic downloaded AOL Instant Messenger onto his work computer since the six-hour time difference meant he’d be at his day job when Tay was available to talk. They didn’t have many personal conversations early on, but the music helped develop a friendship. 

“Tay was writing stuff that, at least partly, was autobiographical. I got to know what he was about. I remember hearing lyrics like, ‘okay, he's got an infant son, and he's got problems with [other things],’” Nicolay remembers. “It was an interesting way of getting to know somebody.”

Their debut album, Connected, dropped in August 2004 and remains a fan favorite for Nic’s warm instrumentals, Phonte’s relatable raps and sincere singing, and the gorgeous Herbie Hancock-inspired album cover. But after Nicolay moved to North Carolina in May 2006, they began a full leap into R&B/soul. They had already crafted songs for singer Darien Brockington’s 2005 album The Feeling, and Nicolay returned from a Japan trip inspired to indulge his other musical influences.

“I realized I had been censoring myself a bit. Now that people know who we are, I felt I had boxed myself in,” Nicolay remembers. “We never talked like, ‘look at us experimenting.’ But I do remember thinking, ‘oh, if [Phonte] likes this, all bets are off.’”

Tay, meanwhile, says a Little Brother collaboration with Jazzy Jeff prepared him for the direction Nic was ready to take.

“Me and Big Pooh drove up I-95 ready to rap our faces off. We got to [Jeff’s] crib, and he played these beats that were amazing, but were more on the R&B vibe. We had to switch our pitch up,” he remembers. “When working with Nic, I kept an open mind. I can't lock this into hip-hop or R&B; I just have to do what feels most natural for what this track requires.”

Leave It All Behind (2008) earned the group’s first Grammy nomination, with the single “Daykeeper” earning a nod for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. The duo admits neither of them was into the pageantry but that it excited their fans and legitimized their success. “A lot of people, for good reason, consider [music] a risky career path,” Nicolay says. “The Grammy nomination was a moment where people around me saw that what we were doing was being awarded by the industry.”

In subsequent albums, Foreign Exchange has traversed between R&B/soul, drum and bass, and even country music, while Phonte pens lyrics about the nuances of adulthood. The man who was nervous about his girlfriend’s pregnancy vomiting in 2004 on “Alright” now has two adult sons, aged 23 and 18. His oldest listens to Little Brother, and his youngest bumps The Foreign Exchange.

They’ve also founded Foreign Exchange Music, a sort of R&B/soul version of rap’s Griselda collective: a self-contained vehicle for themselves and other artists, with an aesthetic all their own. “Foreign Exchange was the first time I got to see my worth in the game. I understood that if I want control over my destiny and my music, I have to do this myself,” Phonte said. He wants to use FE+ to share their positive experiences with other artists while sidestepping pitfalls. He says the label “rebooted” in 2021 with singer BeMyFiasco’s 2021 album Where I Left You; this year has seen releases by Sy Smith, Bain, and Darien Brockington, with production largely handled by Nic and in-house musician Zo!. “We can provide artists we believe in with an experience I damn sure didn't have on my first record deal. Financial transparency, creative support, and tools they need to succeed and make the music they want on their own terms.”

While their signees show their vision for the future, Foreign Exchange are still creating their own gems, both separately and together. They don’t tour often or flood the market like their contemporaries, but they move selectively and deliberately.

Little Brother released a documentary called May The Lord Watch last fall, along with two new songs. Phonte has appeared on several collaborations since 2023, co-hosts the Questlove Supreme podcast, and writes music for shows like Sesame Street and Sherman’s Showcase. 

As LB produced their film, Nicolay composed the score for False Positive, a documentary about 90s track and field star Butch Reynolds that aired this summer under ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 franchise. The film’s director Ismail Al-Amin booked Foreign Exchange for a 2010 concert, and recruited Nic since much of the film takes place on Nic’s home continent. FE released two songs to maximize the moment. “The Grey” (featuring BeMyFiasco) appears in the film, and “I Couldn’t Love You More (Dub)” covers a 1992 classic from Sade. Nic also produced Bain’s album Lifetime and released a 4/20-themed EP this year in preparation for a solo LP. 

The Foreign Exchange is charting their own path and setting their own rules. And with a trust 20 years deep, they plan for their music to last just as long.