threetwenty is Doing Things Their Way
Say hello to the husband-and-wife duo threetwenty: the governors of a new century sound.
Filip (left) and Ivana (right) in 2025. Image property of Joel Gunnarsson.
When do you know it's time to start over?
This question had been quietly echoing for years in the minds of producer Filip Hunter and singer-songwriter Ivana Nwokike. The pair met at a Los Angeles event on March 20, 2018, quickly fell in love, and began making music together. They married in July 2022 and, by 2024, officially formed the duo threetwenty. But the path there came with sacrifice.
Ivana, a Nigerian-American from California, was formerly one-half of the acclaimed R&B duo VanJess, known for their viral covers and their 2018 debut Silk Canvas. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ivana began questioning her faith and career path.
"Once things opened up again, and I was thrown back into the industry—my dad died," she tragically recalls. In the aftermath, she found herself at odds with the music VanJess was making. "I knew this [wasn't] really where I was supposed to be." Ivana officially departed the group in 2022, a year after Homegrown.
Meanwhile, Filip had been making a name for himself as a hip-hop producer in Gothenburg, Sweden. "Everything happens in Stockholm," he says, "so it was kind of a struggle." Once he gained momentum, he found himself in a deeper conflict with the content of the music he was creating.
Eventually shifting toward R&B, he worked with artists like Swedish vocalist Cherrie and earned a writing credit on Atlanta R&B singer Mariah the Scientist's "Impalas & Air Force 1s". His own spiritual growth, catalysed in part by Ivana's journey, began to reshape his artistic direction.
"Because she was on her spiritual journey, and I was on my own, it was like we needed each other to become complete," Filip explains. "Finding my person, pulling off layers, making mistakes—it all led me to my relationship with God."
Two individuals in a long-distance relationship, each navigating their own flaws and faith journeys, eventually came together to form threetwenty: a musical project rooted in love, spirituality, and neo-soul. Across their small but impactful five-song discography, Ivana and Filip fuse biblical undertones with smooth, soul-inflected production.
The name threetwenty is a dual nod: both to the day they met and to Ephesians 3:20. "We kept noticing the number 320 everywhere," Ivana recalls. "Ephesians 3:20 really encapsulates our journey. It reminds us of God's promise to always do more than we can imagine, according to the power of our faith." Their relationship has weathered moments that demanded exactly that.
In 2024, they quietly released a series of singles like the serene, lounge-worthy "Blessed Like That" and mellow, trip-hop-tinged "Been on a Journey." But thanks to strong timing and TikTok traction, threetwenty earned wider recognition with "The Light (I Need You)", "Let Me Grow", and their latest "Who Are You to Me"—the former even catching a co-sign from Tyler, the Creator.
The Culture Crypt sat down with Ivana and Filip to explore their personal spiritual journeys and the turning points that shaped both their sound and their faith.
The Culture Crypt: How would you describe the music you are making?
Filip: "Some tracks such as 'Blessed Like That' go way back. I made that beat back in 2018. We had all these ideas just lying around, but we never forced anything. The music came together naturally over the years, as things evolved and eventually found their moment.
That's why we always say it's God's timing. From the start, neo-soul felt like home for us. Even when we tried to explore other sounds, we'd come back to jazzy chords and that '90s feeling. It wasn't intentional, we just gravitated there."
Ivana: "To elaborate on the significance of 'threetwenty', it's not just about when we met, although that moment is very important. It also represents the beginning of our relationship with God. We kept noticing the number 320 everywhere, and we would often ask ourselves, 'Why?'. Eventually, we discovered Ephesians 3:20, which reads: 'Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.'"
Both of you have backgrounds in secular music like rap and R&B. What key moments led you to incorporate religious themes and start anew?
Ivana: "Obviously, we have different stories on this one, but they're all connected because everything about this is just God. But for me, it was 2020, and I think that year was something very special. It was dark, but even through that dark time, I had a lot of time in isolation. And I was going through something, and that's where God had met me."
“We’re actually better at talking than making music. We love talking, and then, boom, we sit with a new idea. It’s very natural—it’s always been like that from the beginning.”
Would you say it was a kind of reawakening?
Ivana: "Yeah, I started to question a lot of the things that I was accepting and believing in at the time. Once things opened up again, and I was thrown back into the industry—my dad died…
I had strong feelings about the lyrics, asking myself questions like, 'Do I want to say this?' and 'Do I want to wear that?' I began to experience a significant identity crisis, feeling as though I was expected to behave in a certain way because I had presented myself that way for a long time, and everyone was familiar with that side of me."
You speak about your father's passing on "Let Me Grow". Talk to me about the studio sessions after your spiritual recalibration
Ivana: "At the time, I was becoming a new version of myself—the one I'm being called to be now. Sitting in studio sessions became challenging because I found myself trying to please everyone, holding onto the ways I used to contribute. But I knew this wasn't where I was supposed to be. I was having these conversations in my head but couldn't share them at the time because I was still people-pleasing and didn't want to disappoint anyone.
"I've been saying a lot that 'you don't get points for being a people pleaser' or 'for not wanting to disappoint', because at the end of the day, you didn't say anything. Looking back, I see that fear got in the way of being bold and direct about how I truly felt—until it was time. Essentially, God called me out and said, 'It's time for you to exit where you are and fully walk in this new direction.' When I'm in the studio, the way I come up with lyrics or melodies—it's not really me. It's like these 'downloads', you know?"
Filip, before threetwenty, you mainly produced for Swedish artists like Cherrie. I noticed you also had a writing credit on Mariah the Scientist's "Impalas & Air Force 1s". Can you share your early beginnings as a producer and your experiences in the Swedish music industry?
Filip: "Growing up in Gothenburg, Sweden, I faced challenges getting into the music industry since most opportunities were in Stockholm. I took the time to produce music at home and even attended music school. My supportive family, especially my big brother, encouraged me to find the right artist for my music. Eventually, I built connections in Gothenburg, which helped me gain a foothold in the industry, and people began reaching out to me.
Filip, talk to me about hip-hop. One of your earlier musical passions
Filip: "I went through a transformative period because of my complicated love/hate relationship with rap. While I appreciate the beats and lyrics, I became conflicted about the messages in my music, especially considering the struggles of today's youth. This led me to distance myself from hip-hop—my initial entry point into the Swedish music scene—and explore my passion for R&B.
Cherrie has been pivotal in popularising R&B in Sweden, so I reached out to her through my productions. This journey allowed me to reinvent myself, move away from destructive patterns, and embrace my values, making me feel responsible for the gifts I've been given."
“Ephesians 3:20 really encapsulates our journey. It reminds us of God’s promise to always do more than we can imagine, according to the power of our faith. Throughout our relationship, from the way we met to the challenges we faced, we encountered many seemingly impossible situations that required us to trust in that faith.”
How has it been balancing music and married life?
Filip: "Marriage is so special to us. People might not understand it entirely, but we love the fact that God can use us to show how it could be, you know, you don't have to agree with it or understand it—but at least we possibly planted a seed in somebody [about] how it could be.
Music is similar. As soon as we met, we started creating. It feels so natural to us. The music brings us closer together because we're having so much fun sharing our passion with each other. It's really dope. Plus, after years of stacking up music, seeing it appreciated is incredible.
But as we also mentioned, we already had our separate careers, and what we've learned most is not to seek glory for ourselves. So, this is all God's work."
Stream "Who Are You to Me" below: