Bryan-Michael Cox spoke with Hip-Hop Wired at Cousinz Festival 2026, where the super producer opened up about his work with Day26 and the impact Making the Band had on the R&B group’s career.
Cox is coming off a major year after launching his latest venture, Illustrate New Ideas, a record label that counts a familiar face among its first signees, Day26.
During the Making The Band era, B. Cox and the R&B group cooked up several hits together, including “Imma Put It On Her,” “So Good,” “What It Feels Like” and more.
While Cox has continued to champion Day26, he believes the group never received the proper acknowledgment for their talent. During his conversation with Hip-Hop Wired, he even questioned whether Making The Band ultimately stunted their growth.
“I was doing a lot of interviews and they would talk about music, and people would ask me what artists that I felt were underrated. I would always say Day26 because I feel like, if Day26 would have been a group had not come through ‘Making The Band’ although they are a group because of the show, so you can’t take MTV away from them, they exist because of that. So I get it,” Cox explained.
He continued by imaging how different Day26’s career could have been if they were introduced to fans strictly as a group rather than through reality television.
“But I always say if Day26 would have came even through Bad Boy just as a group, and not on TV and the first time your’e hearing ‘Exclusive’ I feel like it would have been credible from the gate. I feel like what stunted them was MTV, it was a gift and a curse.”
Watch the full clip below:
