Subtract by Two began one late summer night near the University of North Carolina at Greensboro's campus when James W. Hill met Kyle Bobby Dunn. The two shared a similar taste in philosophy and late night coffee binges. During the conception, however, various annoying acquaintances began throwing up cheap red wine, some incessantly nagging Kyle Bobby Dunn to sleep with them, and others stealing Hill's vehicle to sell for drugs in the roughest parts of town.