R&B/Soul's Future Superstars: Phony Ppl
- SAGE MAGAZINE
- May 1, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: May 3, 2020
There are certain delicate moments in life that are a little too complex to sum up in one word. Moments like; right person wrong time, feeling life slip away, having one last sexual “hurrah” before your off the market, and trying to figure out, how the hell to use a bong for the first time – are all subtle experiences in life that may not have a particular word or phrase.
Luckily, there is a Phony Ppl song that perfectly encompasses the confusion, certainty and beauty of these moments.
Brooklyn-based, R&B/Soul group; Phony Ppl is made up of five members – Elbee Thrie (vocals), Elijah Rawk (lead guitar), Matt "Maffyuu" Byas (drums), Aja Grant (keyboard), and Bari Bass (bass guitar).
These five high school friends, officially formed Phony Pp in 2010 and have been evolving their sound ever since. Vocalist, Elbee Thrie describes their growth like “adding commas and parenthesis to a sentence” – noting that their sound has grown by focusing in on subtle details within their music.
In 2012 Phony Pp released their first project Phonyland with standout songs “Smoke to Get Sober” and “Compromise” (which has a smooth-funky Earth Wind and Fire vibe).
By 2015 they released Yesterday’s Tomorrow which peaked in the top 25 of Billboards Heatseekers Album chart. The same year Phony Ppl had a huge mainstream moment, when they performed with Fetty Wap on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
Three years later they released their most recent project mō’zā-ik in 2018. According to the group “each song is like a separate room in a museum” and we completely agree. Each track may not follow a similar theme but they are all smooth/sonically pleasing and take you somewhere magical.
Stand out songs like “Cookie Crumble” “Before You Get a Boyfriend” and “The Colours” all explore different moments of love/life but they all emphasize how talented the group is, as well as, how perfectly in sync all five of their sounds come together to make something beautiful.
Below you can check out their “COLORS” performance as well as the video for their most recent collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion, “Fkn Around”.
Phony Ppl is proof that traditional R&B/Soul is still necessary and can be skillfully curated to connect with the new generation. We are so excited to see what Phony Ppl has coming next!
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