“Phony Ppl is real yo” – phonyppl.com
Straight out of Brooklyn, this collective of rappers, singers, producers and musicians are generating a lot of heat for their cutting edge Hip-Hop and this is only the beginning for the 8-piece band.
It’s near impossible to put a finger on this group’s style as they combine neo-soul, hip-hop, jazz, R&B, funk and live instrumentation giving them a fresh, mature but youthful sound like no other. You’d think these guys were seasoned industry veterans like The Legendary Roots Crew, just look at this live studio performance:
Keep reading for more on Phony Ppl.
MTV UK describes them like a “rebirth of 90s neo-soul, created by a premature N.E.R.D. and The Roots, sprinkled with the massive hip-hop talents of J Dilla, Flying Lotus and Kanye West” and I’d say that was pretty accurate as Phony Ppl show Odd Future what real music sounds like.
With the trio on vocals, Elbee Thrie, Sherriff PJ and Dyme-A-Duzin, mixing singing with rap and doing both expertly well, they have hints of Raphael Saadiq, Bilal, Black Thought and the like. These guys are wise way beyond their years and their music does the talking.
Their debut album Phonyland (released Jan 2012) took three years of hard work which pays off as this feel-good collection of songs shows. Whamz.com and If This Is How Love Feels are quality records, discover their infectious vibes with the album stream below:
Not playing around, the band swiftly followed up their debut with a free EP, nothinG special (here), last summer after cosigns from the likes of ?uestlove and Q-Tip. The EP, which tells the story of a summer in NY, contains some of the smoothest, dopest songs all year.
And this summer, Elbee Thrie has branched off to release his solo effort, 53,000. With it’s production reminiscent of Hip Hop’s golden era, Elbee switches effortlessly between rapping and singing. Bringing in his Phony crew to deliver an 18-track collection of goodness, the mixtape is right up there with Chance’s Acid Rap as one of the year’s best. Stream on SoundCloud and check out Yesterday’s Lips here:
There’s not much more that can be said about these NYC natives that isn’t displayed in their music, so be sure to check out their Bandcamp page for all their material, and the official YouTube for the videos and keep it locked for their next project
Eclectic Relaxation 