Respect the Neighbors • Phony Ppl
All photos by Antonella Alberti
On January 13, 2015, no-genre Brooklyn band Phony Ppl released Yesterday's Tomorrow. It lasted against the competition throughout the entire year and made its way on my year-end list. The hit single "Why iii Love the Moon", which was recently released as a video, still plays in my car on a weekly basis. Yesterday's Tomorrow was a great follow-up to their equally as strong EP, NothinG Special. Listen to "Cop Scame". Right now.
To hone in on the one-year anniversary of Yesterday's Tomorrow, and to shine a light on the future of the Crown Heights sextet, who properly blend hip-hop with funk, soul, blues, and even some radio pop, we felt it necessary to add Phony Ppl to our Respect the Neighbors column. Since their last album, they have released a handful of scattered singles along the way, like a Michael Jackson cover and two original tracks: "Little Bit of Lust" and "To Keep the LiGhts On." While the former appears to be a loose single, the latter acts as the first single to their upcoming album, NYT, which currently has no release date.
While the whole band is talented, with rapper Sheriff PJ making a great appearance on Wati Heru's track "Mawb on Site", drummer/producer MaffYuu is also worth mentioning here. He has been working closely with the trap/drill group Gloss Gang, producing the entirety of their debut mixtape, Money.Brower.Respect. Most recently, MaffYuu produced the new track "KWYM" for Odd Future member Domo Genesis.
“And That’s Why iii Love the Moon
Cuz It’s Always There For Me
Every Single NiGht I Look Outside
It’s Right There For Me
And My Mind
And Thats Why i Love The Moon, Yeah
Because People Can Consume My Love
In The WronG way
So i Send It Up
...at NiGht”
While I'm uncertain as to what Phony Ppl have in store for 2016 (NYT hopefully sooner than later), something tells me a project and plenty of shows are around the corner. Hopefully I'm right. Until we hear/see further, enjoy the video embedded within this piece and enjoy listening to our 'essential listens' SoundCloud playlist.
