Nowhere But Up for Phony Ppl
Interview and photos by Mary Perez
Graphic by Rebekah Witt
Sometimes you hear an album for the first time and immediately know it’s going to be one of your favorite releases of the year. That was exactly how I felt when I heard Euphonyus, the 2022 album from the genre-bending hip-hop group Phony Ppl. Featuring collaborations with JoJo, Leon Thomas, and Megan Thee Stallion, the Brooklyn group draws influences from a myriad of genres, blending hip-hop, jazz, reggae, and rock to create a truly captivating sound. I had the honor of sitting down with the guys to hear more about their performance at the 2023 Governors Ball, latest album, and unexpected influences.
You just played the main stage at GovBall earlier today. How was it?
Elijah Rawk: Oh, it was definitely amazing. It's good to finally have our own GovBall performance, you know, and definitely expect more to come. It was really nice because we grew up in New York, and some of us have probably been to a couple of GovBall festivals, so it's actually good to finally have one of our own to leave our mark.
Elbie Thrie: And then the first one I leave the first one. Just the first one is very exciting. Just graced the stage touch this game. Yo, we got our set time down to a tee; we got that joint precise. It was very very lovely. We was hitting, the crowd was dancing, they was feeling that, like I couldn't ask for more today, right? Lord bless.
I mean, you guys are literally playing the same stage that Kendrick is gonna be playing tonight.
ET: We had to warm it up!
OG: Earlier, he was like, “We got the people movin’, so afterward, you know it's a little more energetic. It's a little more movement, so I'm happy that we brought that to the stage.
Aja Grant: Hopefully, they can feel a little love from what we did earlier. He asked everyone to open for us.
Is there anyone in particular that you want to see while you're here?
OG: We kind of missed PinkPantheress.
AG: I'm excited to see Lil Nas X. Kendrick puts on an amazing show. But yeah, everybody is pretty fucking dope, my man. My man Yoo Q! is the DJ for Pusha T, so I'm definitely gonna chill. Yeah, that's right. We haven’t seen him, and since we were on the road, we'll be at Pusha T.
That's gonna be pretty nice. Of course, your new album came out last year. How has it been, being able to tour it and see people's reactions getting to play it, even on festival stages?
OG: It's been amazing. We did the West Coast run, and we’re wrapping up our East Coast run. We did a show in Sacramento, and we played a slew of new songs. Everyone was still mad like, “We want more!” People are really excited to have this new stuff.
ET: Too many shows, yeah, but yeah, I love the reaction. I'd like to have that reaction, “Yeah, everything, all the new shit, you got even more new stuff?” There’s not a lot of energy like that from our community, our concertgoers.
Yeah, were there any songs on the record that you were surprised by the fans’ reactions to?
ET: I wouldn't say surprised because if you're surprised, that means that you created how you think it's gonna go. I learned some albums ago that it's not our decision. Once you put it out there, people decide what they like. So as long as you make it accessible, you'll never know when somebody's favorite is going to be. Vague, but it's definitely shocking and surprising, you know, even if you leave it open just to hear so many people like this song. It may surprise you because of the time signature or the tempo of what came before the album and what comes after it. The answer is just keep changing, and it's just awesome to hear that there's more people than just you who feel similar to how you feel about your art.
Matt Byas: I think you pretty much have it, right? It's more like it changes every show or every couple of shows. You start singing the songs before you even realize, “Yeah, I knew it.” That's sort of what markers of it used to be like. They like this one. Seattle, it's this, New York. You never know what different cities have in the air.
Did you have a favorite show that you were playing on the road?
ER: I mean, today's show, the first show was pretty, pretty incredible. We had shows leading up to this in Rhode Island and Boston, which got us ready to lead our 30-minute shows, and we had to scale down. So all of that our 30-minute energy, we gave that joint in 29 minutes. I'm building up energy. I'm building up thinking and talking about it.
I know that your music kind of blends a lot of genres and a lot of influences. Are there any influences of yours that you would say are kind of unexpected that fans wouldn't expect you to draw?
MB: I listened collectively to a lot of Brazilian and Japanese music. At least for myself, they just hear it because I'm playing it all the time and video game music. People know me to play video games or whatever. But 90% of my library is like Mario with some Final Fantasy joint or some joint from an anime joint from Joe Hisaishi-type stuff. Yeah, a lot of video games.
ER: I was gonna say a lot of Janet Jackson makes sense for us to listen to. But oh, man. Listen to country. A lot of older country music songs.
ET: Food—the way flavors come together inspires me and moves me. There's a ballet dancer named Misty Copeland. She inspires me because she took it to the top, and she's black. That's an area where you don't see many black people take it to the top. Yeah, people's stories inspire me. That guy in the green? I know that's not very descriptive. But we find him, just his life and the flavors. The fucking breeze in the wind, you know, like this conversation?
OG: Our parents. I think a lot of the criticism from not just our own individual, but a lot of advice that we got from Matthew’s parents, you know, just like about the game and our music.
ET: I listened to a lot of Shania Twain.
ER: I'll say this. I go so far as to say almost everyone that you've heard their name and don't really know their catalog as much, but you grew up hearing their name over and over. They probably got something. Fair enough. Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga. Love this.
Phony Ppl are revolutionizing the industry with their unique sound, and I can’t wait to see what they achieve next. Check out Euphonyus now, and catch the guys at a show near you soon!