"There’s a clever whimsy to his raps. There’s confidence but it’s not aggressive or excessive. He has the calm demeanor of a speaker at a TED Talk who knows the audience is hanging on their every word..." – Rap Reviews

After several months of teasing out star-studded collaborations with the likes of ELUCID, Open Mike Eagle, McKinley Dixon, and Kyle Bethel, rapper/songwriter Plato III, proudly announces the forthcoming deluxe release of his 2025 album Grown.

Grown (Deluxe) arrives on September 25th and features a bevy of bonus remix material including today's release – a very special remix from none other than critically acclaimed songwriter, Bartees Strange.

On "Marissa (Remix)," we're treated to a soulful reimagining of the Grown album track, built around Strange's delicately paced acoustic finger-picking and crooning harmonies, while channeling a gentle R&B groove akin to P.M. Dawn. Retelling Plato's (born Ryan Silva) farewell tale of an old grudge and letting go of animosity, Strange lays it on thick in the song's pleading chorus, "Oh, Marissa, you don't gotta be so rude. Oh, Marissa, what I ever do to you?"

Explaining why Strange chose the track "Marissa," he shared the following: "I met Ryan in 2021'ish and I’ve always liked him and his music. He’s a wonderful artist. I felt like "Marissa" was a song on the album that was maybe a deeper cut for his fans - and I know from Plato that he has a lot of interesting feelings about this song so it felt like a fun challenge to bring something new to it. It was a lot of fun working on this together in my spot. He’s a really gifted and wild guy." 

In response, Plato III shared his own candid reply: "Wild guy? Me? That's crazy, it was Bartees showing me Druski videos when I headed out to his spot in Baltimore. The original "Marissa" is a song that is really just for my own amusement, so when Bartees said he wanted to remix it, I had no idea what to expect. He can do it all, and on this one he turned my cheeky, juvenile diss into a proper ballad you'd want to sing along to. That's something only Bartees could pull off."

Over the course of 2026, Plato III has collaborated on other Grown-era remixes with the likes of Armand Hammer's ELUCID ("Stay Sane Remix"), Open Mike Eagle ("Let's Get Old Remix"), as well as McKinley Dixon & Kyle Bethel ("I Want (Money) Remix"). Revealing his intentions with today's announce of Grown (Deluxe), we can watch with excitement as Plato III welcomes both influences and peers into his world.

Plato III is the project of Abeline, TX born and Los Angeles based rapper / songwriter, Ryan Silva. He has collaborated with the likes of ELUCID, McKinley Dixon, Open Mike Eagle, Eli Winter, Jay Som's Melina Duterte, American Football's Mike Kinsella, mb3merk, Xay III, and others. His music has been featured in the Netflix film Always Be My Maybe, and covered by such esteemed outlets as Esquire, FLOOD, Pigeons and Planes, KEXP, Austin Chronicle, Brooklyn Vegan, and elsewhere.

Plato III's new album Grown – released last fall via Polyvinyl Record Co., is comprised of ten songs that reflect on the grind of settling down, embracing early adulthood, and being an artist in a capitalist society. Channeling the influence of "grown folks music" (as heard on the album's lead single "Good Problems"), Grown rides between the golden dusty grooves of vintage Boogie and Funk crossed with conscious Southern Rap, that pays homage to the likes of Little Brother, Devin the Dude, and Outkast. 

Born Bartees Leon Cox Jr. in Ipswich, England to a military father and opera-singer mother, Bartees Strange had a peripatetic early childhood before eventually settling in Mustang, Oklahoma. Later, he cut his teeth playing in hardcore bands in Washington D.C. and Brooklyn whilst working in the Barack Obama administration. Since charting a path as a solo artist, Strange has received global acclaim across several releases, and was referred to as “one of the fastest-rising rock stars in the country” by Rolling Stone. Strange’s third album, Horror, arrived in February 2025, followed by the EP release, Shy Bairns Get Nowt. Strange is currently wrapping up a full US tour with Tori Amos, making its final stops in Paso Robles, Berkeley, and Sacramento, before ending September 2nd in Seattle.

Grown (Deluxe) Tracklist:
01. Good Problems
02. I Want (Money) feat. mb3merk
03. Stable
04. In a Funk feat. mb3merk
05. Marissa
06. Grown feat. Xay III
07. Coulda Died 
08. Stay Sane feat. Bei Bei
09. Do You Still Need My Love? feat. Remi Lėkun, Wonderfox
10. Let's Get Old feat. Eli Winter
11. Bad Problems (Good Problems Remix) feat. clipping.
12. I Want (Money) Remix feat. McKinley Dixon, Kyle Bethel
13. Stable Remix feat. Kelly Moonstone
14. Marissa Remix feat. Bartees Strange
15. Stay Sane Remix feat. E L U C I D, Bei Bei
16. Let’s Get Old Remix feat. Open Mike Eagle, Eli Winter