{"product_id":"plato-iii-grown-deluxe","title":"Plato III - Grown (Deluxe)","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfter several months of teasing out star-studded collaborations with the likes of ELUCID, Open Mike Eagle, McKinley Dixon, and Kyle Bethel, \u003cstrong\u003ePlato III\u003c\/strong\u003e proudly offers the deluxe release of his 2025 album \u003cem\u003eGrown\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGrown (Deluxe)\u003c\/em\u003e features a bevy of bonus remix material including the newest collab - a very special remix from none other than critically acclaimed songwriter, Bartees Strange.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn \"Marissa Remix,\" we're treated to a soulful reimagining of the \u003cem\u003eGrown\u003c\/em\u003e album track, built around Strange's delicately paced acoustic finger-picking and crooning harmonies, while channeling a gentle R\u0026amp;B groove akin to P.M. Dawn. Retelling Plato's (born Ryan Silva) farewell tale of a love left in the past, Strange lays it on thick in the song's pleading chorus, \"Oh, Marissa, you don't got to be so rude. Oh, Marissa, what I ever do to you?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExplaining 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.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 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.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbout\u003cem\u003e Grown\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePlato III, the genre-crossing Los Angeles-via-Texas songwriter, puts his mouth where his money is on \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eGrown\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, a lush and sparkling \"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eworking person’s rap album\" that explores life and love in the shadow of fiscal responsibility, consumer capitalism and modest glow-ups. Inspired by the \"grown folks music\" of artists like Earth, Wind and Fire, Chic, Maze and the Isley Brothers, the artist born Ryan Silva has constructed an album that throbs with the mature, step-ready sounds of vintage soul and post-disco, but roils with the lacerating emotional insight of hip-hop. With a rhyme style that's part country rap, part Criterion Closet — \"I’m Mike Jones meets Spike Jonze\/‘96 Bulls when my mic on,\" he raps in \"Stable\" — Plato examines his complex relationship to capital while at the precipice of adulthood. Or, as he says, \"Yeah, I'm out the mud, but I clean up nice.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs the first rap artist to sign to independent stalwart Polyvinyl (Alvvays, Julia Jacklin, Momma), Plato III emerged in 2022 with the noisy, southern-fried, indie hip-hop of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Devil Has Texas\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e – an unflinching suite about growing up penniless in the Lone Star State. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cem\u003eGrown\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, however, is firmly planted in his current homebase of Los Angeles, as Plato's life was increasingly making him look forward instead of back. He was nearing 30, had plans to propose to his now-wife and held a job that had him making above poverty wage for the first time in his life. The Netflix movie \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eAlways Be My Maybe\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e licensed his song \"Illuminate\"—which soon became the #2 most Shazamed song in America—and Plato opened his first savings account. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Suddenly the music I was listening to started slowing down a little,\" says Plato. \"This Al Green?  Let's throw on this whole album. The Isleys? I don't need the Ice Cube sample. Let's go the original!\" Instead of just listening to \"September,\" I would go back and listen to a whole Earth, Wind and Fire record. That was good studying, but also it was soothing. This is what's speaking to my temperament right now. If you want to rage, you can listen to Travis Scott, you can listen to BabyChiefDoit. That's not where I'm at in my life.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe original seeds of \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cem\u003eGrown\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e were planted in no less auspicious surroundings than the Dungeon, the studio that birthed game-changing Atlanta rap records from Outkast and Goodie Mob. Perhaps appropriate considering \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cem\u003eGrown\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e'\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003es sideways view of art and commerce, \"the Dungeon\" is now an AirB\u0026amp;B, a piece of hip-hop tourism complete with an in-house studio, turntable and stripper's pole. Staying four nights to celebrate his 30th birthday, a creative outpouring resulted in demos for the album's funkiest tunes — \"Good Problems\" \"I Want (Money),\" \"Grown\" and \"Coulda Died\" — visions of vintage '70s soul skewed through the prism of classic Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"I was thinking, 'How did I end up on this guitar label? What am I gonna do for another album?' says Plato. \"And then I'm playing those records in the Dungeon, listening to old Outkast, and just remembering that a lot of the Southern hip-hop I grew up on — UGK, Devin the Dude, CunninLyngists — was guitar-based, whether it was samples or original guitar. I left with the bones of like five of the 10 songs.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTo match his gleaming, retro-futuristic disco-funk dream, Plato recruited producer and multi-instrumentalist Phillip Odom (Ceremony, Glare), whom he knew from frequenting Abilene punk shows as a teenager. Plato supplied him with guide tracks bursting with Chic, Patrice Rushen, Prince, and DJ Quik. Through an online musician marketplace, Plato found his “Nile Rodgers” in a Worcestershire UK session guitarist, Lewis Spencer, and his chicken-scratch grooves and tender solos grace eight of \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cem\u003eGrown\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e's 10 tracks. Their collaborative powers collide on first single \"Good Problems\" and second single \"I Want (Money),\" two optimistic, \"Le Freak\"-y odes to the joy of adult obligations.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"I wanted to flip the switch to kind of make [responsibility] feel like a blessing. I'm on this emo label, it's still emo, we still got problems — but what if there's a silver lining? This is real shit we're talking about: having to take care of a family, having to struggle to make money, having friends that are struggling reach out for $20. But, let's not dwell on it. Let's try to celebrate being in the situation because, in some ways, this is what we wanted.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Stay Sane\" is a plaintive meditation on the rat-race where Plato raps \"Tryna be happy as Sisyphus\/Never whipped a brick but I get the gist.\" The track is built around the guzheng of Bei Bei Monter, who has supplied the glistening Chinese folk instrument for films like \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eTurning Red\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eKung-Fu Panda 4\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and the live action remake of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eMulan\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. \"Coulda Died\" is a rejection of capitalism's temptations that churns like Blondie's disco-rock era. Closer \"Let's Get Old\" is a timeless acoustic love ballad that feels like a porchside sing-along with guest guitarist Eli Winter (Three Lobed, American Dreams). \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePlato is finally living his best life on \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cem\u003eGrown\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. However, don't confuse stability for complacency — five albums into his career, his music still teems with the searing political barbs and off-the-wall punchlines that made \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Devil Has Texas\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e an acclaimed indie-rap gem. \"The music is more palatable,\" he explains, \"but hip-hop, in its essence to me, is supposed to be challenging and anti-establishment. So when it's getting a little comfy, let me hit you with some things that make you a little uncomfortable.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"There still isn’t many rap albums for people in their 30s, for those out of the clubs and the streets, but still not bragging about having it made. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cem\u003eGrown\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is for the cusp of settling down and entering a new phase in life. I want people to feel the realness of trying to make a living in this economy, but I also want them to dance with the ones they love.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Polyvinyl Records","offers":[{"title":"Digital","offer_id":53906153734451,"sku":"PRC-9731-8DIGITAL","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0881\/7655\/8387\/files\/5a7b8a68101b58f453ee74fcee1ded151f302f8b_5106cf2e2b9c557882a9d6f314a59978981fc446_photo_jpg.jpg?v=1787802226","url":"https:\/\/www.polyvinylrecords.com\/products\/plato-iii-grown-deluxe","provider":"Polyvinyl Record Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}