Are you in a ‘Bad Mood’ looking for a new album to dive into? You shouldn’t be! THP has the antidote you’re looking for in your quest for new music. We have the perfect release that will solve all of your PRBLMS. Denver-based alternative band that toggles across genres Not A Toy has brought to the surface their debut album. Not A Toy’s PRBLMS came to us on July 28th and it’s living up to its highly anticipated release.
We’ve been playing this album on repeat since it came out, we were the number 1 hype man and it was its time to shine. It’s true! The title track ‘PRBLMS’ made it onto our July Receiptify. We have serious dedication to this band. Ever since stumbling across them on our TikTok Supernatural FYP, we’ve been pushing for their recognition on a larger scale.
Despite, being slightly newer fans of the band, we are excited to be along the ride for this new era of Not A Toy. Whether you have or haven’t listened to Not A Toy before their debut album, PRBLMS is the perfect project. Without a doubt, you can tell from start to end the craftsmanship that Benji, Branson, TJ, and Jeremy put into this album.
Each song is vastly unique. The album significantly maintains that experimental blend of genres that we expect and love from Not A Toy. Not A Toy’s music pushes the envelope on what a band can do for their sound. And, PRBLMS is the prime example of such work for other bands to take inspiration from.
Not A Toy Are Revolutionaries In Alternative Music
Music is constantly evolving and expanding outside of expectations and genres. It’s as if with PRBLMS Not A Toy is consequently carving their own subsection into the alternative music space. PRBLMS is refreshing, funky, fun, and edgy. The top four things that we are always looking for. Not A Toy followed through and is keeping us on our toes.
‘Nervous’ was one of the first single that teased the recent album and as much as we love her, we need to also talk about ‘Grown Folk Problems.’ ‘Grown Folk Problems’ is the third single from the album. But, also the first single off the album since its release. This means that the banger ‘Grown Folk Problems’ is a song that is special to the band and we are so right about that.
Grown Folk Problems was written in the early stages of writing our album PRBLMS. Every track on the project deals with a problem at least one of us was going through at the time, in one way or another, and Grown Folk Problems has always felt like the track that embodied the album to its fullest. We took those problems and decided to flip them on its head, turning them into a rebellious jam, sort of reclaiming that period in our life to be something special regardless of how hard it was to get through.
Not A Toy
We figured that the song had a personal touch to it, not that the others didn’t, but this one was specific. The lyrics weave specific experiences that make the song more relatable to the listener. Such lyrics like the following create an image of how many of us have dreamed that money equals diminishing ‘Grown Folk Problems.’
“Don’t play with Zeus, you’ll get shot down quicker.”
This lyric is fun and requires a bit of Greek mythology knowledge. Zeus is the top dog which can be a parallel to the billionaires that control a bit of the way life flows for the little guy. In Greek mythology if you challenged Zeus or did anything that threatened Zeus in his comfortable spot on Mount Olympus he wouldn’t hesitate to make your life harder. It’s almost like an omen to ensure you stay low, do your thing, and you’ll be seen the way you want to in time.
“Thought I’d be rich now. Problems in a ditch now. 30 under 30 with a fast car.”
How many of us have dreamed that we would be rich out in LA or NYC in a lavish high rise apartment out on the balcony, people watching from above? We’re sure that this hasn’t just been a daydream of ours only. Who doesn’t want to be recognized for their hard work? Or for their accomplishments? Or being seen as a world changer in a magazine, a.k.a., the cream of the crop? Not just you nor me but, everyone.
However, money doesn’t make problems go away into a ditch. It might solve some but it doesn’t eradicate it. Forbes 30 under 30 is visible recognition of ongoing success of young people. Yet, 30 under 30 only captures some of the best. There’s more than 30 individuals under 30 and more individuals over 30 who have what they would define as success.
The 30 under 30 are impressive but Forbes didn’t randomly select them. They are submitted either by themselves or others in their lives then selected by Forbes out of a candidate pool. “30 under 30 with a fast car,” would be very ideal! But, the question: is that the only thing that makes you successful, happy, and sound?
It can be a part of it, just how do you get there? And how do you want to be recognized?
“If you got money don’t call me. My crew, hungry, and they all savage like zombies.”
This line made us laugh. It’s such a great metaphor for how a majority of people have this inner drive to make life stable. Stability and money do like to hold hands; and, we do like a happy couple. Comparing themselves to zombies makes us think about the aggressive need to feed that hunger in so many ways. It’s a warning those who have pockets full. They’re saying if they come around them, don’t be surprised if they figure out a way to make it benefit them. With this in mind, the millionaires and billionaires are the expected prey in this ‘Grown Folk Problems’ apocalypse. New twist on eating the rich? Or wanting to be the rich?
“Mood like my flask, it’s way down to the bottom. Can’t deal with these grown folk problems.”
The bridge of the song is great as it ties into everything. We imagine success equalling money, which is not far from the truth but not the only indicator. These problems that are being hinted at all seem to be internal. Many of our internal issues with stress and anxiety could be remedied with a bit of extra change. You could be the one with the whitest picket fence. And, the fastest car. However, your mood can be down to the bottom.
Some ‘Grown Folk Problems’ aren’t erased by money. But wouldn’t it be nice to know if it could be?
Writing it was sort of us working through that internal struggle of wanting to be someone we’re not quite yet, in real-time. Once we could eventually travel again, we flew to LA to shoot the music video for it. It was definitely the most fun video shoot we had done so far. We brought a ton of friends out to be in the video and just had one big party.
Not A Toy
We Think You’re Super Relevant Not A Toy
If you like the breakdown of ‘Grown Folk Problems,’ it’s your cue to go listen to it if you haven’t already. Or if you have listened to it already like we have, do it again. To clarify, it’ll be good for you if you do. You might catch Not A Toy fever as you listen to the song and the rest of the album, which is highly recommended.
PRBLMS is packed full of 12 incredible tracks that are living rent free in our heads. There’s a few songs on the album that you might be familiar with such as ‘Nervous,’ ‘Say So,’ and ‘Dementor.’ Then there’s a few of the newer tracks that we are eating up. one of our favorites of the newer tracks on the release is ‘Die w/U.’ It’s the most intriguing track to us on the album.
The song dramatically changes completely in the middle where you’d expect a bridge to be. It creates such a cool and fun texture that captures your attention. It screams Not A Toy’s style so effortlessly. In other words, when we’re recommending Not A Toy to others it’s going to be in our top 3 tracks to share with others to get into the band.
Not A Toy We’ll Beam You Up
Obviously, we’re a bit biased to this band and we have no PRBLMS admitting to that. It’s going to be an exciting time for the band moving forward. We can’t wait to see what else unfolds for them as the year progresses! Maybe a Not A Toy tour or more live shows? Some of us are certainly in huge need of attending a live Not A Toy show. It’s wild to think how 1 TikTok video hooked us into Not A Toy. That was a good day for scrolling on social media as it led us to the discovery of one of our new favorite bands.
When you get the chance to listen to the 10 out of 10 star album that is PRBLMS, we need to be the first to know. We explicitly need to know what your top 3 tracks are from the album. How will you tell us all about that? Well that’s easy. Either drop them down below in the comments sparking a conversation with us. Or head over to our socials! We’re on Instagram, Twitter @thehoneypop, and Facebook. Come on over to let us know, don’t be ‘Nervous,’ we’ll be excited to talk about all things Not A Toy and more!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT NOT A TOY:
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