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The Devil Has Texas

by Plato III

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1.
(Daniel Johnston done by Mike Kinsella) I have been to Abilene The spirit world rising I have seen in Abilene The Devil has Texas Young nigga from the Lene I been, I seen Dipped out about 18 Dipped out about 18 Round here grass ain’t green Gotta plan, gotta scheme Come back racks on me Come back racks on me Feed my family Bounce back trampoline Now I think that’s a dream Yeah I think that’s fantasy Seems I can’t just leave I bring my past with me Wherever on the map I be My soul stay stuck in Abilene (D. Johnston) I have seen in Abilene The Devil has Texas
2.
(Mickey Matta) Do you choose to die or rot in a prison cell? Only few will live to tell When they arrive, we wish them well But if they want fire, we give ‘em hell (Plato III) When the block is hot, the cool kids sweat they ass off Summertime I was barefooted on the asphalt Southwest and Catclaw, running into buildings Where I’m from only way of making millions is a scratch-off My niggas penny-pinching If they catch a case on the paper chase Shit, I don’t see em any different Nah, they just reacting to the tension When the heat hit the street, the whole city is a kitchen (Merk) Flame out the glock It claim bodies like a coroner She saying all I talk about is paper and that I'm boring her My gang partner smoke’ya the pump off in your cornea His main broad a local, the jump off is a foreigner I'm riding like life ain't nothing but pistols, bitches and hindsight 4way Seventh street holding the pen, still don't know what I'd write If I could do it over again still do just what I like Last kingdom Aethel big killa death proof BOW! (hook, Matta) (MoneyM!ll$) Kick back relax and let the paint drip Nikes on my feet, I gotta stay crisp 9 double m it's slim I always stay with Whole team can push out pounds, we like to stay fit Stay there, don't come close we'll close case you Leave no cases get smoked in rotation So dangerous, hold up this hoe banging And really I just wanna know what the hell y'all was thinking (Blasé) Trying to make a lot and turn it into a lot more When they gon' learn, we ain't playing with these folks Bitch, I'm a problem, you a goddamn joke They gonna run it back like it's crack what I wrote Swear that these raps hit the back of your nose Swear that this nine ain't gon miss when it blow I'm back in this hoe, I know they wish I was still gone They just mad that I wouldn't put them on, but you know huh? (hook, Matta) (outro, Merk) Wild wild west where the shit get crazy 4 way made me 4 bar baby
3.
Don’t wanna but I guess I have to Woke up to see another day Bear the cross like I bear some bad news It’s alright, yeah it’s okay It just goes on and on Long gone’s my fear of falling I look down when I say It’s alright, it’s okay Aw fuck Money dried up I could grab the stick or I could get stuck Thin ice like puck Still I might try my luck You can’t step inside my chucks Keep your eyes wide shut This ain’t what a night like This is what my life like Staring at the pie mouth wide cuz I never got the slice I want Fuckers wonder why I stunt If a nigga got 10 then he got 5 for the pump Put the other 5 on a blunt I ain’t high for the fun Niggas really die where I’m from They found him in his ride with a gun And a hole in the head We all living close to the edge Fuck it man we posed to be dead Got us vying for crumbs Can’t count how many times I done tried but I’m done I’m alive but I’m tired and I’m numb
4.
Holiday 02:16 video
What’s up Plato What’s good? Oh, same ol, same ol’ Moving brick by brick like LEGO New draco, gotta make dough Remember Pedro? From the block in Waco? We getting guap, counting pesos Moving work in from the pueblo by the caseload It’s funny, I found gold but there ain’t no rainbow Chain glow but it ain’t no halo Still feels like there’s something that I ain’t know I get high, but I stay low I get by, but the pain grow Let’s take a holiday So we can get away A respite from this place A temporary escape Foot is on the gas, yeah we hitting the road If don’t nobody ask, then don’t nobody know Running from the past, we need somewhere to go Years is going fast, but the days go so slow Cup inside a cup, couple blunts to the face Those with nothing to do, they got something to say Let’s fucking run it up, tired of running in place
5.
Girl you know I got love for ya I would shed blood for ya But there’s someone else that I been thinking of And if I don’t see what’s up, I may never be enough for ya I ain’t ready for no wedding rings Nah I need some green, need some better things There’s a lot I ain’t ever seen Love something, let it go, time for me to spread my wings (Hook, 333-Wish) You can run But you can't leave No you'll never get away from me Yeah whatever Never say never Cuz I been feeling like I could do better Matter fact, think I already met her That trip to Coachella I ain’t have the heart to tell ya baby Women weed and weather That's all I ever think about when we together Yeah I know you was there for me whenever But if I could, I would pack up and leave forever (hook) Where you going I know where you’ve been And we both know that you’re coming back again San Antonio to Austin Young man exploring his options Getting around like I’m Pac Nah the party don’t stop We’d go months without talking Always came back in the summer Hit you up still got the same number We be out til the sun up Bad as you wanna it remind me why I love ya (hook) Going going back back to Cali To meet up with ole girl in the Valley We picked up where we left it off Told her bout my ex and she say it prolly best if we don’t even text at all She prolly right, I’d be better off if I never called And when you needed something I ain’t get involved But however small, you my hometown and I’m forever yours (hook) Where you going I know where you’ve been And we both know that you’re coming back again
6.
(Lil B) What's up Plato Can I get a plate though? I said what's up Plato? Can I get a plate though? Lil B is my friend We in a whole other place Shout out to Texas I got on Myspace You in my circumference You in my area I got to spread that energy If you want it, I'm here for you They call me the plug I might be the socket Because when you want to stick something in I got to shock ya I know Lil B (Plato III) Heeeey, I know Lil B too Look, hey, I know Lil B, I know the Based God Two rawest rappers, don’t quit your day job No, this another hit, ahem, A-Rod Hoes on my dick, I look like A-Rod look The mind’s so based It's like 32 levels In my face It feel like 32 devils Yeah but in this place You gotta stay positive Uh, thank you Based God Yeah, you right, this how we gotta live Man, wow, that’s right Ladies and gentlemen You know Based God came and blessed us Very rare, it’s a golden collectible Uh, thank you Based God Uh, where you going though? Is that your home? Is that heaven…?
7.
Heaven 01:52 video
One night I tried knocking on heaven’s door No answer, so I picked the locks, broke in and gave myself a tour One step and not a second more I was on an elevator to the seventh floor In the blink of an eye, blinded by the light I stepped to the side and tried finding my sight My feet sunk in the ground, as I tumbled down Water covered my body, I’m thinking I’m gonna drown But I just floated around Tried to soak up the sounds Of the waves crashing And the birds chirping It was third person, out of body Ladi da da ladi dadi If you looking for me, this where you’ll find me I ain’t going back and I ain’t sorry That’s when, I felt something tapping on my neck I looked to the left and saw the check Then somebody grabbed me by the legs Pulled me out the water and they said “You look like a kid in a candy store It was fun to watch but I can’t ignore” Then they sent me back down and slammed the door And said heaven is a luxury you can’t afford
8.
As the death get deadly, the head get heavy Nothing for us, ouroboros, we make ends meet Break bread like levee Streets could be fed already To mans on ledge when fire is fled, the edge ain’t edgy Enough is plenty Especially when stomach empty Gotta know thy enemy No weapon forged against me shall end me Them come in forms of many Like Beamer, Benz or Bentley Pockets get green with envy Man want every penny Life is owned by Pepsi Lays is owned by Pepsi Quaker owned by Pepsi Jemima owned by Pepsi (hook x2) Spend it all to get free New whip, watch the boppers increase Rat race only way to get cheese Is a maze that don’t cease In a place with no piece/peace (Bridge, 333-Wish) Staring up at a sky that we will never reach Looking forward to a future that we might never see We're left to cry here, left to die here And all we get is... Staring up at a sky that we will never reach (MoneyM!ll$) I'm a smooth operator, stop it baby I'ma come through glock cocked with rabies Reaching for my cock, might pop the neighbors Gotta keep this thing hot, no time for safety Tryna find a piece of mind, but my mind is crazy No matter up and down, I'm still kinda lazy Waiting for my time, you know that I'm impatient Guess I'm just important when the spot is vacant Please don't call me bitch, I got a lot I'm facing They put warrants out, they got my heart racing I been dormant now, bitches storming out I’m bored in the house, it's a lot to take in Blowing clouds like I'm Patrick Swayze Figured out that most these people faking Checked em on it, they just started hating They don't listen trust me, they not gon change it It's okay, I do my thing stay out the way Smoking on killa got big killa on the way He said he'll spill ya if you really wanna play Straight out the gate aye yay aye aye
9.
Contains samples from "Trailer Trash" performed by Modest Mouse, courtesy of Glacial Pace My first homie from the block When they real homies, they don’t knock Anything left in the fridge he gon eat it Hear the microwave beep damn right I'd get heated Still got this yearbook that I flip through I don’t know why you switched schools But I know that I miss you And I’m sorry if I dissed you 13 pushing 30 When I saw your mugshot man it hurt me Every night yeah we was in the streets shooting Driveway lights on, no heat, we was hooping With that same ol' spin move Now I don't know where you been to But I know that I miss you And I'm sorry if I dissed you First job had a summer fling After couple months, we was done with things Heard you got cancer, I was so fucking scared I just disappeared and pretended it wasn’t there Couldn’t face it so I withdrew Yeah, I know that was a dick move And I know that I miss you And I’m sorry if I dissed you 15, shit I ain't know what to say I figured we’d just talk when it went away Years later and still I can’t take it Watching Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl and I’m shaking Seeing everything that I didn’t do I’ll never know what you went through But I know that I miss you And I’m sorry if I dissed you Looking for change up inside of the couch That’s when it clicked it was time to get out She said I get it if you wanna leave me But believe me that don’t make it easy I forget just to get through Now, I don’t miss when the rents due But I know I that I miss you And I’m sorry if I dissed you Man this town put me through the ringer But the grass it ain’t always greener Don’t know the next time that ima see you Too busy tryna be a fucking rap singer Little kid in a big room I don't know what I got into But I know that I miss you And I’m sorry if I dissed you
10.
American idol You’ve got all the money Hot shot Ain't nothing free No it’s not But let freedom ring American idol You know you’ve got my vote Always doing the least But you earning the most No, my life ain’t perfect As long as I keep working One day I can be like you *fireworks*

about

The specter of Abilene, Texas haunts the entirety of Plato III’s Polyvinyl debut, The Devil Has Texas. “Wherever on the map I be, my soul stay stuck in Abilene,” belts Plato III, alongside the strained voice of American Football's Mike Kinsella – Plato III's newfound label mate, who leads the album's opening with a cover of Daniel Johnston's "Spirit World Rising." It's an unhinged ode that tumbleweeds into a realm of crabgrass browning under desolate skies, pitbulls slobbering behind rusted fences, and doomed trailer park pipe dreams. Welcome to West Texas.

Plato III fuses nimble bars with outlaw anthem guitars to guide us down the dusty streets and empty plains of his hometown. “Summertime I was barefooted on the asphalt, Southwest and Catclaw, running into buildings, Where I’m from the only way of making millions is a scratch-off,” he spits on the fire-breathed single “Give ‘Em Hell.” Southwest and Catclaw is the intersection where Plato III used to roam shirtless as a kid, a bean-burrito in his hand when he could afford it, while his mother pulled double-shifts at Skinny’s, a regional convenience store. “Crenshaw Boulevard is famous because rappers from LA mentioned it,” Plato III says. “I had streets too, and they meant a lot to us.”

In those days, Plato III was known as Ryan Silva. His single-mother raised him while opportunity was scant; when they couldn’t pay the utility bill, they boiled water on the stovetop for their baths. After one difficult stretch, they ended up at a domestic abuse shelter for a few months before moving to a trailer park for Silva’s high-school years. His mother still works in a dollar store in Abilene.

Growing up in this place held challenges beyond poverty for Silva. Once a frontier town, Abilene is over seventy-five percent white. At one point, the city held the simultaneous distinction of having the most churches and the most teen pregnancies per capita of any city in America. Abilene is no stranger to records of dubious merit -- in 2020, over eighty-percent of its voters cast their ballot for Donald Trump, the highest ratio in the nation. It seemed the devil really did have Texas.

At eighteen, Silva took off first for Austin and then Los Angeles, where he now lives. He felt a lingering guilt leaving his hometown, and his mother, behind, but saw music as a way out of poverty. “There’s two types of people in the world,” he explains. “When your parents die you get money, or when your parents die, you owe money.” He released three projects as Plato III: Life Before Death (2016), My First Word Was Juice (2017), and 9 Love Songs (2019). His single “Illuminate” was featured in the Netflix hit Always Be My Maybe, propelling it to become the #2 most Shazamed song in America.

Yet Abilene remained rooted in his psyche, like a weed that survives a blazing, rainless Texas summer. In LA, he re-connected with childhood friend Phillip Odom, who had been under the tutelage of Grammy-winning producer Will Yip in Philadelphia. They realized that they had to till the red clay of their past.

“Hip-hop is so regional,” Plato III says. “I wanted to make a sound that felt like where I lived. I wanted to dig into my upbringing.”

The result is an album that bumps just as hard riding in the bed of a rusty pickup as it does cruising down Sunset Blvd. in a Benz. “It's Alright, It's Okay” is a dreamy pop track that reimagines emo from the perspective of a systematically oppressed Black man. The album’s features come from local artists Merk, MoneyM!ll$, Blasé, 333-WISH, and Mickey Matta. “Who better to tell the story of Abilene than its artists
themselves?” Plato III asks. Although Lil B does show up for a characteristically bonkers verse on “Summon The Based God” before he sonically ascends to heaven.

By the time The Devil Has Texas reaches its penultimate track “Sorry If I Dissed You”, Plato III is able to see the streets of his boyhood through a more nuanced lens. The track suitably samples Modest Mouse’s “Trailer Trash”, a meaning that goes beyond the flat, empty tone of the guitars. “I used to want to separate myself from where I’m from. Nobody wants to be poor forever,” Plato III says. “I don’t feel
the need to run from that anymore. If I embrace it, I can know myself better.”

Yes, Plato III spent his teenage years in a trailer park; yes, as he raps, this town put him through the ringer. Yet on The Devil Has Texas, he has transformed the haunting specter of Abilene into reckoning and reconciliation through music.

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released June 17, 2022

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Plato III Abilene, Texas

On Plato III’s new full-length album, The Devil Has Texas, Ryan Silva returns to his hometown of Abilene, TX to deliver an album full of breathtaking hip-hop anthems infused with stories of his difficult West Texas upbringing. The album is Plato III’s first for new label home, Polyvinyl, marking him as the first hip-hop artist to be signed to the label. ... more

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