Philly rapper PnB Rock takes his name from a street intersection (Pastorius and Baynton) in his hometown.
PnB Rock, 26, is like a lot of young hip-hop artists these days in that his songs are heavily processed with AutoTune, and he seems to grapple with mixed emotions: his hit 2016 single “Selfish” is about wanting to have a woman all to himself, but the first track from his 2017 record “Catch These Vibes” is called “Friends,” and it seems to be about admonishing a woman who wants more than physical intimacy.
In addition to the digital pitch-bending, PnB throws in some of those birdlike cackles, interjections and trills — “skrreeee!” — that have become prevalent since the success of Migos. PnB’s other 2017 release “GTTM” stands for “Going Through the Motions,” but going through the motions for PnB is a little different. He wrote some of his first material while he was incarcerated. His bio is gritty, having lost family members to violence, lived on the streets, and experienced a fast rise to fame.
But PnB takes his position as a role model seriously. He’s participated in charity drives for the homeless in Philly, and he wrote the song “My City Needs Something” about violence, tensions with police and shootings on the streets. “I’m tired of yellow tape, so tired of teddy bears,” sings PnB.
See PnB Rock at Toad’s Place Toad’s Place, 300 York St., New Haven, on Wednesday, Feb. 7, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 to $33. toadsplace.com, 203-624-8623.
