Moses Barrett III (born July 22, 1973), known by the stage
name Petey Pablo, is an American rapper from Greenville, North Carolina.
Born in Greenville, North Carolina, Barrett spent five years in
prison for a 1993 armed robbery and on his release moved to New York
City, where he met Black Rob and Busta Rhymes, and, according to
legend, was signed by the A&R director of Jive Records after
hearing him rapping in a club bathroom. After a few guest spots,
his first solo single was "Raise Up" in 2001 at the age
of 28, produced by Timbaland, followed by debut album Diary of a
Sinner: 1st Entry the same year."Raise Up" was helped
by rotation on MTV and heavy play on urban radio, reaching #25 on
the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Hot Rap Singles Chart.
He appeared as himself in Drumline (2002) (performing "Club
Banger", "You Can Find Me", and "Raise Up/I Told
Y'All"). The release of his second album, Still Writing in My
Diary: 2nd Entry, was delayed until 2004. Lead single from the
album, the sexually-explicit "Freek-a-Leek" was another
major success, reaching #7 in the Hot 100, although little chart
success followed. In 2005 Petey Pablo formed a relationship with
Suge Knight, but never signed an official contract with his former
label Death Row Records.
Barrett currently resides in the Raleigh suburb Wake Forest, North
Carolina, where he is working under his own label: Carolina Music
Group, or CMG.
In 2009, Petey Pablo collaborated with a music producer from Minnesota
on a song title called "How Do You Know."
His new album, A&R: Anticipated Recordings is scheduled to be
released in 2011.
He released the first single from the
new album on July 22, 2010 entitled "Go", produced by Timbaland.
On September 11, 2010, he was arrested at RDU Airport after allegedly
trying to carry a 9mm automatic pistol aboard a US Airways flight
bound for Los Angeles.
On September 26, 2011 Pablo was sentenced to 35 months in jail for
this incident. It is unclear when he will begin to serve time.
In 2009 Petey played a character named B-Bone in the film "Just
Another Day". The film is about the intersecting lives of an
aspiring rapper and an old successful rapper over the course of one
day. B-Bone is another successful rapper that has a beef with the
successful rapper, A-maze.
In 2002 Petey played himself in the film "Drumline" nearing
the end of the film.
Discography
Studio albums
2001: Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry
2004: Still Writing in My Diary: 2nd Entry
Independent albums
2011: A&R: Anticipated Recordings