 |
||
Plies100 YearsFlickalatinGo OffHeard Of MeI'm Da ManShe Got It MadeWatch DisWe Are TrayvonWorth Goin FED Fo
Plies was born Algernod Lanier Washington on July 1, 1976, in Fort Myers, Florida and grew up in the East Dunbar area of Fort Myers.[1] While at Fort Myers Senior High School, he played receiver and defensive back in its football team, was crowned Homecoming King, and was named the "Best Dressed" student of his class.[2] He attended Miami University and under the name Nod Washington was wide receiver on its football team in 1996 and 1997,[3] then transferred to the University of Central Florida and dropped out.[2] In 1996, his sophomore year, Washington had 25 receptions for 262 yards and 2 touchdowns, the second-most receptions of his team for the season.[4] The next season, Washington played only one game and had one 9-yard reception.[5] In the late 1990s, Plies and his stepbrother Ronnell Lawrence Lavatte, also known as Big Gates, established an independent record label, Big Gates Records. Although Plies initially refused to rap, after a demonstration for one of his artists, Big Gates decided to keep Plies' verse on the track "Tell Dem Krackers Dat". Big Gates and Plies promoted the single and traveled many times to Miami, which eventually led to a deal for Plies on Slip-n-Slide Records.[1] Plies's girlfriend Brandy Lacole Lyons gave birth to a son, Nijier Lanier Washington, at the University Community Hospital in Tampa, Florida on October 20, 2003.[6] After signing to Slip-n-Slide in 2004, Plies released several mixtapes.[2] On July 2, 2006, after a shooting at a Gainesville,
Florida nightclub, Plies was charged with illegal possession of
a concealed weapon, and members of his entourage were charged with
attempted murder.[7] The shooting, in which 5 people were injured,
started after Plies' microphone was cut off for Lil' Boosie to
perform, after Plies' performance ran over time. According to the
promoter Jonathan Smith, Plies became "enraged". A fight began with fists and shouting, and ended with at least six rounds of
bullets being fired.[8] The Real Testament was released in August 2007.
His debut single "Shawty" featuring T-Pain topped the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart and peaked at number
nine on the Hot 100. "Hypnotized", the second single, featured Akon, and peaked at number three on the Rap chart
and 14 on the Hot 100.[9] The third single was "I Am the Club". On February 29, 2008, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
certified the album Gold for having sold over 500,000 units; five
days later the RIAA did the same for singles "Shawty" and "Hypnotized".[10] Plies made a guest performance on Fat Joe's single "Ain't Sayin' Nuthin" from The Elephant in the Room in early 2008. Definition of Real, his second album, was released
in June 2008, 10 months after releasing his first album. The lead
single was "Bust It Baby Pt. 2" featuring Ne-Yo, which peaked at number two on both the Hot Rap Tracks and Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks charts and number seven on the Hot 100.[9] The album debuted at number
two on the Billboard 200, selling over 214,000 copies its first
week.[11] The next single was "Please Excuse My Hands", featuring Jamie Foxx and The-Dream.[9][12] RIAA certified Gold "Bust It Baby" on September 17 and Definition of Real October 14.[10] In the same year Plies
released his third album, Da REAList, in December 2008, six months
after the release of his second album. The first official single
off this album is "Put It on Ya", featuring Chris J. The album debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200 and
has sold over 114,000 copies.[13] The second single is "Want It, Need It", featuring Ashanti. He did a guest performance on Ludacris's single "Nasty Girl" from Ludacris's album Theater of the Mind. In an interview with Plies and according to Slip-n-Slide
Records, the rapper announced that he completed a fourth album.
Tentatively, he planned to release it on February 16, 2009, but
stated that the exact date depended on the success of his third
album.[14][15] The album ended up being released on June 8, 2010.[16]
He continued to make guest appearances on Usher's "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)" (that version not making the Usher's sixth studio album Raymond vs. Raymond
and Young Jeezy's "Lose My Mind". Plies worked on his mixtape, "You
Need People Like Me", which was released Friday September 3, 2010.[17] On September 3,"You Need People Like Me" was a song entitled Boosie which was dedicated to Lil Boosie.[citation needed].
Plies was featured on R&B singer Bobby V single Phone # which debuted on the R&B charts at 55. David Jeffries of allmusic described Plies's debut
album The Real Testament as tracks covering both gang life and
love.[18] Similarly, Jeffries described the lyrical content of
Da REAList as having "a spectrum that runs from irresponsible gun talk to irresponsible sex talk".[19] A profile of Plies in the December 2008 issue of Vibe magazine observed
that Plies constantly referred to himself as "real" in his music and album titles. However, it pointed out that the word "has virtually synonymous with 'criminal' and, in some cases, almost superseded
the idea of being able to actually rap".[2] In July 2008, hip hop website HipHopDX published an investigative report
suggesting that Plies exaggerated his criminal background.[20] * The Real Testament (2007) Awards and nominations * BET Hip-Hop Awards[21] * Ozone Awards[22][23]
|
||