| Plies | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Algernod Lanier Washington |
| Born | July 1, 1976 Fort Myers, Florida |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupations | Rapper |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | Big Gates , Slip-n-Slide |
| Associated acts | DJ Khaled, Trey Songz, Rick Ross, Trick Daddy, T-Pain, Akon |
| Website | www.pliesworld.com |
Algernod Lanier Washington (born July 1, 1976), better known by his stage name Plies, is an American rapper and founder of Big Gates Records. Born in Fort Myers, Florida, Washington was a wide receiver on the football team of Miami University in Ohio in 1996 and 1997 before he became a rapper. After dropping out of college, he founded Big Gates with his stepbrother. Signed to Slip-n-Slide Records, from 2007 to 2008 he released three albums. Plies debuted in 2007 with The Real Testament with successful singles "Shawty" and "Hypnotized". Plies also released two albums in 2008, Definition of Real and Da REAList, and later released Goon Affiliated in 2010.
Contents |
Plies was born Algernod Lanier Washington 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 with 114,000 copies sold in its first week.[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, Gucci Mane's "Wasted", from The State vs. Radric Davis and Young Jeezy's "Lose My Mind", from Jeezy's fourth album Thug Motivation 103: Hustlerz Ambition.
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.. Plies was featured on R&B singer Bobby V single Phone # which debuted on the R&B charts at 55. Plies released two mixtapes in 2011, including "I Fuck With The DJ" and "Aristotle".
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]
|
||||||||||||||