Plies

Signed to Slip-N-Slide in 2004 after recording his first track, “Tell Dem Krackers Dat,” the Ft. Myers, Florida-based Plies built anticipation for his official debut album with a couple mixtape releases, along with an appearance on Trina’s “So Fresh.” He found some trouble when, during a performance at a Gainesville nightclub on July 2, 2006, an argument about set length escalated into gunfire. Two members of his entourage were convicted of attempted murder, while Plies and a third associate were charged with illegal possession of concealed weapons. Originally a featured MC on Akon’s “I Wanna Love You,” Plies was replaced by Snoop Dogg, quite possibly due to the altercation. His debut album, The Real Testament, which featured the single “Shawty,” was released in August 2007. The year 2008 saw the arrival of two new albums, with Definition of Real dropping in June and Da Realist following in December. A year later the December release of the single “Medicine,” featuring Keri Hilson, announced the coming of the rapper’s next LP, Goon Affiliated. Released by Atlantic in March 2010, Goon Affiliated topped Billboard’s rap chart and reached number five on the Top 200. Over the next several years, Plies delivered a steady stream of mixtapes, including You Need People Like Me, Pts. 1-2, I Fuck with the DJ, Aristotle, and Da Last Real Nigga Left, Pts. 1-2, all the while teasing singles from his long-expected fifth album, Purple Heart, which he first announced in 2011, but was still unreleased as of 2017. Meanwhile, the mixtapes kept coming, with 2015′s Ain't No Mixtape BIH and its inevitable sequel, Ain’t No Mixtape BIH 2, later that year. Plies also continued to find success with singles like 2016′s “Ran Off on da Plug Twice,” “Rich N*gga Shit,” and “Racks Up to My Ear” with Young Dolph. Ain’t No Mixtape Bih 3 landed at the close of 2017. ~ Andy Kellman