Plies (rapper)
Algernod Lanier Washington (born July 1, 1976), better known by his stage name Plies, is an American rapper. Born in Fort Myers, Florida, Plies was a wide receiver on the Miami Redskins football team of Miami University in Ohio for two years in 1995 before embarking on a musical career. After a brief transfer to University of Central Florida, he dropped out and signed with South Florida-based record label Slip-n-Slide Records in 2004; after four mixtapes, he signed a joint venture with Atlantic Records two years later.
Plies
Algernod Lanier Washington
Piles
July 1, 1976[1]
Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.
- Rapper
- songwriter
2001–present
- Big Gates
- Slip-n-Slide
- Atlantic
1
His 2007 single, "Shawty" (featuring T-Pain) peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and served as his mainstream breakthrough. It received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and led his debut studio album, The Real Testament (2007), which spawned the similarly successful follow-up "Hypnotized" (featuring Akon) and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. His second album, Definition of Real (2008) matched its chart position and yielded his second top ten single, "Bust It Baby Pt. 2" (featuring Ne-Yo). His third and fourth albums, Da REAList (2008) and Goon Affiliated (2010) were both met with mixed critical reception; the latter served as his final major label release.
Early life
Plies was born Algernod Lanier Washington in Fort Myers, Florida, and grew up in the East Dunbar area of Fort Myers.[2] While at Fort Myers Senior High School, he played receiver and defensive back in its football team, was crowned Homecoming King, was the valedictorian of his high school class, and was named the "Best Dressed" student of his class.[3]
He attended Miami University under the name Nod Washington, and was wide receiver on its football team from 1995 to 1997,[4] then transferred to the University of Central Florida and dropped out.[3] As a freshman in 1995, Washington had 9 receptions for 69 yards.[4] In 1996, his sophomore year, Washington had 25 receptions for 262 yards and 2 touchdowns. The next season, Washington had 5 receptions for 43 yards.[4]
Persona
David Jeffries of AllMusic described Plies's debut album The Real Testament as tracks covering both gang life and love.[38] Similarly, Jeffries described the lyrical content of Da REAList as having "a spectrum that runs from irresponsible gun talk to irresponsible sex talk".[39] 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".[3] In July 2008, hip hop website HipHopDX published an investigative report suggesting that Plies exaggerated his criminal background.[40]