Plies

Plies, born Algernod Lanier Washington on July 1, 1976, in Fort Myers, Florida, is an American rapper whose route to music began on the football field. He played wide receiver at Miami University (Ohio) from 1995 to 1997, briefly transferred to the University of Central Florida, then dropped out to pursue rap. In 2004 he signed with the South Florida label Slip-n-Slide Records; after four mixtapes, he entered a joint venture with Atlantic Records in 2006.

His mainstream breakthrough came in 2007 with “Shawty” featuring T-Pain, a top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 that earned RIAA platinum certification. It preceded his debut album, The Real Testament, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and yielded the top-15 single “Hypnotized” featuring Akon. His second album, Definition of Real (2008), matched that No. 2 peak and produced another top-ten single, “Bust It Baby Pt. 2” featuring Ne-Yo.

His third and fourth albums, Da REAList (2008) and Goon Affiliated (2010), received mixed critical reception; Goon Affiliated served as his final major label release. Around that period, his catalog also included releases such as No Chaser, YNPLM (You Need People Like Me) 2, The Lost Sessions, 3 Headed Monster, Aristotle, and IFWTDJ (I Fuck With The DJ).