Plies was born Algernod Lanier Washington on July 1, 1976. The rapper derived the stage name Plies from hometown Fort Myers that calls most money-making drug dealers by the slank. He grew up in the small stateside of East Dunbar and as soon as graduating from Fort Myers High School in 1994, Plies pursued his passion in music. He became interested in rap and joined his older brother Ronell Levatte to run Big Gates Record,
an indie label which was home to three artists excluding himself. Twist of fate came when Plies shot the lyrics of 'Tell Dem Krackers Dat' after the original artist couldn't get the 'hook'. His brother told him to hold on behind the mic and his version finally was molded into a mixtape. "It wasn't a dream of mine," Plies explained. "It kind of happened accidentally. But at the same time, I'm a believer that nothing happens on accident."
Thus, his path in music enterprise was opened wide. After hearing 'Tell Dem Krackers Dat', Slip N' Slide Records took and guided him under their wing to release first single 'Got 'Em Hatin''. It was a street and club favorite that made his reputation meter rose amazingly high. In early 2006 he became acquainted with Akon who at that time was also working on his album 'Konvicted'. Together they recorded a song called 'I Wanna Fuck You' which Plies wrote himself. However, Plies was involved in a shooting incident in July 2006 that cost him the song.
The then rising rapper was performing a concert in Gainesville, Florida when organizers informed that his leg will be cut 15 minutes short to give time space for Lil Boosie. Hearing the news, his two entourage released fire to the crowd and injured five people but to no serious damage. Police the processed the case and charged his two people with attempted murder and illegal gun possession. Plies were released on a $10,000 bail but more problems waited at home. Due to his slightly-damaged reputation, it was decided that the featuring artist of 'I Wanna Fuck You' will be Snoop Dogg who had circulated his version on an unofficial mixtape. Plies' name was even eliminated from the credit and the title was changed to 'I Wanna Love You' to hinder any misconception. Ironically, the song peaked at #1 in Billboard Hot 100 without physical CD release or promotional video.
"I've got the problems that come with being successful, but I ain't got real problems," Plies once said. "There's some dude in the world that just got a life sentence today. That's a real problem. I make reality music. I don't make music that's out of touch. There's so much in the world that I can talk about that'll help people through their struggles." With that, Plies was back in the studio to continue working on
his solo effort. On August 7, 2007 'The Real Testament' was released with 'Got 'Em Hatin'' made as the bonus track.
