Plies has based his whole career on being real, but until now we haven’t exactly known who the real Plies is. Though songs like “Bid Long and “God, I’m Tried of Lyin” have showcased his soul, the Fort Myers emcee prefers not to talk about his struggle outside of the booth. In fact, it has been proven that Plies relies only on music to deliver his heartfelt and deep-rooted emotions. However, in this OZONE exclusive, the media mystery man shows us the other side of his Real Testament. Here, he speaks candidly on everything from fatherhood to fake friends. If you thought you knew anything about Plies before, you’ll see that you had no idea.
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ou’ve established this whole image and career based on your trademark of being “real.” Do you feel like that term is overused in the rap industry? Everybody says they’re “real.” What sets you apart from everyone else? I think that term is widely used, but it’s a personal preference. “Real” can be whatever you want it to mean. For me, anytime I’m using that term, it basically means I’m being real to myself. What I call “real” might not apply to what another person considers to be “real.” Being “real” to me is taking care of my responsibilities, not only in the streets, but amongst family. Staying true to myself and not doing nothing that is falsified or not who I am as a person. For me, that’s my definition of “real.” Some niggas think “real” means wearing a dark pair of glasses and having your pants hang off your ass. Some people think they’re “real” because they’ve been to jail 40 times. But to me, somebody who’s not “real” could’ve been to jail 40 times. When I say I’m “real,” I’m talking about the things I value and the principles I’ve got for myself. You mentioned taking care of family. Do you have kids or other family members that you support? I think you’ve got to be a selfish individual to do what I do, and it wasn’t until recently that I realized that. To give all the time and hours to my career and the wear and tear on your body – and even for you, doing what you do, to grind it out in the magnitude that you grind it out – it’s selfish. And for me, to have a son, I’m putting all my responsibilities off on somebody else to chase my own personal aspirations and dreams. For me to do that, I’ve got to be a selfish person, because I am neglecting a responsibility of mine that really needs me. So I understand that you’ve got to be a selfish individual to do this shit. I asked you in a previous interview if there were any artists who had influenced you, and you seemed offended at that question. You’ve always been pretty vocal about not affiliating yourself with other artists and not giving other people plugs. Do you think that attitude will help or hinder your career? I think that what I’m attracted to in life is totally different than most people. I think that most inner-city muthafuckers or people from the hoods and ghettos across the country have the same dreams and the same aspirations. Most of us just want to be financially stable and be a provider for our family. So I think our dreams and outlook are the same, but what I’ve learned in my short stay in this business is that that’s just what it is – it’s 100% business and that’s the approach I take. I’m trying to grow every day and become wiser, but for me, being in the music industry and getting into clubs free and getting caught taking pictures with this [brand] of clothing on and get caught holding up this kind of bottle up in the club – I pride myself in not doing something if I can’t find a way to milk the best of the situation. This is a business and everybody is doing whatever’s in their best interest, so I’m just trying to do what I feel is in my best interest. I’ve got a lot of respect for a long of cats in this industry as far as business, but I don’t know a lot of these dudes personally to have a lot of respect for them. There’s some guys I’ve had the pleasure to meet that I do have a personal understanding with, but for the most part, I don’t really know the majority of this industry. So with that said, are there going to be a lot of features and collaborations on your album? The first two singles feature T-Pain and Akon. On my debut album it was important to me not to have a compilation album. I felt like my situation was a little different because I didn’t
have the force of a major cosigner. I did a lot of the ground work and I pride myself off that. I didn’t want my first national look to be me riding the coattails of other people. I don’t have any other rap artists on my album. But if there’s someone that can do something I can’t do, I fuck with them. Pain can sing and I can’t sing, so I fucked with Pain. As far as the Akon situation, I’ve got the new record with him, the “Hypnotized” record. He was able to do something that I wasn’t able to do. I’ve got three R&B features on my album, but other than that, it’s straight me. I have no other rap acts on my album. You mentioned coming into the game without a cosigner – do you think that will actually benefit you in the long run? A lot of times when you see a major artist introduce their crew, it’s hard for them to step out of the shadow. I take my hat off to a lot of the cats in the industry that assist in changing the livelihoods of their friends. I take my hat off to any nigga that gives other niggas around them the opportunity to become successful, not just in music but in life in general. Me, I never try to be the ear for the whole entire country. Just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean that another million people won’t like it. But for me, in terms of what I’m trying to do, I’m trying to have a societal impact more than just an industry impact. Musically, I’m in this shit to sell records, so I hope I can be successful on a national level as an artist. But at the same time, the other shit I’m doing now is just as important. Like, right now, I’m doing a 15 city prison tour. To me, that’s the highlight of my career. I personally took pride in that. I don’t care how many records I sell or don’t sell. Nothing will be able to top that; going into fifteen different facilities and talking to niggas that either I ran the streets with, or are relatives of mine, or niggas that I don’t even know. I don’t think there’s nothing that I’ve personally faced that can top me being able to go to fifteen institutions and talk to niggas who are at the worst point in their lives. So I take my hat off to niggas that take the time to provide opportunities for their friends and homeboys. But for me, not having a cosigner, that worked wonders for me, because I was able to create something that has a foundation. For a lot of people, this “Shawty” record may be the first time they’ve heard of me. But the foundation I’ve built over the last four years has helped this become one of the most anticipated projects in the game. So this 15 city prison tour – are you performing at these facilities? Or what exactly does that consist of? We’re going into different institutions and talking about people’s situations. A lot of times, there’s a preconceived notion that if somebody is locked up, that automatically means they’re a bad person. And I beg to differ. A lot of times, being a minority, we don’t have $50,000-$60,000 laying around in the bank to get us the best legal representation, so we get stuck with a public defender. You get put in situations where you’ve got to take pleas. So whether you did [the crime] or didn’t do [the crime], due to a lack of finances, you’re put into a whole ‘nother category. So I’ve been able to shed light on that situation and show how that shit not only affects the inmate, but how it affects the family structure.
There’s a preconceived notion that if somebody is locked up, that automatically means they’re a bad person. And I beg to differ... whether you did [the crime] or didn’t do [the crime], due to a lack of finances, you’re put into a whole ‘nother category. So I’ve been able to shed light on that situation and show how that shit not only affects the inmate, but how it affects the family structure.
How will you shed light on their situations? Is this being filmed? Some of the facilities are letting us take cameras in, but some of them, we can’t. So we’re doing some shit via satellite where they’re going to have cameras inside. Some of the facilities aren’t letting us come in with the big camera crews. We’re shopping it around right now; a couple of the TV stations are interested. So we’re just shedding light on people that we feel are wrongly incarcerated and exposing their situations. Even though “Shawty” is your first OZONE MAG // 73