b. Algernod Lanier Washington, 1 July 1976, Fort Myers, Florida, USA. Raised in the rough East Dunbar district of Fort Myers, the young Washington spent more time on the streets than listening to music. He was already in his early twenties when he teamed up with his older brother Big Gates (b. Ronell Lawrence Levatte) to launch the Big Gates Records label in 1999. Washington initially worked in an A&R capacity before making his name as a rapper on the track ‘Tell Dem Krackers Dat’, released on Slip-N-Slide Records in 2003. A series of mixtapes and a duet with Slip-N-Slide labelmate Trina on the single ‘So Fresh’ helped raise his profile even further, persuading Plies to concentrate on his rapping career. He was arrested in July 2006 following a shooting incident at one of his shows in Gainesville, Florida. The rapper was charged with illegal gun possession and his brother with attempted murder. The repercussions of the incident also meant that his collaboration with Akon on the single ‘I Wanna Love You’ was pulled, with a version featuring Snoop Dogg rapping going on to top the mainstream charts. The ongoing saga of Plies’ personal life did little to affect the level of anticipation that had built up around his debut album. The Real Testament was released in August shortly before ‘Shawty’ (featuring T-Pain) completed its climb into the US Top 10.
