plies money

Whether you love or hate this guy, you gotta resepect his hustle.

Less than ten months after his certified-gold debut dropped, Plies has returned to the radio with the two-part “Bust It Baby” single for his second LP, which drops this summer. In true marketing fashion, the FLA native also went and based a Flavor of Love-esque reality show off the singles and has three major TV networks squabblin’ for the rights. If that’s not enough (it never is these days…), dude is about to drop a woman’s clothing line to accompany the songs as well, aptly called “Bust It Baby” clothing.

Homeboy’s manager must have some big hands, because Plies seems to be fillin’ em up more than the gas tank on his orange H2.

I remember when his ringtone anthem, “Shawty,” was just making its rounds and he said something along the lines of, “I don’t even care about hip-hop. I’m only making music for the money.” Call it spiteful, but after I heard that, I immediately ruled him out of my personal playlist for good. As far as I was concerned, whether you call it rap or hip-hop, it’s an art, not something you pimp.

Now, less than a year later, I’m officially retracting my sentiment.

As urban music continues to spread like a California wildfire more and more everyday, my broke ass has given in to the 2008 “make money” mindset. While somewhat against my good will, and as brainless as it all may be, I simply can’t hate on artists gettin’ their grip by giving the people what they want. Whether they’re 12-year-olds with white painted sunglasses, naive elders who enjoy a bass-heavy beat and catchy chorus, or even ballers themselves who just enjoy getting ignorant; at least 50% of the American public wants songs about girls, gats or gettin’ money.

Who needs originality, when you can make millions off of this, instead?

Like Aladdin and Princess Jasmin gettin’ their Steppenwolf on, it’s a whole new world out here. With so many outlets for people to get their music, exactly the way they want it, it’s hard for fans and artists alike to not succumb to what’s popular. With that said, you can either embrace it and acknowledge it for what it is, or resort to being the elderly Madd Rapper who makes a career out of peddling CDs out their trunk.

So, I guess the moral of the story is to get your bread up while you can. No matter how much your integrity tries to hold you back, certain opportunities are once in a lifetime, and if you don’t play them properly, you’ll have a whole life ahead of you to regret it.

Plies, sorry I ever hated, because now I understand.

If you can, put out another album in December. Make a movie out of it, then go push out a sequel real quick. Go and stack ‘em up to those fifteen-foot ceilings in your Fort Myers mansion.

With the route you’re taking and all those people merging on, it definitely ain’t gonna last.

Plies – Bust It Baby
Plies – Bust It Baby Pt. 2 (Feat. Ne-Yo)