While The Gettin’s Good…
GENERAL By Beware on March 24, 2008 at 6:15 pm
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)
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58 Comments
GrEuMsT !
500k Flea! yesterday you posted some new elzhi joints which were dope, but the quality on “vitamins” was dirt. i googled to find another version cause that beat’s sick, but couldnt find it. “i wonder can ya save me?”
This may have been posted before, but if it wasn’t….
Snoop Dogg – Buss’n Rocks (Produced by DJ Quik)
http://www.zshare.net/audio/94149736aab519/
Fans of Quik’s production’ll probably like this too…
this means YOU DH…
@ Rugged: I’ve been looking for a cleaner version of “Vitamins” myself but with no success, perhaps one of our other TSS brethren can assist in the search. I’ll still keep on the prowl though.
@ Greumst: My main man Greums!!! What’s poppin’ my dude!!!
@ Flea
Ask and you shall receive… here’s the album:
Elzhi, Dwele & Lacks – The Breakfast Club EP
http://rapidshare.com/files/50532597/elzhi_dwele_and_lacks-the_breakfast_club_ep-RHHB.rar
Tracklist:
01 Intro
02 Friday Night
03 Jefferson
04 Bonus #1
05 God Willin’
06 Vitamins
07 Really
08 Nothing Goin’ On
09 Nine
10 Bonus #2
11 Hennessy
12 Bitch Niggas
13 S.A.R.A.H.
@ OED
Good lookin’ out my dude. D’loading as we speak.
^ My fault… that one’s for RuggedandRaw. Peace.
DH, good lookin’ on that elzhi…
Any fan of The Jacksons should read this…. whoa.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03232008/news/nationalnews/jacko_clan_in_a_deep_funk_103188.htm?page=0
Douglas, my new friend, thank you for the Breakfast Club EP. I had forgotten I was looking for it until you just posted it up.
I can’t blame dudes like Plies for getting their money, “gotta strike while the iron is hot” I guess. Artists (if one can call him that) such as Plies don’t have staying power so it makes sense for them to exploit all lucrative opportunities presented to them, for once their popularity has waned so do the six-figure offers and deals. I kind of find it funny he said that he doesn’t care about hiphop, reminds me of an Ali Vegas line I heard the other day:
“If you already rich then what the fuck you rhymin’ for?”
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.
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I couldn’ t agree with you more on this one. Still haven’t heard these…and I’m not sure I want to but the message is clear.
Can’t Knock The Hustle
http://www.zshare.net/download/94652404fc8739/
^ Shit… I’m not a fan, but somebody likes it if dude went gold. Get yours.
@ Dougie Howser: Is that Elzhi EP a 2008 release??? Usually I’m up on release dates but I’m slippin’ this time so school me here!!!
Doug, you know the password on that Elzhi?
@ OED
That Snoop joint makes me anxious for the summer to start.
“I’m going back to Cali… Cali… Cali” – LL Cool J
no doubt, D. definitely sumn to ride to.
drug dealers and pimps make a lot of money. i suppose we should respect them too, right?
i dont give a shit about how much money you make and how many stupid people you trick into buying your shit, if you make wack music you dont get respect.
yeah i feel ya some what. i cant hate on the nigga’s hustle any black man getting money is a good thing, but i can still hate on his music, which is oh-so-ignorant. seein’ lil 14 yr old girls callin themselves bust-it-babies aint really whats up in my opinion. then again it aint like i wont be watching the reality show when it finally hits the air. kinda like drug dealin, all the bread u make is cool but the effects on the community aint. i just hope his 15 will b up by the end of the yr.
wasn’t it Plies whose manager got caught with all that yayo and $?…dudes are definitely gettin they hustle on, which i respect…doesn’t mean i have to listen to that elementary garbage
Get it how u live
As someone who spent the day riding to one of Plies’ old mixtapes, I think I might be biased so I won’t get into the whole “real hip-hop” debate.
He makes music.
He has an opportunity to make money, make noise, make TV shows, etc.
So…you’re telling me that if given the chance, you wouldn’t do it?
If he came in promoting a certain angle & money came from that, there’s no knock on that hustle. He succeeded basically. What he’s doing is no diff than KRS just said recently…
http://grandgood.com/2008/03/12/krs-one-explains-why-hes-not-selling-out-authenticity-is-the-new-business-model/
My .02.
here’s another link w/o a password
Elzhi, Dwele & Lacks – The Breakfast Club EP
http://rapidshare.com/files/70086398/Elzhi_Dwele_And_Lacks_The_Breakfast_Club_Ep_By_djnyke.skyrock.com.rar.html
i tried so hard to like this dude…i even bought his gangsta grillz (yes, bought…this was pre tss for me)…dude’s voice sounds good (NH) but in my opinion he couldn’t rap his way out of a wet paper bag…not even like how jeezy can’t rap real good but he’s funny and he’s got the ad-libs…and his emotional, grimy style just makes it that much more apparent that he’s not really putting words together…as far as his hustle, like it said, i totally respect that…and don’t try to equate making bad music with drug dealing, it’s completely different
*like i said
DJ Drama promises that it will be one of the biggest mixtapes of the year. Arguably the top DJ in the mixtape field is teaming up with arguably the most renowned crew in the underground circuit. The first-ever G-Unit Gangsta Grillz is about to go into production.
“A couple of days after G-Unit dropped their Elephant in the Sand mixtape [two weeks ago], I got the call from 50 [Cent] and he was like, ‘Drama, what up? It’s time to do this G-Unit/ Aphilliates Gangsta Grillz.’ He’s really going heavy on the ThisIs50.com Web site, and he was saying basically it’s time to get G-Unit hot in the South. What better way to do that than to do a Gangsta Grillz? Not only from a South aspect but from a quality street-music aspect. Me and Whoo Kid talked the other day, Fif and G-Unit are getting songs together, [my artists] Willie Da Kid and La Da Darkman are getting some songs together. I reached out to the King and told him it’s a special project; I need him to get busy. We’re gonna go in.”
“The King” Drama is referring to is, of course, none other than the King of the South, T.I. Drama said he’s also reached out to a slew of his other friends from the South and told them to get their best material ready. Fif’s DJ, Whoo Kid, will also be heavily involved in putting the project together.
“Look out for some skits,” Drama said. “Whoo Kid is a jokester. I’mma bring some personality to the table. We’re gonna have fun with it. Let the mixtape game come back to life. It’s been over a year since the historical [RIAA] raid, and the mixtape game is still here. That’s what we’re out to prove. 50 is a monster in the game, I’m a monster in the game. The combination is gonna kill the streets.”
Drama just released the mixtape The Notorious L.A.D. from La the Darkman, while 50 and the Unit have been on a rampage for the past six months with Sabrina’s Baby Boy, Return of the Body Snatchers and Elephant in the Sand.
“He’s still working like he’s hungry and putting product out every day,” Dram said of Fif. “You can’t take it as nothing but motivation.”
Drama said the G-Unit Gangsta Grillz should be out in early to mid-April and available for free download on ThisIs50.com and GangstaGrillz.com.
^ From MTV’s Mixtape Monday
Im so tired of people saying ‘respect his hustle’. What fucking hustle ? He’s a lazy rapper who may or may not have been a former drug dealer !Dude is getting exploited and fucked in the butt by his white record label while they laugh at his ridiculously ugly face and bad music, loving how he makes blacks look like monkeys. Gotta respect that hustle!! How about the hustle of teachers and people who actually do something with their lives, rather than looking like an ignorant stereotype ?
good look DH
yeah, but this is the real world…good intentions and integrity don’t pay the bills…some people are lucky enough to do something they love and are passionate about and still get paid and make it…other people have to go different routes…there’s so many more fucked up things a young brother from the hood could be doing to get his guap than making (arguably bad) music…i respect him because, whether he looks rediculous or not, he’s making his money and he’s doing it without committing any crime or hurting anyone…that’s more than a lot of people can say about what they do for that almighty dollar
@ Plies Sucks: Good point my dude.
oh yeah, and Plies is signed to Slip-n-Slide Records, a black owned/operated company…Ted Lucas, it’s CEO, is also black
^ I was wondering who was gonna pick up on that. I didn’t want to say it, for I might be a Stan lol.
I hear what PliesSucks is saying….but it’s hard to argue w/someone who’s “made it” pushing their self-created image. Exploited whatever what have you, he’s doing what he chose, in a lane he created.
“he’s making his money and he’s doing it without committing any crime or hurting anyone”
look at post 7 about bust-it-babies and post 26 about the negative stereotype. any wack rapper on the radio and tv is hurting the hip hop culture, the black race, and females. that probably sounds dumb but it’s true. making money isnt a thing you should respect considering how easy it is to make money if one is willing to do things deemed immoral.
@ Sherm: Good counter-point.
The main thing that bothers me about Plies is his name, what the fuck does “Plies” mean???!!! Other than that one of my chicks is using as a ringtone that dumb-ass song of his that says “I need a girl who’s pussy smell like water” What the fuck???!!! I mean I like clean, fresh pum-pum too but to hear it as a hook for a song is kind of weird as fuck.
I respect most everyones hustle but Piles might be the worst rapper ever . . . .
. . . . and take off the Phillies Fitted. My city wouldn’t wipe its Ass wit that nigga let alone see him misrepresent it .
lol @ flea – don’t get me wrong, like i said i think dude is wack…i just think people are making too much of a big deal and a huge leap in logic as to his wackness’s implications on culture and society as a whole…let’s also not forget that some of the first dudes to hit it big rapping were on some ole ignant shit, too…i, for one, am not gonna start acting like c. dolores tucker, no matter how grown up i get
I sense a lot of soapbox posturing.
FYI piles may have shipped gold but how many where returned from being unsold
*delores
Ig’nant Rap at it’s most ig’nant
Even though I don’t really mess with Dude, I sorta see His appeal & I see no problem in Him getting His paper. Not that I’m condoning it but Plies isn’t the only rapper guilty of making His ends off of negative imagery.
cracka ass goons!!!
Beware, you straight corny for this post.
I’m broke too, but that doesn’t make bad music sound good all of a sudden.
Plies may not be the wackest emcee, but he’s certainly the wackest I’ve heard in a good while. There’s no excuse for wackness, and it’s people like you who have fallen off the path who co-sign this bullshit. Matter fact, since this site started getting a little shine, all y’all been on some dick rider shit, if I may be honest. Guess everybody gotta get theirs right? To quote the other wackest emcee, Diddy, I sense a little “bitch-assness” in y’all.
“It ain’t about East or West. It’s about niggas and bitches, power and money, riders and punks. Which side are you on?”
i may be by myself on this one but im totally feelin plies (pause)
no homo
Hah, here is another truly reality show: http://www.elkostello.bosikom.net
500… Plies is supposed to be
Wait are you sitting down?
It’s supposed to be “pliers”!! Dude was on the station talkin bout “You know.. you can grip things wit pliiies and also you can use it like it plies to this, it plies to that you know?”
The host was like “No… I know of the noun pliers, the tool used to grip things and I know of the term applies!”
This nigga broke in talkin bout ” Man I’m from the south man, we ain’t got no education!”
That’s when I picked up my mouth and ran.
@ Smash: Are you serious??? If what you say is true then homeboy is a straight-up clown!!! “Ain’t got not education”???!!! Read damn it!!!
Bomber – nah you’re not alone. Perhaps among the majority here, but definitely not alone.
Smash, if that is true, I’m running “fo da do” right alongside you. F-A-B-O-lous was bad enough… and THEN to put that ish on the radio for the world to hear??? Scary.
My city wouldn’t wipe its Ass wit that nigga let alone see him misrepresent it .
*dead*
I gave The Real Testament another listen last night just for good measure. I couldn’t help but laugh at how Dude sounds sometimes but the shocker is that Plies is saying some real ish. It’d be a mistake to lump Him in with the Shawty Lo’s, Rocko’s, & Gucci Mane’s of the game.
I swear!! Nigga set us back further than Flavor Flav… 2-3 hunned years, easy.
Obama winning couldn’t balance this out.
I’mma search for the audio.
@My Smallest Fan….
I just write about the news. Plies happened to be in the news, i saw an angle, and took it. I’ve never bumped Plies once in my life.
I understanbd his music, that doesn;t mean i have to like it.
And as far as TSS ‘dickridin’ since we ‘got our lil shine’….its all relative. we post whats in the news, or bubbling on the radar. as much as we like to set the trend, most of the time its you, the fans, who actually set the precedent.
as far as the Amaru quote…
“”It ain’t about East or West. It’s about niggas and bitches, power and money, riders and punks. Which side are you on?”"
I love Pac, and everything he stood for, but the second line of that shit is exactly what Plies stands for, man. My question for you is…where do you stand?
Point taken Beware. Really and truly, I just felt like saying that Tupac quote, didn’t have too much to do with my original point.
It just really upsets me that seemingly trustworthy media outlets(i.e. TSS) would waste time on a garbage emcee like Plies when there are plenty of folk on the fringe who could benefit from your exposure. In effect, it’s you all that set the trends, because we regular folks get our info from YOU.
No intent to disrespect you guys, as I obviously check this site regular, but I did feel the need to let y’all know that I feel you’re headed in a dangerous direction with your journalism. Dickriding ain’t relative. If you ain’t feeling son, why you taking space and time to talk about him? If you genuinely felt his style and movement, then it wouldn’t be dickriding to report on him. But being as you said you don’t even listen to him, your article only serves to bring attention to a dude that already has too much of it.
I, as a fan, just want a site to check for that maintains its integrity.
Gotty, don’t chime in on this shit neither. I ain’t feeling how you break in on these back-and-forths like you the elder statesman and shit. Y’all may not be feeling me right now, but respect my will to not be a TSS dickrider. I got love for the site, and I want to keep it that way.
With that said, Beware, it’s one love for this hip hop.
@ My Smallest Fan…
Also, point taken. However, man, do you see what else we put up? Aside from Plies goon ass, we got all sorts of acts with underground buzz/love….Cool Kids, House Shoes, Badu, Donny Goines, LA, Guilty…man, really, Plies is just a filler.
A filler with a point though, homie.
The music game is changing, and he is ahead of the pack as far as crosing over. He’s settin the tone for what other rappers (ie…the ones i mentioned above) will be doing years from now.
It’s not about the music with Plies. It’s about the story. As journalists, we have to touch on it. Would you have been happier if I just did a RapBasement post, and only posted the news about all his deals? Where’s the fun in that?
I say what i say to start your conversations. In this case, i obviously did.
And yes, my man, one love in this hip-hop/rap shit.
It keeps me gong on the daily.
I, as a fan, just want a site to check for that maintains its integrity.
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How ironic…
http://smokingsection.uproxx.com/TSS/?p=3532
I feel that I may be lettin the outsiders in with this one BUT:
the word Plies is SIMPLE drug terminology. An abbreviated version of supPLIER. So the word could be a NOUN, ADJECTIVE,
I don’t like Plies nor do I respect his “hustle”. I choose to respect those that as Phonte so eloquently quoted are “maintaining without Mantannin’”.
Plies is just missing a cane, cork and some tap shoes but to each his own, that’s just my hatin’ ass East Coast biased oldhead blogger opinion.
One.
Is it just me or does Plies look like (and sound like) Juvenile…only with nowhere near the flow?
This type of review of Plies’ The Real Testament makes me believe you didn’t listen to the album…
In a world of hip hop where most newcomers (and a lot of talented legends) are dumbifying themselves to the content-free snap along recipe, Plies is a breath of fresh air.
He is full of content–poignant story telling, conceptual song writing, tight production, and a flow completely his own.
He stays true to HIS roots..they may not be ours, but their his. Hustler or not we should respect him for more then the duckets his ringtones produce.
If you don’t believe me, listen to The Real Testament tracks 1,2,3,4,5,7 and 11.