True.

Plies: That’s why I always look at it like, “Yeah…all right. That’s just kind of a remake of…” You know what I mean? Because it’s a real problem. I have a record on The Definition of Real called “Rich Folk,” where I’m talking about, “I’m sick of this shit/I’m tired of being broke/I want to live like the rich folk/I want a house with a big boat/I want to wake up one morning and ain’t got to sell dope.” That’s inspirational because regardless of what society wants you to believe, or BET or MTV wants you to believe, it’s more people hurting, than people that’s well off. That percentage of people that’s living good is minute and very small, maybe 2 percent. I haven’t researched it in a while, but it’s probably 2 to 3 percent of the world that’s financially in a better place. The other 97 percent is check-to-check or in the slums. So for me to have that kind of record on there, that’s motivation to a lot of people that’ll hear that record because I’m attacking. I’m not sitting over here telling you about how good it is for me right now being financially well off. I’ve heard a lot of artists’ albums and it’s like “Damn, bruh, if you’re really doing this good, you really don’t need me to buy this.”

It’s like that’s what they think people want to hear…

Plies: I didn’t buy this album for you to tell me how many cars you got, how many square feet the crib is. It’s like, damn, you’re really straight—but what about the people that buy [it], and they’re hurting. Is that a slap in the face? For me, I just try not to follow that path and make sure I bridge that gap between my consumers. Just because I am in a better financial place, I don’t think it’s my responsibility to rub that in their faces neither.

With so many rappers beefing with each other, where do you stand when it comes to that?

Plies: I personally feel it’s a waste of time to me, because you’re fighting and arguing about something that doesn’t belong to you. This paper is corporate America’s money. This ain’t my money. This ain’t my paper. I’m just trying to figure out the best way to hustle whatever it is I can get out of this game, and to get it out of it. For me, I’m not willing to argue with another artist because I feel their situation is bigger than mine, or they feel that my situation is bigger than theirs, because at the end of the day, it’s a hustle for anybody that’s a part of it. I always tell people the example that I use is selling dope. I don’t know nobody that’s so into selling dope that they wake up every morning and sell dope and say, “No, I don’t need the money. I just like selling dope. Keep the money. Don’t give me the money. I just enjoy the rush of selling dope.”

[Laughs] I don’t know anyone like that either.

Plies: I personally don’t know nobody that’s like that. You hear a lot of people that say they do music for the love of it, and I don’t question that. But at the end of the day, I never could feel like me getting killed or me killing somebody and losing my freedom is worth it when it’s something that doesn’t belong to me. I never allow myself to believe that this budget Atlantic Records gives me…this is not my money. So, when it comes to doing features with other artists, I don’t believe in doing swap-outs. I don’t believe in, “You did a verse for me, I’ll do a verse for you—let’s call it even.” I don’t believe in that because I feel like, at the end of the day, whatever you tell me your fee is I should pay you. I either agree with you or not agree with you, but I don’t believe in swapping it out, because this is not our money. Because, if I have a budget of a million dollars, they’re going to get their million back before I see a dime. So it’s really not my money. I don’t get caught up in something that doesn’t belong to me. Home // CELEBRITIES // WEB EXCLUSIVE // Plies