Plies was born Algernod Lanier Washington on July 1, 1976, in Fort Myers, Florida and grew up in East Dunbar, Florida.[1] He attended Miami University for a year and played in its basketball team, then transferred to the University of Central Florida for sophomore year and dropped out.[2] In the late 1990s, Plies and his brother Big Gates established an independent record label, Big Gates Records. Although Plies initially refused to rap, after a demonstration for one of his artists, Big Gates decided to keep Plies' verse on the track "Tell Dem Krackers Dat". Big Gates and Plies promoted the single and traveled many times to Miami, which eventually led to a deal for Plies on Slip-N-Slide Records.[3] Plies's girlfriend Brandy Lacole Lyons gave birth to a son, Nijier Lanier Washington, at the University Community Hospital in Tampa, Florida on October 20, 2003.