Plies is not one of the bigger names in hip-hop, which is surprising considering his proficiency: the production of three successful albums in the span of 16 months, two of them selling RIAA gold. It’s possible that his ties to murder charges have weakened his commercial appeal, but they have definitely not affected the quality of his music.

The song “Plenty Money,” taken from Plies’ 2008 album “Da REAList,” combines some of the best beats that rap has to offer with less-than-brilliant lyrics. The chorus features the phrase “I got plenty money” in the repetitive style that is so increasingly popular in rap music.

Still, part of the appeal of Plies’ music is lost in the poor lyrics. The rapper is known because of his songs’ condemnation of problems facing his community, mainly unfair prison sentences and the disproportional incarceration of black men. Plies claims that he wants his songs to provide guidance to troubled youth; yet the line “lift up your shirt, n***a, I bet your ribs showin’,/you n***a starvin’, my money overflowin’ ” hardly lends itself to the humanitarian ideals Plies claims to profess. But really, who listens to lyrics anyway?