The highly anticipated album comes after a six year absence from the music scene. His new album, "A&R: Anticipated Recordings" hits stores in January 2010. Barrett currently resides in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where he is working under his own label: Carolina Music Group, or CMG. Lead single from the album, the sexually-explicit "Freek-a-Leek" was another major success, reaching #7 in the Hot 100, although little chart success followed. The release of his second album, Still Writing in My Diary: 2nd Entry, was delayed until 2004. Noted for its "black" rhythm section, "Raise Up" borrows from Timbaland's preference for African-American instrumentation and helicopters. "Raise Up" was helped by rotation on MTV and heavy play on urban radio, reaching #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Hot Rap Singles Chart. He spent six years in prison and on his release moved to New York City, where he met Black Rob and Busta Rhymes, and, according to legend, was signed by the A&R director of Jive Records after hearing him rapping in a club bathroom.Īfter a few guest spots in 2000, his first solo single was "Raise Up" in 2001 at the age of 22, produced by Timbaland, followed by debut album Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry the same year. He also lived in Pasquotank County, North Carolina. Petey Pablo was arrested in Raleigh, North Carolina for armed robbery. He was originally signed to Death Row records, releasing only one track with Crooked I. His highly aniticpated third album, A&R: Anticipated Recordings, is set to be released in January 2010 after a six year absence from the music scene.īarrett left home aged 13 in 1992 and lived on the streets of Baltimore, and later Raleigh. He released his debut album, Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry, in 2001 and his sophomore effort, Still Writing in My Diary: 2nd Entry, in 2004. He is best known for his hit singles Raise Up, Show Me The Money and Freek-a-Leek, and for being featured on Ciara's Billboard Hot 100 number one single Goodies. So, even if many will be disappointed to find that nothing else on Diary of a Sinner comes close to "Raise Up," it's still one of the better Dirty South albums of the early 2000s, and surely one of the more sincere efforts.Moses Barrett III (born Jin Greenville, North Carolina), better known by his stage name Petey Pablo, is a rapper, actor and founder of CMG Records. And it doesn't hurt that he handles all the rhymes on his album. Plus, though he's not afraid to boast, he never raps about money, cars, women, drugs, or anything remotely associated with "ballin'." It's this emphasis on the inner self rather than materialism that makes Pablo so refreshing. Pablo shows that he's something of a Southern DMX - a gruff, thuggish man among boys who is thoughtful and lyrical as well as spiritual and moral. The remainder of the album isn't nearly as riveting as "Raise Up," but it's still worth listening to. In addition to the trademark shuffling, bass-heavy rhythm and the catchy, singalong hook, Timbaland throws in some swirling guitar and violin sounds for a frenzied feeling that makes "Raise Up" one of the rowdiest Dirty South anthems of the decade. Sure, "I" and "I Told Y'All" are album highlights, but it's "Raise Up" that once again showcases precisely why Timbaland is the best of the best. First of all, and most obviously, there's the gigantic lead single, "Raise Up." Jive went out of its way to hook up Pablo with Timbaland for a few songs, and the results are surely worth the hefty tab. But, as disheartening as the industry politics may be, particularly to all the myriad other Dirty South rappers with no chance at similar success, you can't slight Pablo - he proves himself worthy of big-league success on his debut album, Diary of a Sinner. And, like what happened with Ludacris and Nelly - and many others - Jive proved that they could manufacture a multi-platinum rap superstar overnight with its industry clout. Like Ludacris and Nelly, Pablo had a major label (Jive) with enough clout to guarantee national exposure and a lead single with a great video ("Raise Up") to drive album sales. Just as they'd done a decade earlier with West Coast gangsta rap, the major labels funneled millions of dollars into the early-2000s Dirty South boom, catapulting previously unknown artists like Petey Pablo to overnight-superstar status.
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