Basketball Player Turned Producer Pliz Talks Producing For Bhad Bhabie & Tyga

Pliz has produced for some of the game’s biggest artists, from Bhad Bhabie to Tyga to Kevin Gates. Hailing from Wichita, Kansas, the basketball player turned producer loves to make music, with hopes of inspiring people back home to not only produce, but that they can do whatever they set their mind to.

While Pliz’ personality is more laidback, chill, and relaxed, his music is actually quite the opposite. His beats are super energized, and he uses music to portray that side of him. Having grown up playing basketball his entire life, there wasn’t much of a music scene in Wichita at all. You either played sports, or you went to school. After playing college basketball and trying to play professionally overseas in Germany, he came back and decided to pursue music full-time.

His most notable records to date include Tyga’s “Macarena” and quarantine-inspired hit “Bored In The House,” Bhad Bhabie’s “Young And Bhad” featuring City Girls, and Meek Mill’s “Millidelphia.” AllHipHop caught up with Pliz via FaceTime to discuss how he got his start producing, working with Bhad Bhabie, encounters with Meek Mill, studio vibes, and more!

AllHipHop: How did you get into producing?

Pliz: Growing up, I was in a rap group. I used to rap back in the day for fun. Once I finished playing basketball, I had a regular job that I didn’t like at all. I had to figure out what else I wanted to do so I went back to my music roots. I started messing around with making beats, I actually enjoy it a lot. I started doing it every day, every day, every day until I got better.

AllHipHop: Did you teach yourself?

Pliz: Yeah I taught myself messing around with Fruity Loops, also watching a lot of YouTube tutorials. A lot of trial and error, but I made it through.

AllHipHop: What made you trade in the hoop dreams for the music?

Pliz: I went to Germany for a little bit, it didn’t work out. Kept getting little injuries here and there, I got tired of going back and forth to find different places to play. It was super unstable, so I decided to stop trying and pursue music.

AllHipHop: What was the moment you realized you could do music for a living?

Pliz: I went to Atlanta in 2017 for the BMI Awards. I was around a lot of producers and songwriters and at that moment, it became real. I knew I could do it too, I was inspired being around all those people. At that moment, I started taking this serious.

AllHipHop: How did you get to produce for Bhad Bhabie?

Pliz: When I went to Atlanta during that trip, I met Bhad Bhabie. Her A&R Andrew Grant, a friend of mine, connected us. We did a session or two together, then I ended up moving to LA a couple months later. From there, we worked together all the time. I was around her all the time so we became close. We kept working from there.

AllHipHop: What records did you do for her?

Pliz: I did “Young And Bhad” featuring the City Girls. I did “Get Like Me” featuring NLE Choppa. I did “Babyface Savage” featuring Tory Lanez, that’s the biggest one I did.

AllHipHop: Was that in the studio?

Pliz: None of the records that are out we did in the studio. We did a lot of records in studio, but those aren’t out.

AllHipHop: How do you create a beat to fit her sound?

Pliz: I basically tell her what’s good. When I’m making the beat, I can hear her voice on it. Once I’m playing it for her, I’m telling her “yo, this will be good for you.” Steering her into liking the beat, tricking her a little bit. [laughs]

AllHipHop: How did you get to produce “Macarena” For Tyga?

Pliz: Derrick Milano is a songwriter I work with a lot. Derrick did a song for Tyga, it wasn’t “Macarena” but a different song. He ended up texting it to Tyga. Tyga asked him who did the beat for that song, so he told him it was me.

Derrick put me and Tyga in communication. I ended up sending him the “Macarena” beat. It was a whole different beat at first, it was a slower trap beat. Tyga asked me to change it and make it more of a West Coast vibe, so I did that. A month later, he had me come to the studio and played it for me. I’m like wow, crazy.

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AllHipHop: Was your beat still sounding like it was?

Pliz: Well I had already changed it so I knew what the beat sounded like. I didn’t expect him to do the “Macarena” song on the beat. I named the beat “Macarena,” but I didn’t expect him to do the song.

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AllHipHop: What was your reaction? Because that s##t went up.

Pliz: It did, it was crazy. I was in the clip he posted, you can actually see my reaction when I first heard it. My first time hearing it, it was crazy. A real moment.

AllHipHop: What about “Bored In The House” for Tyga?

Pliz: That one was a little different. It was already viral on TikTok but there wasn’t a beat to it, so I put a beat to it. That was a little different. I took the original clip of Curtis Roach beating on a table with his hands, went and made it an actual beat so that it could get played on radio.

AllHipHop: That song’s so catchy, what’d it mean to have that come out during quarantine?

Pliz: It’s the quarantine anthem! It was a big moment for me to be a part of that record because I hear it on the radio. It’s getting a lot of sync requests to be on TV shows. Everybody’s always posting “bored in the house, bored in the house,” so that’s the quarantine anthem.

AllHipHop: You also did Tyga’s “FREAK”!

Pliz: I’m mad about “Freak,” quarantine messed it up. The NBA shut down the week after “Freak” dropped. Once that happened, basically the world shut down so we didn’t really get a chance to get that song in the clubs. That’s a club song, nobody got to really go out and hear it. I was disappointed it really didn’t get a chance to form, it’s a hard record though.

AllHipHop: Are you typically outside?

Pliz: Nah, I’m in the house every day anyways. I actually thought I was in the house a lot until I was actually forced to stay in there. It made me realize that I do move around a little bit and I miss it.

AllHipHop: When did you come to LA?

Pliz: I came to LA two years ago. Christmas time 2017 is when I moved to LA, so it’s been almost three years. I came here to pursue music. Andrew was telling me he could get me more sessions with Bhad Bhabie and help me get my foot in the door. I took the leap of faith and God answered. It worked.

AllHipHop: What do you have on Tyga’s upcoming project?

Pliz: I got a lot of stuff. I don’t know what’s all going to make it, but I have at least six or seven songs on there. He’s going for a new sound. It’ll be a couple of the typical 100 BPM songs, but it’ll also be him experimenting and getting into different pockets. I’m a real huge part of that process.

AllHipHop: Talk about working on “Millidelphia” for Meek Mill.

Pliz: I was working with London Jae, that’s my dawg. Him and Derrick, I owe them so much. London was telling me he’s working with Meek, he was looking for tracks so I sent him a pack. Two months later, the label hit me up telling me I had a song with Meek. I’m like “how?” I didn’t send no beats. I hit up London, “they hit me up saying I have one with Meek, did you send some over there?” He said “oh yeah I did, I forgot to tell you.”

The crazy thing is I met Meek after that too. I used to work at Beauty & Essex doing security. Atlantic Records was throwing a party, Dallas was throwing it. I didn’t even know who none of those guys were, but I was on email with Dallas. I heard somebody say his name so I assumed that it was him. I walked up and introduce myself, told him who I was. He’s like “what?! You work here? That’s crazy! Have you met Meek?” He took me to the back room where Meek was, told him “this is the dude who produced “Millidelphia.”

It was a cool moment. After that, they went to Club Avenue, which I was doing security there too. As soon as Beauty & Essex shut down, I went over to Avenue. As soon as I walked in the door, he’s in there playing “Millidelphia.” That was a crazy night.

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AllHipHop: How do you create a vibe in the studio?

Pliz: It doesn’t really take much. I like lights, colorful lights. I like to be in there by myself. Sometimes when I have a lot of people, I feel like I’m being rushed. I do both though. I can make music with people there but I like making music by myself because I can go through sounds and take my time. I need a laptop, some speakers, colorful lights, and I’m good.

AllHipHop: What’d you produce for Kevin Gates?

Pliz: I did “Let It Sing,” that’s my first placement actually. It’s on his first EP when he had first got out of jail. Prior to that, I had a session at APG with Trinidad James and Jim Levine. We came up with an idea, ended up sending it to Gates’ A&R and he liked it. He played it for Gates and Gates liked it too, he ended up using it. He had a video and everything, it was crazy. People back home couldn’t believe it.

AllHipHop: It seems like things are so organic for you.

Pliz: Everything, that’s what I’m saying. Everything off love for sure.

AllHipHop: How did you get to produce for Davido?

Pliz: That came through another producer, Ray Keys. We did an Afro-type beat a year before that record even came out. I’d forgotten about it but then Ray hit me up telling me “yo, Davido got on that record. He got Gunna and A Boogie on it.” I’m like “what?! That one we did a year ago?” He’s like “yeah.” Crazy, he put that whole play together. That’s another one that was off love.

AllHipHop: How was working with Quando Rondo?

Pliz: We were in the studio on that one. I pulled up on him at Paramount. Hung out with him, talked to him for a little bit to see what his vibe was. I started playing beats, that’s actually the first one I played. I played another one, he’s like “nah, go back to the first one.” He loaded it up and he did the song. We started it right there, I ended up leaving but he finished the record. That record came out hard too, I like that one a lot.

AllHipHop: Did you think you’d be here where you are today?

Pliz: Nah, especially coming from Wichita. A lot of people don’t even know where it’s at. You don’t even know how to pronounce it, that lets you know it’s an unknown place. Coming from there, there’s no type of music scene. The opportunity is very limited. I used to tell people all the time, “yo I’m about to go to LA and become a producer.” I didn’t even know how I was going to do it, I was just saying it. Really talking for real. People would look at me like “we’ll see.” Now it’s happening, it’s crazy.

AllHipHop: What are some goals for yourself at this point of your career?

Pliz: Really build my brand and my foundation. Get more records out, get some plaques, more billboards. I have to do more to solidify that. I didn’t want to come out here and get couple placements, then “now I gotta go back home.” I want to do it for real.