Plexoboy Pesh has been behind bars… but he’s not letting that stop him from creating music. The original Brooklyn Demon has been viewed as the hardest working music artist currently locked up, injecting nonstop blood, sweat, tears into his newest offering: debut EP titled “GrimeyGates 441.” The 5-track project sees Pesh reflecting on his old ways, while paying homage to the hood that made him the man he is today.
In the midst of the Brooklyn drill movement, Pesh arrives as one of the originators, using classic hip-hop beats to tell his story which includes 8 plus years of consecutive prison bids.
Plexoboy exploded onto the scene with his debut single titled “Thicker Than Water,” showcasing his talents as an independent artist with impeccable New York lyricism. The record paid homage to the classic 50 Cent and G Unit record, “Follow Me Gangster.”
When it comes to his name, he states, “I’m an artist from Brooklyn, Gates and Nostrand (N.A. Rock) to be exact. On my block is the duplex part of the projects. I ended up calling the duplex part the Plexoz, so I ended up being Plexoboy Pesh.”
AllHipHop: What was the household like growing up in Brooklyn?
Plexoboy Pesh: It was gritty. I love my hood, I don’t want to be from nowhere else. I learned a lot out there. It’s loving at times, it’s fun and it’s rough at times. Most of the times, it’s rough. At the end of the day, it made me who I am today. Wouldn’t have it no other way.
AllHipHop: Biggest influences coming up?
Plexoboy Pesh: It was the OGs around me, like my uncles, my step pops, it was all getting money dudes, they was getting a lot of money out there in them streets and that’s what I idolized. I got a line in one of my tracks where I say “I neva wanted to be Big Meech, I’m from N.A. Rock – I think I’m Big Kieth. Big Keith is my cousin’s pops. I looked up to dudes like that: all the jewelry and the money, the girls, the fly, latest cars. That’s what I looked up to, the OGs from my hood.
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AllHipHop: When did you realize the music thing was real?
Plexoboy Pesh: 2012 probably, when I was locked up. I was on my way from coming home. When I had came home from doing that bid, I wanted to do it for a living. Before that, I was rapping for a hobby. I’ve always liked rapping, the people around me like my music so I did it for the love. That’s when I really thought “yeah, I can get money doing this. I could really do something with this.”
AllHipHop: What was the creative process behind your new EP, GrimeyGates 441?
Plexoboy Pesh: Going in the booth and venting, telling my stories. I got a lot of stories so I be talking about how I feel when I create music. Whatever I’m going through or whatever I went through, it comes out sporadically as I am doing my music. Sometimes I might be talking about current issues or some things that happened in the past, that’s how I vent. That’s how I created all my songs. I also got a lot of feedback from my Dj, Fat Fingaz. He’s a heavy hitter dj. He started checking for me sometime after I laced A&R Mondays, eOne Urban’s IG Live Showcase with Ivy Rivera. He put Thicker Than Water and Aiming For The Crown in heavy rotation on his show The City on Dash Radio, so a lot of Face Time pause with the homie and letting him listen fresh out the booth.
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AllHipHop: How does it feel to put out music from behind bars?
Plexoboy Pesh: I don’t feel too good about it because I’m here and I’m not out there really interacting with people that’s been waiting for this music, so it’s difficult. I love the fact I’m able to still make some moves while I’m behind bars, but I don’t like it.
AllHipHop: What do you want fans to get from the project?
Plexoboy Pesh: I want them to get knowledge and know these things can happen, this is real life. Some people don’t go through stuff or are on the verge of going through something and might need advice. I hope the people can relate, have something to hold and lean on to.
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AllHipHop: What can we expect from “Demon Time” remix?
Plexoboy Pesh:That’s going to be really big. “Demon Time” is going to be one of the biggest projects that I’ve done so far from all of the projects. The remix line-up include: Young Cordy, that’s my little man. He’s from my block, he’s from Gates where I was born and raised. He always looked up to me coming up. Stunna Dior, she’s a new female lyricist. It’s been good working with her. Me and her met since I been in prison, I spoke to her a few times and she loved the track as soon as she heard it. She’s cool, she’s gorgeous and I like her vibe. Her verse came out fire. My other two little mans are from the other side of Brooklyn from Canarsie, they from Breukelen Projects. That’s the other side, they love me over there, it’s my second home – Blazer and Ziggy. They doing what they do and they’re fire. The “Demon Time” remix is going to be something special for the people.
AllHipHop: Biggest lesson from being behind bars?
Plexoboy Pesh: Time is nothing to play with, you can’t get it back. This is a waste of time over here, there’s so much more to life than being behind bars. I wasn’t planning to be back in here, but somebody had it otherwise for me and here I am. You can’t do but so much from behind here. I’m missing out on time with my kids, things I’m supposed to do with the project, a lot. Ain’t nothing good coming from being here right now.
AllHipHop: How much do you have left?
Plexoboy Pesh: I find out when I go back to court, waiting for them to get me a court date. Hopefully, it’s nothing crazy. Right now, I’m not sure.
AllHipHop: You found out your best friend was recently murdered, while incarcerated.
Plexoboy Pesh: That was crazy. I mourned a little bit, but I didn’t really get to mourn yet because I’m still behind bars. I wasn’t there to really see it. It’s still a blur to me right now, I can’t really believe it. It really didn’t hit me yet. When I get out of here and I get home, I know I’ma really feel it feel it. The other day, I lost another one of my homies. He got shot in his head, they hit him 10 more times through his body. This s### crazy. That’s my second one, I lost two homies in the last month. Crazy.
AllHipHop: What do you do to stay grounded?
Plexoboy Pesh:I keep in my mind that everything happens for a reason. There’s a bigger reason I’m in the can. I read, i’m reading Oahspe right now. I write music. For the most part I’m the same person here as I am in the streets. I be coolin’, I be falling back. I get through the days. I got a good support team: Lukey, Neillyyon, G, Mel Watts, my family and all of the homies from both my hoods. I can always call and I’m eating good.
AllHipHop: How was it coming up with Maino back in the day?
Plexoboy Pesh: It felt good. My older big homies that were around, grew up with Maine. When he was on his way coming home, we were already in the hood poppin’ on some music s###. He wanted to do the music thing when he came home. I used to talk to him on the phone all the time during his last year incarcerated before he came home. When he got out, he linked right up with us, it was takeover from there. He showed us different things, had us going out around stars. It definitely felt good. I had fun, I learned a few things during that process.
AllHipHop: When Maino had beef with Lil Cease, you were the one who jacked his chain?
Plexoboy Pesh: Cease did some things he wasn’t supposed to be doing, he had to deal with some consequences you heard? That’s all I gotta say about that. Shout out to Biggie, Lil Kim and them.
AllHipHop: Talk about how you made more money hustling than what rap was able to bring in at the time.
Plexoboy Pesh: We’re doing music but first and foremost, we’re out there getting money outside. Always on the block getting money. I wasn’t really on the business side of the music thing, so there’s a lot of things I didn’t know. So I put a lot of trust in Maine thinking “alright, we’re going to pop on some industry s###. We’re going to get a deal.” We were following his footsteps and trying to learn through the way, but still hustling and doing our street thing. Things didn’t go the way expected, I caught my first charge, ended up in the can, and did some time. I came home, I got back with Kenya again, my longtime manager and friend. She really started schooling me and letting me know what was going on with the business side and was like alright, we’re going to do this s### for real this time. We’re going to give this one last good shot, we’re going all the way with it. That’s why I’m here talking to you today.
AllHipHop: You have 6 children, what does it mean to be a father?
Plexoboy Pesh: It means everything to be a father, the biggest responsibility in the world. I got 4 little girls, 2 boys. It’s a lot on my shoulders. I gotta do the right thing, that’s why I’m really going hard with the music. Being in the streets isn’t going to get me nowhere but here, or even worse. I gotta do something. I know I got the talent, I know I can do something big to leave a legacy for my children. I’m putting all my energy into the music, hopefully it pans out the right way so I can be with my kids. They can be proud of me like “yo, that’s my dad right there.”
AllHipHop: Why is it important for you to give back to the community? You lent your time and efforts to at-risk youth for an organization called TAZAQ.
Plexoboy Pesh: I always gave back to the community, always. No matter what I was doing, whether it was legal or illegal, I was working with a non-profit program called TAZAQ for the kids who didn’t have much. We do a concert series called Pause The Violence, where kids from the hood can have a outlet to perform and speak in front of an audience they probably wouldn’t usually have access to. I’ve always been big on giving back. I’m a good-hearted person, and I always give, that’s never been a problem and I don’t think I’ll ever not help people.
AllHipHop: What are you excited for in the new year?
Plexoboy Pesh: You can expect some good music. You can expect to hear real stories and to see something different. See the real Brooklyn, I’m really real Brooklyn. We’re about to takeover, hold it down for a little minute. You’re about to see something real special and different from what you’ve been seeing for the last couple of years. I been drill rapping, the labels and dj’s use to say I was too hard, but I always kept it real and lyrical. Now I fit right in with the foul raps they spittin, remaining true lyricist through it all and I learned to experiment with my sound and have fun with it. I’m working on another EP, I got an upcoming producer named SayquanD on it and it’s Executive Produced by Sleep Deez from the left coast. He been winning big on the pop scene with BTS, he did a track called My Time that’s killing it. But im getting him back in the rap loop where he belong! Lastly, we getting my merch together. I got PlexoBoy smoke kits coming, I heard you a super smoker – sending you a kit when they’re ready.
AllHipHop: Who’s in your Top 5?
Plexoboy Pesh:Hov is always always up there. You got Jay Z, Biggie, Jadakiss, Beanie Sigel and Fab.
AllHipHop: Favorite Hov song?
Plexoboy Pesh: “Streets Is Watching.” When the song first come on and the beat drops, it gives me some type of ill feeling. I get a different feeling when that song comes on, that beat’s crazy. Hov was talking that s###! He’s from Marcy, I’m from Marcy but not the projects. Gates & Marcy a couple blocks down – I’m from Gates bet. Marcy & Nostrand, I’m from Marcy son ain’t nothin nice!
AllHipHop: Anything else you want to let us know?
Plexoboy Pesh: This is just the beginning, get ready. We’re slowly taking little steps, but we’re about to leap on them. We’re about to get crazy for them, promise you that.