Petey Pablo

Petey Pablo, born Moses Barrett III, is a rapper from Greenville, North Carolina who broke through nationally in the early 2000s on Jive Records.

His debut album, Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry, arrived in 2001 and introduced a voice that was unmistakably Southern and unmistakably North Carolinian at a moment when neither was common on national rap radio.

"Raise Up" is the record that made North Carolina a chant. Its hook turned the state itself into the subject of a hit single, and the shirt-spinning it inspired became shorthand for Carolina pride at ballgames, cookouts and clubs far outside the state.

For a generation of North Carolina listeners, it was the first time a national rap hit named their state as the whole point rather than a tour stop.

• Raise Up (2001)Listen
• Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry (2001)Listen
• Freek-A-Leek (2004)Listen
• Still Writing in My Diary: 2nd Entry (2004)Listen

Petey Pablo gave North Carolina its most recognizable rap anthem and helped establish that a Carolina artist did not have to relocate their identity to be heard nationally.

• Wikipedia
• North Carolina Music Hall of Fame

This is an original Drake Magazine editorial profile built from verifiable public record. It is not an exclusive interview, and no quotes, awards or recordings have been invented.