Moses Mortimer Barrett III (born July 22, 1973), known by the stage name Petey Pablo, is an American rapper from Greenville, North Carolina.
Born in Greenville, North Carolina, Barrett spent five years in prison for a 1993 armed robbery 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.
After getting signed to Jive Records, Petey Pablo began working on his debut album. The first single "Raise Up" was released in summer 2001, which was produced by Timbaland. "Raise Up" was helped by rotation on MTV and heavy airplay on urban radio, and reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Petey Pablo's debut album Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by the RIAA.
In early 2003, Petey Pablo's debut album received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album, but lost to Eminem's The Eminem Show. Petey Pablo would continue his success with the release of his second studio album, Still Writing in My Diary: 2nd Entry which he started working on in 2003. The album was a critical and commercial success, it had peaked at number 4 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by the RIAA. The lead single off the album, "Freek-a-Leek", produced by Lil Jon ended up being Petey Pablo's biggest hit single of his career by reaching number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Also in 2004, Petey Pablo achieved more mainstream success for his feature on Ciara's hit single "Goodies" which topped the Billboard Hot 100. Eventually after the release of his second studio album, Petey Pablo went on a hiatus from music.
Since his departure from Jive Records, Petey Pablo founded his own independent label, Carolina Music Group. He released a track in July 2010 entitled "Go", which was produced by Timbaland. In September 2011, Petey Pablo had released a single called "Get Low" on iTunes. On February 17, 2012, Petey Pablo released a mixtape called Carolina #1 on iTunes while behind bars. Petey Pablo had also confirmed working on his third studio album A&R: Anticipated Recordings, which has yet to have a confirmed release date.
On September 11, 2010, he was arrested at Raleigh-Durham International Airport after trying to carry a 9mm automatic pistol aboard a US Airways flight bound for Los Angeles. On September 26, 2011 Pablo was sentenced to 35 months in prison for this incident. He began serving time on January 4, 2012. He is scheduled to be released on July 17, 2014. –wikipedia.org