Goon Affiliated is the fourth studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 by American rapper Plies

Plies (rapper)

Algernod Lanier Washington , better known by his stage name Plies, is an American rapper and founder of Big Gates Records. Born in Fort Myers, Florida, Washington was a wide receiver on the football team of Miami University in Ohio in 1996 and 1997 before he became a rapper. After dropping out of...

. The album was released by Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

 on June 8, 2010.

Background

Goon Affiliated was recorded between the fall of 2009 and the spring of 2010, set to be released just six months after Plies' previous album, Da Realist

Da REAList

-Chart positions:...

. As early as April 2009, Plies began assembling his "dream team" roster of rappers and producers for the project, immediately after the release of his single "Plenty Money". Plies explained that having his brother with him during the recording of the album was very important.

In an August 2009 interview with MTV.com, Plies discussed the meaning behind the track "First 48":

"I got a song right now called 'First 48,' " the Florida native revealed. "It's wrapped around the whole TV series 'The First 48 Hours.' I'm telling you on the record: 'Everybody is a goon until they catch a case/ When the detectives get to the talking/ All that gangsta sh-- fades away/ The first 10 minutes, dog, you started off straight/ Detective applied a little pressure, you turn around and break.' That whole situation for me, that intro, I'm sitting here watching TV, and I didn't know it was that many unreal dudes still left in the streets," he continued. "I just focused on that situation. That's one of them records on my album I call 'choir rehearsal.' I know everybody is gonna sing it every time I perform it."

Additionally, Plies explained the title of the album:

"Goon Affiliated, I had the pleasure of having my brother home for this album," he told us of the LP's title while parked on his tour bus in ATL. "He actually came up with the title of this album. The three previous albums, 'real' was incorporated into the album title. For me, we felt Goon Affiliated wasn't too gangsta, wasn't too soft. It was right in the middle. Kids in the suburbs could have goon friends and be goon affiliated. You could be a street cat and not call yourself a 'goon' but have goon homeboys and be goon affiliated. Or you could be a goon and be goon affiliated. It's a whole diverse situation for me."

The song "Look Like", which features rap verses from Young Jeezy

Young Jeezy

Jay Wayne Jenkins , better known by his stage name Young Jeezy, is an American rapper. He is the member of the hip hop group United Streets Dopeboyz of America and a former member of BMF...

 & Fabolous

Fabolous

John David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...

 is the first song on any of Plies' albums to feature other rappers.

Promotion

In June 2009, Plies allegedly threw $50,000 into a concert crowd in Atlanta, Georgia, in promotion of Goon Affiliated, as he performed his final single before Goon Affiliated, "Plenty Money". Later that month, Plies released his track "Becky

Becky (song)

"Becky" is the first single of Plies's fourth album, Goon Affiliated. The track was released on the internet by Plies via his Twitter.The song had its radio station premiere on Power 107.1 in Macon, Georgia on June 23, 2009....

". In April 2010, Plies announced his "Goon Affiliated 25 Day Giveaway Contest". Fans called a toll-free hotline from May 1 to May 25, 2010, and if Plies picked up the phone, the caller won a prize. Plies pledged to give away iPads, jewelry from his personal collection, as well as scholarships for college, health care payments, mortgage payments, and other big-ticket items.

Singles

"Becky

Becky (song)

"Becky" is the first single of Plies's fourth album, Goon Affiliated. The track was released on the internet by Plies via his Twitter.The song had its radio station premiere on Power 107.1 in Macon, Georgia on June 23, 2009....

", the first official single was released in June 2009 and peaked at number 32 on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

 chart and number 14 on the Hot Rap Tracks

Hot Rap Tracks

Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single...

 chart, The second single was "She Got It Made

She Got It Made (song)

She Got It Made is the second official single off Plies' fourth album, Goon Affiliated. The track features Jive Recording Artist Bei Maejor and was released onto the internet on March 5th, 2010. 'She Got It Made' samples Rupert Holmes' ever-famous hit song "Escape ". The song features Bei Maejor...

", featuring Bei Maejor

Bei Maejor

Brandon Green, better known by his stage name Bei Maejor, is a Grammy nominated American recording artist, songwriter and record producer.- Life and career :...

. It was released on March 5, 2010. The first promotional single was "Medicine

Medicine (song)

"Medicine" is the first promo single of American hip hop rapper Plies' fourth studio album, Goon Affiliated. The track is absent from the retail versions for unknown reasons, but is on the Amazon deluxe version. The track features American singer-songwriter Keri Hilson...

", featuring Keri Hilson

Keri Hilson

Keri Lynn Hilson is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Hilson began her music career as a songwriter, penning tracks for several artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production and songwriting team, The Clutch...

. It peaked at number 47 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 21 on the Hot Rap Tracks. This track didn't make the final product.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 chart with sales of 56,000 copies. Goon Affiliated stopped at number eighteen on the Billboard 200 the following week and sold 20,000 copies, bringing the sales total to 76,000. The album crossed the 100,000 sold mark on July 18, 2010 becoming the fourth of his albums to cross that benchmark.

Critical response

The album was released to mixed reviews from music critics. Edwin Ortiz of HipHopDX gave the album a 1.5 out of 5 stars. He disliked tracks "Bruh Bruh", "Rob Myself", "Awesome" and "Good Dick" while liking "Go Live", "Look Like" and "Kitty Kitty".

Track listing

The track listing was confirmed by Allmusic.

Personnel

Credits for Goon Affiliated adapted from Allmusic.

• Plies - Executive Producer
• Zaytoven - Producer
• Chris Woehrle - Design
• Bryan Tyson - Engineer
• Troy Taylor - Composer, Producer, Engineer
• Clinton Sparks - Composer, Producer
• Glenn Schick - Mastering
• J. R. Rotem - Producer
• Gee Roberson - A&R
• Brian Ranney - Package Production
• Brian Pedersen - Assistant
• Carlos Oyanedel - Assistant
• Jean Nelson - A&R
• Charles Moniz - Engineer
• Mike Miller - Assistant
• Graham Marsh - Engineer
• Rob Marks - Mixing
• Bei Maejor - Vocals, Vocal Producer
• Ted "Touche" Lucas - Executive Producer

• Ronnell "Big Gates" Levatte - Executive Producer
• J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League - Producer
• Patrick Hoelck - Photography
• Dorian "DP" Hendricks - Vocal Engineer
• Rob Gold - Photo Production
• Kamau Georges - Producer
• Friky Zeek - Producer
• Patrick Fong - Art Direction, Design
• Trina Edwards - A&R
• Dynamic - Producer
• Dunlap Exclusive - Producer
• Anne Declemente - A&R
• Otha "Vakseen" Davis III - Product Manager
• Bob Croslin - Cover Photo
• Chefton - Producer
• Leslie Brathwaite - Mixing
• Big Jones - Producer
• BC - Producer
• Kori Anders - Producer, Engineer
• "RJ" Jacques - Technical Production

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	5
US Top Rap Albums Top Rap Albums Top Rap Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks Rap and hip-hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart began publication for the week of November 13, 2004....	1
US Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums	1