Background and career
Moses Barrett III (born July 22, 1973), better known by his stage name Petey Pablo, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 2003 single "Freek-a-Leek," which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Prior, he signed with Jive Records to release his 2001 single "Raise Up", which served as a tribute to his native Greenville and peaked at number 25 on the chart. The label released his first two albums: Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry (2001) and Still Writing in My Diary: 2nd Entry (2004); the former was nominated for Best Rap Album at 45th Annual Grammy Awards, while the latter peaked at number four on the Billboard 200. His following releases have failed to yield any further commercial response.
Born in Greenville, North Carolina, Barrett spent five years in prison for a 1993 armed robbery and upon his release moved to New York City, where he met Black Rob and Busta Rhymes, and, according to rumor, was signed to Jive Records after the A&R director overheard him rapping in a club bathroom.
After getting signed to Jive Records, Petey Pablo began working on his debut album Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry. The first single "Raise Up", released in summer 2001, was produced by Timbaland; rotation on MTV and heavy airplay on urban radio allowed it to reach number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by the RIAA.
In early 2003, Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album. It lost the award to Eminem's The Eminem Show. Petey Pablo's success continued 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, peaking 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 became 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. After the release of his second studio album, Petey Pablo went on a hiatus from music.
After his departure from Jive, 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 released a single called "Get Low" on iTunes. On January 17, 2016, after the Carolina Panthers' victory over the Seattle Seahawks in the 2016 NFC Divisional playoffs, Pablo released a new single via SoundCloud and YouTube titled "Carolina Colors". The single was used as a hype song for the 2016 NFC Championship Game against the Arizona Cardinals.
In 2002, Petey Pablo appeared as himself in the film Drumline where he performs "Club Banger", "You Can Find Me", "Raise Up", and "I Told Y'All". Petey Pablo had a guest appearance in "A Thousand Deaths", a 2005 episode of The Shield. In 2009, Pablo appeared in the film Just Another Day where he played B-Bone. In 2015, Petey Pablo played Clyde in the episode "Without a Country" on the show Empire, in which his character performed "Snitch Bitch" with Lucious Lyon (played by Terrence Howard) in jail.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
