Plies is serious about working with Kirk Franklin in the new year after the gospel star jokingly called him out over their failed plans to link up. Fans of the two men have long joked about their uncanny resemblance to each other, with many saying the artists have never been photographed in the same place at the same time because, well, they are the same person.
Even Plies and Franklin have joined in on the playful banter. The Grammy Award-winning songwriter took the running joke to a new level when he appeared on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast this month. A clip from the Dec. 20 episode, however, began circulating social media on Saturday (Dec. 30) and caught the “Bust It Baby” rapper’s attention.
In it, Franklin addressed host Shannon Sharpe’s inquiry about working on a project with the Florida native. Franklin said, “He don’t want to do nothin’… He be talkin’, he be runnin’ his mouth. He be just runnin’ his mouth… We was supposed to have gotten together. We were going to do something in Florida, Miami, but yeah, he don’t want to do nothin’” before dropping the punchline. “It’s because, I think, he’s really, really, really afraid that I could be his daddy.”
Plies shared his reaction on Twitter along with a retweet of the video. “This my guy!!! We gotta do something MAJOR together [in] 2024! [I’m a big fan],” he wrote. Last year, Franklin referred to the Hip Hop artist as his twin while on “The Breakfast Club.” They also shared a FaceTime call during the interview where they planned to collaborate on relief efforts to help Floridians impacted by Hurricane Ian. It is unclear if next year’s meeting of the minds will result in a new music collaboration.
In a 2021 interview for REVOLT, he explained why his musical message is fluid and not confined by a single genre. “I just try to make sure that the music — whoever I do it with — that it does not miss the mark of the overall attempt of my life. I’m trying to make sure that I’m making God look the dopest as possible. That’s why I’m on earth. That’s why I’m breathing,” he said.
The cross-over talent has previously worked with Lil Baby on “We Win” for Space Jam: A New Legacy and Kanye West on “Ultralight Beam” from the rapper’s 2016 album, The Life of Pablo. Despite his church roots, many have lauded the Fo Yo Soul Recordings label founder for merging mainstream music with gospel.