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Chingy
About Chingy (Biography)
In 2007, it’s
all about change for a rapper named Chingy. From his rejoining his
Disturbing Tha Peace family to his joining with Def Jam to relocating to
Atlanta to unveiling his newest disc Hate It or
Love It, Chingy is making all the right moves. “It’s not like I’m trying
to prove anything,” Chingy states “For me, it’s all about trying to make
good music for everybody around the world. The one thing I wanted to do
on my new disc Hate It or Love It was to try and dig a little deeper.
I’m older now, and I want to talk about more things than money and cars.
I’m a grown man now, and vocally I’m better at expressing myself.”
Though it has been four years since Chingy released his popular first
single “Right Thurr,the world has not been the same for the popular
rapper. “I come from a neighborhood known as the Bad Blocks,” he says.
“I grew-up around pimps, dope fiends, whores and
gangs. Thankfully, it was music that gave me a way out. To go from being
a Blood to touring Japan was unreal. Now, Japan is one of my favorite
places in the world.”
Growing-up as the middle child with two older brothers and two younger
sisters, Chingy has been a music fan since he was a boy. “I was already
trying to rap when I was a kid,” he says, citing Run-DMC and Ice Cube as
early beatbox heroes. “I also listen to my share of old school music, so
I know as much about Luther Vandross as I do about NWA.”
Already writing lyrics by the time he was nine and recording raps at
ten, he says, “I wish I had kept those old lyric books that I used. I
had so many of them.” He pulls from these older days on one of Chingy’s
favorite new tracks from Hate It or Love It, “Kick Drum,” where he laces
the lyrics with some of that old school inspiration. “I just wanted to
do something that was pure hip-hop,” he says. “That’s why I gave it a
little Das-EFX flavor.”
Besides rhyming, in the last few years Chingy has spread his acting
wings, making appearances on sitcoms My Wife and Kids, The
George Lopez Show and One On
One. “Acting is something I really want to take seriously,” he says. “I
also would like to have my own cologne. We can call it, Confident.”
Traveling the world has also made Chingy a bit of an expert on life
abroad. “Australia is another one of my favorite countries, because I
feel so much love when I go over there,” Chingy says. “But, being a real
history buff, I want to go to Egypt to see the pyramids. That’s
something I’ve always wanted to do.”
While signed to Capitol/Disturbing Tha Peace Records (the powerhouse
team behind Ludacris), Chingy released the Double platinum selling
Jackpot in 2003, which propelled the laid-back rapper into a household
name, teen dream sex symbol and fly-boy lyricist. Still, his success was
not without trouble.
In a public dispute with his managers over money, Chingy broke away from
the crew at DTP in 2004 and released Powerballin’ in the same year,
dropping the singles "Balla Baby” and "Don’t Worry.” Putting out his
third album Hoodstar in 2006 under his own label, Slot-A-Lot Records and
Capitol, the album had two popular singles--"Pullin' Me Back” and "Dem
Jeans."
In April 2007 Chingy signed back with DTP, and left Capitol Records for
Island Def Jam. “It was all a mistake,” says Chingy. “I was new to the
industry, and I trusted people I shouldn’t have. However, after the
Billboard Awards last year, me, Luda, Chaka Zulu and Jeff Dixon met.
Afterwards, I was back with the DTP; we left all our issues in that room
at the MGM Grand.”
The first single is “Fly Like Me,” produced by L.T Moe and features
Amerie. “Many of my fans are women, so I wanted to create a track that
spoke directly to them.”
From the hypnotic debut single “Fly Like Me” to the cultural commentary
of “They Don’t Know” (featuring Anthony Hamilton), Chingy is on a
mission to be taken seriously.” In addition, Hate It or Love It (whose
title track is hotter than the third rail) features appearances from
Ludacris,
Amerie, Rick Ross, Bobby Valentino, Trey Songz, and Anthony
Hamilton. Still, while there is no shame in the party vibe, Chingy also
wanted to pay tribute to the “real women” in his life on “Lovely
Ladies.”
Produced by Khao, the sizzling song, says Chingy, “Was written with my
mom, my sisters and my two grand mothers in mind. If it wasn’t for women
guiding me when I was younger, who knows where I would be. Just because
I’m not considered a ‘conscious rapper’ like my man Common, doesn’t mean
that I’m not thinking about things.”
Another track that Chingy is quite proud of is “They Don’t Know,” which
loudly speaks to critics from Bill O’Reilly to
Oprah who has verbally slammed
hip-hop culture. “Those who are attacking rap need to take a closer look
at the communities that produce this music,” Chingy says. “They are
ignoring the real problems like poverty and poor school systems, then
they blame the very people who are the victims. Rappers aren’t creating
these problems, we’re just telling the world about the dramas we see.”
Unafraid of showing his true colors, the beauty of Hate It or Love It
can be heard in Chingy’s honest lyrics, impeccable flow and precise
production. If you are ready for a flight, this is the disc that will
take you there.
CHINGY REUNITED WITH DISTURBING
THA PEACE/DEF JAM ON NEW ALBUM, HATE IT OR LOVE IT, IN STORES DECEMBER
18th
“FLY LIKE ME” FEATURING AMERIE IS FIRST NEW SINGLE,
Ludacris heads list of album guest stars – also
including Rick Ross, Anthony Hamilton, Ice Cube, Bobby Valentino,
producers L.T. Moe, Cool & Dre, and more!
(New York, NY) The spirit of St. Louis lands at
Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam Recordings with the return of double
platinum-selling rapper Chingy,
who rejoins the label where it all began for him in the summer of 2003.
HATE IT OR LOVE IT, Chingy’s fourth album in as many years, will arrive
in stores on December 18th.
The hypnotic debut single from HATE IT OR LOVE IT is “Fly
Like Me,” featuring platinum R&B singer (and VIBE ‘Club Banger of the
Year’) Amerie. “Many of my fans are
women,” Chingy says of “Fly Like Me,” “so I wanted to create a track
that spoke directly to them.” The single, co-written by Disturbing Tha
Peace CEO and fellow DTP/Def Jam artist
Ludacris and producer L.T. Moe, was released November 13th. The
video, directed by Jessy Terrero, made its debut last week on BET.
In addition to the album intro and “Fly Like Me,” L.T.
Moe also produced “How We Feel” featuring Anthony Hamilton with
additional vocals from Ice Cube; “Trickin’ Off Skit” with additional
vocals by Diamond of Crime Mob; and “2 Kool 2 Dance.” Among the guest
producers credited on HATE IT OR LOVE IT are Full Scale (“Gimme Dat”
featuring Ludacris and DTP’s Bobby Valentino), Cool & Dre (“Roll On ‘Em”
featuring Rick Ross), Bei Maejor (“Spend Some $” featuring Trey Songz),
and Calvo Da Gr8 (“All Aboard (Ride It)” featuring Steph Jones).
Other producers include The Co-Stars (“Hate It Or Love
It”), Michael Davis (“Check My Swag”), Jared Gosselin (“Kick Drum”),
Kevin ‘Khao’ Cates (“Lovely Ladies”), and The Ghost Writers (“Blockstar”).
Recording sessions for HATE IT OR LOVE IT took place in Chingy’s adopted
new hometown of Atlanta, and Miami, Los Angeles, London, and Texas.
Chingy began rapping as a kid in his native St. Louis,
citing Run-DMC and Ice Cube as early heroes. “I also listen to my share
of old school music,” he says, “so I know as much about
Luther Vandross as I do about NWA.”
He blew into Atlanta in his early 20s and got scooped up by DTP, who
scored with a trifecta of Top 3 pop/R&B/Rap crossover hits – “Right
Thurr,” the RIAA gold “Holidae In" (featuring Ludacris and
Snoop Dogg), and RIAA gold “One Call
Away.” They collectively sent his 2003 debut album Jackpot to
double-platinum, and turned the laid-back rapper into a household name,
teen dream sex symbol and fly-boy lyricist.
In 2006, Chingy began his own label, Slot-A-Lot Records
(via Capitol) which bowed in 2006 with his third album, the RIAA gold
Hoodstar. The first single, “Pullin’ Me Back” featuring Tyrese (and
produced by Jermaine Dupri) was a solid worldwide smash – #1 Rap/#1 R&B
and Top 10 on the Hot 100 at home, and Top 40 in the UK, Australia, New
Zealand and so on. The follow-up single and video, “Dem Jeans” featured
and was produced by Dupri.
Since 2003, Chingy has maintained a high-profile on TV,
with appearances ranging from NBC’s The Tonight Show with
Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan
O’Brien, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, CBS’s The Late Late Show with Craig
Ferguson, The Tyra Banks Show, the
syndicated Ellen, and Mad TV – to episodes of My Wife and Kids, One On
One, The George Lopez Show, Tinseltown TV, Cribs, Punk’d, Sex TV, and
more. Chingy also appeared as himself in last year’s Scary Movie 4.
Chingy’s reunion with the DTP crew reveals a newly
grounded artist, whose growth and maturity have taken aim at pop critics
who verbally slam hip-hop culture. “Those who are attacking rap need to
take a closer look at the communities that produce this music,” he
says. “They are ignoring the real problems like poverty and poor school
systems, then they blame the very people who are the victims. Rappers
aren’t creating these problems, we’re just telling the world about the
dramas we see.”
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Star? Then click here to find out
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