Chingy

All Music Guide:

Kicking off his career in 2003 with the massive hit "Right Thurr," St. Louis rapper Chingy spent two solid years in the limelight, releasing two platinum-selling albums while becoming a household name thanks to some television appearances and movie roles. Born Howard Bailey, Jr. on March 9, 1980, he began writing rhymes at the age of 10 and began rapping under the name of "H Thugs" during his teen years. Renamed Chingy after a slang term for a looking wealthy, he signed with Fo-Reel Entertainment, an artist management firm with local heroes Nelly and St. Lunatics on the roster. While on tour with Nelly in 2002, he met rapper and Disturbing Tha Peace labelhead Ludacris. He would sign to DTP in 2003 and release "Right Thurr" on the label that same year. With Chingy's slow drawl and laid-back swagger, the track became the anthem for hot summer nights, peaking at number two on Billboard's Hot 100 while topping the magazine's Hot Rap Tracks chart. Released in July, his debut album Jackpot spawned two additional Top Five hits, "Holidae In" with Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, plus "One Call Away" with J/Weav. A monetary dispute between the rapper and DTP would result in a supposed "beef" with Ludacris -- Luda issued some terse words through a press release while Chingy claimed there was no animosity -- and would end with the formation of Chingy's own Capitol imprint Slot-A-Lot. Featuring the singles "Balla Baby" and "Don't Worry," the platinum-selling Powerballin' would become his first album for the label in 2004. The year 2005 found him appearing on television's Punk'd plus The George Lopez show and a year later he would land a role in Scary Movie 4.

His 2006 single, "Pullin' Me Back," would find him back on top on the Hot Rap Tracks chart and help Hoodstar debut at number eight on the album charts, but the follow-up single "Dem Jeans" fared worse although the album did go gold. Unhappy with the way he felt Capitol was promoting their urban artists, Chingy jumped ship and went back to DTP which was by-then a part of the Def Jam family. Hate It or Love It would arrive on the label in 2007 but its debut at number 84 on the album chart would also become its highest position. In 2009 he announced he was working on a new album for release that year.

Wikipedia:

Howard Bailey, Jr. (born March 9, 1980), better known by his stage name Chingy, is an American rapper and actor.

Chingy grew up in the Walnut Park section of St. Louis and began rapping in earnest in his late teens. Chingy toured as an opening act with Nelly in the summer of 2002 and then became a protégé of Ludacris, who signed him to his newly formed Disturbing tha Peace (DTP) record label. The rapper's 2003 summer debut single, "Right Thurr", put him on the musical map as a good-time rapper who specialized in catchy, club-friendly beats and simplistic lyrics delivered in a sing-song, nursery rhyme style. Chingy's 2003 debut album, Jackpot, sold two million copies, thanks to the boost from "Right Thurr". A second album, Powerballin', was released in 2004 to mixed reviews, and his 2006 release Hoodstar spawned the hit singles "Pullin' Me Back" and "Dem Jeans." He released Hate It or Love It in 2007, under DTP records. The album's lead single is "Fly Like Me", featuring Amerie. A studio album entitled Success & Failure was released in 2010.

As of 2011, Chingy has been working on his new upcoming project No Risk No Reward which will be released under his labelb Full Dekk Music Group.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Early life[edit]

Chingy grew up in the Walnut Park section of St. Louis, a neighborhood he has referred to as the "Bad Blocks." He was the middle child with two older brothers and two younger sisters, along with other family. Chingy became a music fan at an early age.

Chingy began writing lyrics at age 9 and was recording raps at age 10. He was originally known as H Thugz and was in the St. Louis, Missouri group Without Warning on 49 Productions with M.G.D. & Mysphit. They recorded "What's Poppin Off" together, which became a local hit. H Thugz and Augustin also recorded a music video for the song. H Thugz later chose the alias Chingy, a slang term for money.

Chingy attended high school at Mccluer North in Florissant, MO which is a suburb of St.Louis. During high school he was known to his friends as "Howie" and he continues to prefer this name amongst close friends and family.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Contents

Music career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Ludacris and his manager, Chaka Zulu, were quick to sign Chingy to their fledgling Disturbing tha Peace label. The up-tempo Southern hip hop track "Right Thurr" gained popularity, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

2003: Jackpot[edit]

Chingy's debut album Jackpot was released on July 7, 2003 on Disturbing tha Peace. Unable to secure a distribution deal through Def Jam, Ludacris negotiated a deal to distribute the album through Capitol Records. Guest appearances included Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, Murphy Lee, I-20, Raindrop, Tity Boi of Playaz Circle, Trina, and Jermaine Dupri. Fueled by "Right Thurr", Jackpot produced the hit "One Call Away" featuring J-Weav and "Holidae In" featuring Snoop Dogg and Ludacris. The album was produced by St. Louis production crew The Trak Starz. The album was received well by critics. Within a year of the release of Jackpot, It was certified Platinum by the RIAA.

2004–2005: Powerballin'[edit]

Chingy released his second album, Powerballin', on November 16, 2004 through Slot-A-Lot Records and Capitol Records. The album peaked at #10 on the charts and featured the hit single "Balla Baby." The album featured guest appearances from artists R. Kelly, Bun B, Lil Wayne, Lil Flip, Janet Jackson, David Banner, Nate Dogg, and Get It Boyz. Powerballin' sold over one million copies and received a Platinum certification. He also was on one of the George Lopez episodes as himself.

2006: Hood Star[edit]

Hoodstar is Chingy's third album, released on September 19, 2006. The album featured Mr. Collipark, longtime collaborator Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland, and Mannie Fresh. His summer single, "Pullin Me Back" (featuring actor-R&B singer Tyrese), would find him back on top on the Hot Rap Tracks chart and help Hoodstar debut at number eight on the album chart, but the follow-up single "Dem Jeans", featuring Jermaine Dupri, fared worse although the album did go gold. Other singles from Hoodstar were "Brand New Kicks" and "Hands Up".

2007–2008: Hate It or Love It[edit]

Unhappy with the way he felt Capitol was promoting their urban artists, in 2007 Chingy jumped ship and returned to DTP Records, which was by-then a part of the Def Jam family. When asked upon this move, the St. Louis rapper said: "I don't think Capitol really knew how to work urban artists, They're really stuck on pop and they didn't know how to market me."

Hate It or Love It is Chingy's fourth studio album. The album featured production from Scott Storch, Timbaland, and Cool and Dre. The lead single is "Fly Like Me", featuring Amerie. The album was released on December 18, 2007 and featured appearances by Ludacris, Bobby Valentino, Steph Jones, Trey Songz, Rick Ross, and Anthony Hamilton. The album debuted at #84 on the Billboard 200, selling 30,000 copies, making it Chingy's first album not to crack the Top 10. Hate It or Love It was not released in the UK, marking Chingy's first album not to be released in the country.

2011-present: No Risk, No Reward[edit]

In 2011 Chingy announced he was working on his fifth studio album called No Risk No Reward, which was set to be released sometime in 2012, but as of June 2013 continues to be delayed due to lack of funding. "Superhero", featuring Full Dekk Music Group's artist Chris Woodhouse, was purported to be the first single from the album. Chingy then announced that he would be releasing a mixtape entitled Jackpot Back, which was released March 3, 2012. Currently Chingy is working on his upcoming EP album entitled Chingology which should be release later this year.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Other ventures[edit]

Full Dekk Music Group[edit]

Full Dekk Music Group formerly known as Slot-A-Lot Records formed by Bailey in 2004, While Bailey was signed to Capitol Records.

Acting career[edit]

In 2005 Chingy made his acting debut in the TV comedy series My Wife and Kids. The same year, Chingy acted in the TV comedies One on One and George Lopez. In 2006 Chingy made a cameo in the comedy film Scary Movie 4, as well as on TV series Yo Momma. In 2010 Chingy had a role in the film Speed-Dating.

Controversy[edit]

Nelly[edit]

Chingy was an emerging artist mainly from the help he received from Nelly, the biggest premiere rap artist to so far come out of the Gateway City. Nelly decided to take Chingy with him on tour, but Chingy felt that Nelly was trying to take all the fame and keep him under his wings, to Chingy's dissatisfaction. Because of lack of recognition, Chingy became disenchanted. Then Ludacris and his Disturbing tha Peace record label offered Chingy a record deal, and he then traded shots at Nelly. Nelly also felt disrespected by Chingy, stating to the press that Chingy never gave credit to Nelly because of the success he was having. Then it escalated when Nelly Released his 2004 album "Sweat" with the song "Another One" which was a back handed form of flattery to remind Chingy who came out first. Chingy struck back on "We Got." At the Radio Music Awards in Las Vegas, Chingy approached Nelly to squash the beef but to no avail. Chingy also challenges Nelly's claim of the word "Derrrty" saying he's a liar and the people have been saying "Derrrty" since back in the day. As tension began to heat up through St. Louis between Derrty Ent. and the Chingy camp, Chingy knew there was one man who could reason with both men. That man would be M.J., who is Nelly's cousin and has raised Chingy since he was six years old. Chingy got MJ to talk to Nelly to resolve the problem. In 2006, Chingy appeared in Ali & Gipp's video "Go Head," therefore squashing the beef.

Filmography[edit]

Television[edit]