Chingy

Chingy
Birth name	Howard Bailey, Jr.
Born	March 9, 1980 (1980-03-09) (age 31)
Origin	St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, entrepreneur
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Disturbing Tha Peace, Capitol, Def Jam, Slot-A-Lot, Full Dekk
Associated acts	Lil' Flip, DTP, Steph Jones, Bobby Valentino, The Trak Starz
Website	www.myspace.com/chingy

Howard Bailey, Jr. (born March 9, 1980),^[1] better known by his stage name Chingy, is an American rapper.

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. 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 mixtape entitled Success & Failure was released in 2010.

As of 2011 Currently Chingy has been working on his new upcoming project No Risk No Reward which will be released under his label Slot-A-Lot Records & distributed by his newly signed label Full Dekk Music Group.

Early life

Chingy grew up in the Walnut Park section of St. Louis, a neighborhood he has referred to as the "Bad Blocks."^[2][3] The middle child with two older brothers and two younger sisters, 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.^[3][4]

Music career

Early career

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

2003: Jackpot

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 Double Platinum by the RIAA.

2004-2005: Powerballin'

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

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 charts, 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".

The album sold 77,000 copies in its first week.^[5]

2007-2008: Hate It or Love It

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."^[6]

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 did not get released in the UK, this was Chingy's first album to not be released in the United Kingdom.

2011: No Risk No Reward

Chingy is working on his fifth studio album called No Risk No Reward, which is said to be released sometime in 2011. "Superhero", which features Full Dekk Music Group's artist Chris Woodhouse, is the first single from the album. The second single will be "Paperman".

Acting career

In 2005 Chingy made his acting debut in the TV comedy series "My Wife and Kids". Also in 2005, Chingy acted in the TV comedies "One on One" & "George Lopez". In 2006 Chingy made a cameo in the comedy "Scary Movie 4". Also in 2006 Chingy made a guest appearance on "Yo Momma". In 2010 Chingy had a role in the movie "Speed-Dating" .

Discography

Main article: Chingy discography

Studio albums

• 2003: Jackpot
• 2004: Powerballin'
• 2006: Hoodstar
• 2007: Hate It or Love It
• 2011: No Risk No Reward

Studio mixtape

• 2010: Success & Failure

Filmography

Films The System Within (2006) as Nick Scary Movie 4 (2006) as himself Psycho Sleepover (2008) as Pizza Man Speed-Dating (2010) as Kenneth Polish Bar (2010) as Fat Moe

Television My Wife and Kids (2005) The George Lopez Show (2005) as himself One on One (2005) as Taz Punk'd (2005) as himself Yo Momma (2006) as himself Caramel (2009) as Kyle

Film (Table)

Year	Name	Role	Notes
2006	The system within	Nick
2006	Scary movie 4	Himself (Credited as CHINGY)
2008	Psycho	Pizza man
2010	Speed-Dating	Kenneth
2010	Polish Bar	Fat Moe

Television (Table)

Year	Name	Role	Notes
2005	My Wife and Kids
2005	The George Lopez Show	Himself
2005	One on One	Taz
2005	Punk'd	Himself
2006	Yo Mamma	Himself
2009	Caramel	Kyle

References

1. ^ "Chingy Biography". Jason Birchmeier. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p557199/biography. Retrieved 2008-09-16. 
2. ^ "Chingy official website". defjam.com. http://www.defjam.com/site/artist_bio.php?artist_id=671. Retrieved 2008-09-16. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Shapiro, Peter (2005) The Rough Guide to Hip-Hop, Rough Guides, ISBN 1-84353-263-8, p. 60
4. ^ "Chingy Biography". FactMonster.com. http://www.factmonster.com/biography/var/chingy.html. Retrieved 2008-09-16. 
5. ^ RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) - Gold & Platinum
6. ^ "Chingy returns to old label for new album". PrefixMag.com. October 21, 2007. http://www.prefixmag.com/news/new-chingy-album-on-dtp/11981/. Retrieved 2010-08-05. 

External links

• Official website
• Chingy experiences rebirth on new label and album
• CHINGY BELIEVES IN HIS “SUPER” SINGLES
• RapReviews.com Featured Interview with Chingy
• CHINGY REVEALS WHAT KEPT PULLIN' HIM BACK FROM HIATUS
• CHINGY EXPLAINS WHY HE TOOK A 3-YEAR MUSIC HIATUS
• Chingy at the Internet Movie Database

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