Many rappers come from, or would like you to think that they come from, “The Hood”. That’s nothing new and hasn’t been for a good couple of decades now, what is new is a rapper to come from a neighbourhood whose recognised nickname is “The Bad Blocks”. Hip-hop is all about coming up from nothing but all the same, it makes Howard Bailey Jr., also known as Chingy, pretty badass. After getting into music at an early age, Chingy was writing his first raps at the age of nine and recording them by the time he was 10. As time went on and he gained more experience as a rapper he took up the name H Thugz and joined the St. Louis hip-hop group Without Warning.
Even in a group that he didn’t have a hand in forming, Chingy was the standout artist among them, and soon after he changed his stage name from H Thugz to Chingy, he and Without Warning wrote, recorded and released the track “What’s Poppin’ Off”. The track was a hit around the Missouri hip-hop scene, and made them a state-wide name. This track bought them to the attention of fellow southern rapper Ludacris, who recognised the potential in Chingy and signed him to his recently founded label Disturbing That Peace. “Right Thurr”, a track that Chingy had demo’d for them, was chosen as his first single and released in May 2003. It’s safe to say that it was a damn good choice.
It says a lot that the only thing that kept Chingy of the number one spot of the Billboard Hot 100 was Beyoncé’s iconic “Crazy In Love”. Thanks to that track, “Right Thurr” stayed at the number two spot for four straight weeks, leapfrogging him into the spotlight as one of the hottest young rappers around. His debut album “Jackpot” was released in July of the same year through Capitol Records and was another huge hit, going platinum within a year of its release and giving Chingy two other top three hit singles. His run of success continued with his second record “Powerballin’”, which was released in November 2004 and was yet another platinum record for the 24 year old rapper.
Ever since then, Chingy hasn’t quite lived up to those commercial standards but who could? He still produces acclaimed albums and singles, and can still whip up a storm live thanks to his untouchable run of party starting hit singles. For that, he comes highly recommended.
The rapper known best to the wider public as Chingy - apparently, he decided that Howard Bailey, Jr. wasn’t quite ‘street’ enough for a career in urban music - is one of the more interesting propositions in recent years in hip hop; over the course of the noughties, he had a string of hits without ever truly breaking through in the classic sense of the term, instead often appearing as back up to the likes of Nelly on tour. Once he put an album out in his own right, though - his 2003 debut was entitled Jackpot - he pulled in high-profile favours from the likes of Snoop Dogg and Ludacris to ensure a platinum certification. In the years since, he’s failed to quite recapture what made him such a safe bet for a big single or a major feature spot back in his noughties heyday, but he remains active both on the road and in the studio; his forthcoming album, No Risk No Reward, may not have a set release date yet, but once it drops, expect UK dates to support it, that should follow the same format as recent U.S. appearances; a hype man, a backing track courtesy of a tour DJ, and some chaotic responses from the crowd.
Joeg_67
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