Statistiques
Biographie
Prior to breaking into the mainstream Chamillionaire became a well-known respected rapper in and around Houston for his regular mixtape releases. The rapper’s first break came when alongside fellow rapper Paul Wall, Seriki met DJ and producer Michael “5000” Watts, who impressed with the pair’s freestyling, put the verses on a mixtape of his own. Seriki and Wall subsequently became members in Watts’ Swishahouse, and formed their own group, The Color Changin’ Click in 2001. The following year Chamillionaire and Wall crafted the collaborative album “Get Ya Mind Correct”, which proved a huge underground hit, selling over 150,000 copies. The record considerably raised the profile of both artists and led to a show at 2004’s SXSW Festival for The Color Changin' Click.
Released on his own label Chamillitary Entertainment and Universal Records, the rapper’s debut studio album “The Sound of Revenge” arrived in November 2005. Debuting at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, the record was led by the single “Turn It Up”, however eclipsed by the success of the subsequent single “Ridin’”, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 upon release. The following year “Ridin’” won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, after which he released the mixtape “Mixtape Messiah 2” and appeared on tracks by Ciara, Frankie J, and Three Six Mafia.
Ahead of his second full-length album, “Ultimate Victory”, Chamillionaire issued “Mixtape Messiah 3” in July 2007. Without a single curse word or piece of profanity, the studio album “Ultimate Victory” was released in September 2007 featuring the likes of Lil Wayne, Lloyd, and UKG. The fourth mixtape instalment “Mixtape Messiah 4” earned its released in August 2008, followed by the single “Creepin’ (Solo) featuring Ludacris. Chamillionaire’s planned third album “Venom” was later shelved by the rapper, who chose to release a string of mixtapes including “Mixtape Messiah 7”, “Major Pain”, “Badazz Freemixes”, and “Badazz Slowmixes”.
In 2011 the rapper parted ways with Universal Records and begun work on a series of EP beginning with “Ammunition” in 2012. The following year Chamillionaire issued “Elevate” in February followed by “Reignfall”, ahead of his third full-length “Poison”.
Avis
I think it’s probably fair to say, at this point, that Chamillionaire is going to go down as a one-hit wonder. I’m not writing him off, necessarily - at thirty-four, he’s got plenty of time yet - but after the massive success of ‘Ridin’ back in 2005 - it hit number one on both sides of the Atlantic and won him a Grammy - he’s failed to really make a dent in the popular imagination since. In 2011, when he was putting the finishing touches on his third record, he was apparently dropped by Universal; proving that the longer you spend away from the charts, the harder it is to get back into them. Chamillionaire is still appearing live, though, and his work with Krayzie Bone of Bone-Thugs-n-Harmony as well as his publicisation of southern hip hop to the masses has earned him the respect of the genre’s scene in general. With a turntablist behind him dropping beats, the rapper has a genuine appetite for audience participation, driving intimate venues wild by challenging fans to freestyle over a range of beats mid-set. It’s this kind of love for his fans that retains him the affection of a large swathe of the hip hop community; there’s time for him to make a comeback yet.
It is an undisputed fact that Hakeem Seriki better known as Chamillionaire now sits within a section of music history known as one hit wonders. Alongside Sonya and The Cheeky Girls, Hakeem scored a global smash with his track 'Ridin' and even went on to win a Grammy Award yet this could not save him from the cruel and fickle nature of the ever changing music industry.
Fortunately for the musician, the sheer universal pull of 'Ridin' coupled with the underground nature of some of his devoted followers means he still has a following when he takes to the road to tour. He is actually a skilled live performer with a well thought out setlist and great entourage to keep the crowd enthusiastic and engaged. He is a strong and confident performer onstage with just the right amount of ego without coming across as arrogant. The rapping skills cannot be disputed and he does have a couple of smaller hits such as 'Turn It Up' and 'Not A Criminal' to pepper the set and then of course there is the secret sing/rap-along weapon of 'Ridin' to bring things to a suitable finale.