Background and career
Howard Earl Bailey Jr. (born March 9, 1980), better known by his stage name Chingy, is an American rapper. Based in St. Louis, he toured as an opening act with fellow St. Louis rapper Nelly in 2002, and signed with fellow Southern rapper Ludacris' record label, Disturbing tha Peace (DTP), that same year. Released in a joint-venture with Capitol Records, his 2003 debut single, "Right Thurr", peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It preceded his debut studio album Jackpot (2003), which, despite mixed critical reception, peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. His second album, Powerballin' (2004), peaked at number ten on the chart, while his third album, Hoodstar (2006), peaked at number nine and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single, "Pullin' Me Back" (featuring Tyrese Gibson). His fourth album, Hate It or Love It (2007), witnessed a commercial decline and was preceded by the single "Fly Like Me" (featuring Amerie). His fifth album, Success & Failure (2010), failed to chart.
Chingy grew up in Walnut Park East, St. Louis, Missouri; he has referred to the neighborhood as the "Bad Blocks." He began writing lyrics when he was 9 and was recording raps at 10. He was originally known as H Thugz and was in the St. Louis 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 McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri which is a suburb of St. Louis. During high school, he was known to his friends as "Howie," and he continues to prefer that name from close friends and family.
Ludacris and his manager, Chaka Zulu, were quick to sign Chingy to their burgeoning Disturbing tha Peace label.
Chingy's debut album Jackpot was released on July 15, 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. The up-tempo Southern hip-hop track "Right Thurr" gained popularity, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Chingy released his second album, Powerballin', on November 16, 2004, through Slot-A-Lot Records and Capitol Records. The album peaked at No. 10 on the chart 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 by the RIAA on March 21, 2005. He also was on one of the George Lopez episodes as himself. The eighth song from his album "I Do" is featured on the soundtrack for the smash hit 2004 video game Need for Speed: Underground 2.
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". 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 about the 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 No. 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.
In 2012 Chingy announced he was working on his fifth studio album called No Risk No Reward, DTP which was set to be released sometime in 2012, but as of June 2016 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, Jackpot Back, which was released March 3, 2012.
