CHINGY LIFE BIOGRAPHY:

 
  Chingy was born on March 9, 1980, named Howard Bailey, Jr. in Louis, Missouri, like his friend and associate Nelly. Chingy grew up in the rough Walnut Park section of the city's north side. Street-smart from his encounters with edgy situations, Bailey nonetheless focused on school, no doubt enabling his way with words. At the young age of just 8 years, he wrote his first rhyme. Four years later, he was a regular at local talent shows and battle rap sessions that would later evolve into Nelly's St. Lunatics posse.

   His flair for music and rhymes is understandable. He grew up with music, adoring such artists as Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, and the Temptations. "Music made me think and party," recalls Bailey. "I wanted to express myself like those artists were. Talking on a record sounded like a good idea to me." He christened himself H. Thugs and later Thugsy. Not wanting to be associated to thugs, however, he settled on "Chingy" as his artist moniker, because it "had a nice ring to it."

   Ludacris thought so too, as he signed Chingy to his at the time suffering label Disturbing Tha Peace. Soon he went on tour with Nelly, where he learned, first-hand, the life of a hip-hop star and the mechanics of self-promotion. In the summer of 2003, Disturbing Tha Peace rush-released Chingy's debut single "Right Thurr". But it became an overnight club anthem with beats and lyrics that were on everyone's lips. The party rap track blew up in the clubs first, especially throughout the South, and quickly infiltrated urban radio in the midst of summer while simultaneously climbing to the upper reaches of the Billboard Hot 100 chart (peaking at number four) and getting rotated heavily on MTV. What does "Right Thurr" signify? It's that instinctive fire that lights up in every man at the sight of a beautiful woman. In Chingy's own words: "It's the man's addiction to that woman, when he sees her walk past, how he wants that woman and wishes he could have that woman, just get to know her name at least." The song was also crowned Billboard's No. 1 Top Hot Rhythmic Top 40 Track of 2003.

   "Right Thurr" most definately helped his debut album 'Jackpot' shoot to double platinum status. A collaboration with Snoop Dogg and Ludacris made his second single, "Holidae In," another chart topper. "One Call Away," a song showing his more sensitive side to the ladies, became a Top 10 hit in February 2004.

   It was then that his established success took him on tour with Dirty South star Ludacris. With a Soul Train Music Award for R&B;/Soul or Rap New Artist in March, Chingy helped establish St. Louis as a true southside powerhouse.

   By the end of the following year, the follow-up -- Powerballin' -- was in stores. Anticipation sent it to the Top Ten of the album chart the week after its release. Since its release the album has been certified Platinum, but it wasn't nearly as successful as the debut. The rappers sophomore set spawned the singles; "Balla Baby" and "Don't Worry" featuring Janet Jackson. "Balla Baby" peaked at number 20 on the singles chart and was certified Gold.

   The MC's third album, Hoodstar, was released on September 19, 2006. The disc is split into two sides with different musical styles. While the "Hood" segment boasts tracks such as "Hands Up" and "Cadillac Door", "Star" features more club-oriented cuts like "Brand New Kicks" and "Dem Jeans." The set features appearances by Three 6 Mafia, Choppa and Chingy's cousin Spiffy and boasts production by Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland, the Trak Starz, Mannie Fresh and Mr. Collipark, among others. The best single off this LP is "Pulling Me Back". The song features Tyrese and Jermaine Dupri. Dupri also produces the video. The background beat is based off Jaco Pastorius's Portrait of Tracy. The video was retired on 106 & Park after being on the countdown for 65 days. The song peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it his fourth top ten single. "Dem Jeans" is the 2nd single off Hood Star. The song is produced by and features Jermaine Dupri and was heard on 100th episode of CSI: Miami. The album debuted at #8 on the charts, selling over 77,000 copies. This album is certified gold according to billboard.com, despite having only sold 177,000 copies.