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With ‘Ridin’ becoming an MTV regular, Chamillionaire is officially Houston’s hottest export. He talks to The Situation about his new single, the latest trends in Texas, and starting up his own grill company.
Since
the mainstream spread of the screw music-influenced ‘Still Tippin’’,
the debut single from Houston rapper Mike
Jones, it’s fair to say that the culture of Texas
has materialised. The star-studded single, featuring killer verses from
Slim Thug and Paul
Wall, put Texas and screw music on the map, even gaining
coverage in the New York Daily Times in the form of a double page spread
on the latest culture to emerge from H-Town. There has also been extensive
media coverage within the hip hop world, from MTV to BET, exploring the
origin of hip hop in the city area coded 281.
Yet, before the release of ‘Still Tippin’’ and the mainstream explosion of screw music, there were other rappers from Texas trying to make their mark on the hip hop world. A prime example is Chamillionaire, aka ‘The Mixtape Messiah’, who created a buzz in his home town by seizing the golden hustle on the mixtape scene, selling thousands of units and eventually signing a multi-million dollar record deal.
Compared to the likes of Twista and Bone, Thugs & Harmony, the Houston native possesses a distinct fiery flow, with the capability to change rhyming tempo, all in the same song. Never one to shy away from the origins of his rap name, Chamillionaire explained the reason behind his stage persona. “I used to rap under ‘Chamillion’,” he said. “I would be rapping about diamonds and bling. Later, I changed it to Chamillionaire, and I wanted to have a purpose behind it. The purpose meant, the artist is rich in style; its more about the music - I rap fast, slow, I sing the hook.”
Drawing similarities to 50 Cent and Eminem, his ability to harmonise and sing on hooks can be seen on his debut single ‘Turn it Up’, and the current radio smash ‘Ridin’’. Arguably of greater success than his previous release, ‘Ridin’’ sees Chamillionaire detail the authorities’ view on black youths. Accompanied by the unique flow of Krayzie Bone, the song covers a similar topic to what Jay-Z rapped about in his second verse on ‘99 Problems’. “The single is actually getting a lot of good responses,” told Chamillionaire. “The streets, commercial, wherever I go, everybody loves it, so it’s moving a lot faster than ‘Turn it Up’.”
With the video currently making rounds on MTV Base, Kiss, Channel U and even mainstream channels such as The Box, a certain character in the video may be familiar to fans of the classic comedy, ‘Friday’. The ‘Ridin’’ star is quick to elaborate: “We shot the video in Dallas. The video features D-Bo from ‘Friday’, known as Zues. He plays the crooked cop. And Universal Records didn’t know him as Zues, and didn’t know him as D-Bo from ‘Friday’. That was a classic movie. Shout out to D-Bo and Krayzie Bone and the Bone Thug members who came through. It was gangster; we gonna try do it again.”
However, things have not always been this good for the upcoming star, as long term friendships have turned sour for the ‘Mixtape Messiah’, in particular, with former label mate, Paul Wall. Chamillionaire refused to comment on his ‘strained relationship’ with Wall, which dates back to when the pair were signed to Swisha House Records at the age of 17. Whilst at the powerhouse, the two rappers found themselves struggling to make enough money from their record deal, and with 11 other rappers to share label profits with, Cham and Wall decided to go it alone, leaving Swisha House to form their own five-man group, the Colour Changing Click. It was the release of the group’s second album, ‘Get Ya Mind Correct’, that gave Chamillionaire and Wall a firm entry into the business, selling over 100,000 copies of the mixtape. The album was so successful that it was even nominated for ‘Indie Album of the Year’ at The Source Magazine Awards. Whilst details are sketchy, Cham and Wall soon fell out over creative differences, causing them both to embark on solo careers. They have reportedly since made amends.
A matter Chamllionaire was open to discuss however, was Houston as a whole, and certain artists in the big H-Town. The ‘Truth From Texas’ explains, “Lil’ Flip was one of the young artists to first go platinum coming outta H-Town, twice I guess.” That fact is true; the lanky rapper reached platinum status through his release, ‘Undaground Legend’, as well as the mainstream third album ‘U Gotta Feel Me’.
The infamous ‘chopped and screwed’ sound was also born and bred in Texas. Popularised by the late DJ Screw, (after whom the method is named) records are completely slowed down, being almost the opposite to the Trance and Dance music the UK loves. Originating in the Nineties, many artists have embraced the form of music, including UGK, Lil’ Flip, T.I., Geto Boys, Screwd Up Clik, Slim Thug and others. Chamillionaire’s debut album, ‘Sound of Revenge’, has also seen a re-release in a chopped and screwed form. “The original version comes with a bonus CD. I was going to drop a DVD, but due to issues, I’m gonna drop that in the streets. That will be ‘Mixtape Messiah’ giving the fans about more visuals,” he told.
Whilst he is now promoting the chopped and screwed style of music, Cham revealed that initially it was not really to his liking. “I mean, it’s an acquired taste,” he said. “I never really liked screwed music. But being down from Texas, you gotta get down with it. I wanted to get into the rap game, but everyone was doing screwed music. So, I was gonna rap on this CD and screw it, so people will listen to it. But I want my CD regular. I started listening to the screwed music, and appreciating it as an art.”
Remaining on the topic of Houston culture, before Nelly was talking about it in his Jermaine Dupri and Paul Wall-assisted hit ‘Grillz’, Chamillionaire shines light on how the cosmetic dental apparati has been a long term trend in Houston. The trend has even prompted rappers such as Paul Wall to exploit the market, selling grills to the likes of P. Diddy, Kanye West, and Nelly, via his company TV Jewellery. The fashion has also been popular in Atlanta, with the oral jewellery being sported by Lil’ Jon, Lil’ Scrappy, and Trillville, to mention a few. “If you from Texas now, you can’t rap about not having it,” the former Swisha House artist boldly states.
Whilst men from all coasts are embracing the trend, members of the opposite sex are also catching onto it too. For example, the star of ‘Milkshake’ and ‘Bossy’, Kelis, was seen wearing a grill with her own name encrusted on the surface. “Yeah, females are wearing them nowadays as well. Like nowadays, you’d see this pretty girl and they just don’t smile,” laughs Chamillionaire. Cha has also recognised the profitability of such a market, considering the growing interest in grills in present hip hop culture. Discussing his plans to fill a relatively new niche in the market, like his former friend Wall, Chamillionaire has already arranged a potential sale. “Yeah, I just done a grill for Mad Link [B.E.T], so that should be mad crazy.”
Look out for Chamillionaire’s current album ‘Sound of Revenge’, released on Universal Records. For more information, please visit www.chamillionaire.com.
This interview was in association with DJ Pup Dawg of Boston’s The Jam 94.5 FM. For more information, please visit www.djpupdawg.com.
