CHINGY

What happened with DTP? Why isn’t Chaka Zulu managing you?
Well, them still my peoples, but it’s just that I’m starting my own record company and doing something with my crew, the Get it Boyz. I’m not trying to stay a member of anything, I want to elevate too.

Are you still signed to DTP/Priority?
No. I was, but I’m not no more. Slot-O-Lot, that’s my record label.

Did you feel like being a part of DTP was holding you back from doing your own thing?
Nah, because that’s where it all started. It’s just that I’ve got to do what I got to do. But, them my guys right there, so we cool. It’s all love, it ain’t nothing.

It seems like your career just blew up pretty quick. How has your life changed?
Well, you know, back then nobody really knew me or cared too much about my music. I was just another guy trying to get a deal and rap. But now, people know me worldwide and people appreciate my music. Now that this album is getting heard, I’m get ting money and I’m grindin’ trying to take it to the next level. I’m tryin’ to help my folks eat and do what they gotta do cause they’re into the music thing. The Get it Boyz, they rap too, and a lot of other people.

(the Get it Boyz walk by, and Chingy comments, “You just spoke ‘em up. Thurr they go.”)

Will their project be released on Priority too?
We just working things out now, so we’ll see.

Backing up a little bit, how did you originally get put on? You hooked up with the TrakStarz?
Actually the TrakStarz, them my homeboys from way back in the day doing this music thing. They wasn’t doing too much and I wasn’t doing too much, so we decided we needed to formulate a plan to make this happen. We started working on the Jackpot album. Actually, the album was already done before we did the deal, for real. We did a five song demo and sent it to a couple people. [DTP’s] Chaka [Zulu] happened to be one of the ones that called back and like it. We put it on vinyl, sent it out there, and got a nice buzz and got the deal two months after that.

You, J-Kwon, and Nelly have all come out of St. Louis with that party vibe.
Yeah, that’s just a flavor we’ve got in the Midwest, period. We like to party, kick it, and go out to the clubs, so we make that type of music.

Do you think you’ve helped put the Midwest on the map, so the speak?
Yeah, I’m part of that establishment?

Who would you credit the most with that? Nelly?
No. You gotta look back and think. You’ve got Bone [Thugs-N-Harmony], Twista, a lot of people from the Midwest. R Kelly, he’s not a rapper but he’s always been making music. Then there’s the underground scene, too. I mean, there’s a lot of people.

You’re wearing a shirt that says “I trust me.” Is that your philosophy?
Yeah, I trust me. That’s business. In this shady game, you can’t trust nobody. Trust ain’t there. Another thing is, I don’t want nobody messing up for me. If there’s some mess up, I want it to be my fault, you know? I want it to be my fault instead of somebody else messing up and me getting mad at them. If I mess up, it’s my fault. I’ve gotta fix the problem, you know? So that’s why I trust me.

Who do you have on the album as far as features?
Janet Jackson, R Kelly, Lil Wayne, David Banner, Nate Dogg, and the Get it Boyz of course.

Does it have a similar vibe as your last album?
You know me, I’m gonna still keep the clubs jumping. It’s a party, fun vibe. I also got the street records on there with the Get it Boyz and “We Do” with Bun B. I’ve got some solo joints on there too. It’s a mixture on this album, it’s street but I’m still hittin’ the clubs with that party vibe.

Do you think that a lot of street cats had a hard time respecting you because you blew up so fast commercially?
Nah, not for real, because I mess with a lot of street cats and they feeling my music too. They tellin’ me to keep doing it, so, nah, I don’t really feel like that.

If people call you a commercial rapper, how would you respond?
You know what? I don’t even care (“curr”) as long as the fans who’ve been with me love it. If the people love it, that’s who I’m making the music for.

You’ve got a lot of young fans. As you grow older, how do you switch up your style to keep appealing to the same crowd?
I go with the times. I write about whatever I like to do, what I see and what I want to do. Whoever can relate to it, that’s who I write for.

Is there anything you’ve been going through personally that you talk about on this album?
Basically, Powerballin’ is just the follow-up to Jackpot. The accomplishments go on and on with my second album. It’s just a celebration of coming from nothing to something.

Did you expect Jackpot to be so successful, three million sold?
Not for real. I was a new artist coming out, so I woulda been happy if it went gold. I woulda been happy if it sold 200,000. Three times platinum? You can’t be mad at that. I ain’t expect it, but I was hoping for it though.

Yeah, that’s a lot of records sold. Would you credit that to the radio support you had for “Right Thurr”?
I’d credit that to radio, TV, magazines, and the shows. I was out here grindin’ and I’m still out here. I ain’t stopped yet, I ain’t had a break yet. I’d credit that to everybody who had something to do with my success. I just hope they show that same love on my second album.

Do the Get it Boyz have a project coming out?
Yeah, we’ve got a project coming out next year called Hood Starz.

A lot of artists come out and put their crew on, like Nelly and the St. Lunatics and Eminem and D12, and don’t get the same respect.
You just let your music speak for itself and do you. Don’t let nobody put no negative stuff in your brain. That’s how we roll. We get respect cause we real people.