Chingy: Who’s That Kid Right Thurr?

[STILLDRE IS THE GODFATHER]

Chingy: Who’s That Kid Right Thurr?
Tuesday - August 19, 2003
K.B. Tindal
Chingy is a new name and face to many but to some he has been known throughout the St. Louis music scene for a minute. His story begins as a young buck who avoided the hard streets of St. Louis by staying in the studio at an early age with friends and family who had some connections in the music game. Eventually that lead to the chance of a lifetime as Chingy explains it. “I used to be in a group called Three Strikes and we had a good stage show. We opened like 20-25 shows for Nelly in different cities and we got noticed. Indeed, he did get noticed. Tha Dirty Souths Ludacris and his DTP family brought Chingy on board as their newest member of the family.

Out of all of his good fortune it is easily seen that Chingy is a humble and focused individual who is hell-bent on succeeding big in this game. If his debut album Jackpot entering the charts at #2 with the #1 single, “Right Thurr,” is any indication of things to come, Chingy will be one hot 23 year old commodity. He collaborates on his disc with plenty of big dogs. Guest appearances include Snoop, Trina, Jermaine Dupree and a smoker with Murphy Lee. It’s hard to believe that this album comes from a kid who had trouble choosing his stage name. Originally, Chingy was going to call himself Thugsy or H Thugs. Thank the Hip Hop Gods that he passed on that idea because the last thing we need in the game right now are more thugs. He says, “I didn’t wanna be remembered as or looked at as a thug. I didn’t want to be known as a thug. My friends would say that Chingy and it had a nice ring to it.”

Chingy says the most important things he’s learned about his newfound fame, is the business side of it all. “Being on the road I learned a lot about business situations like hotel situations, money situations before and after the shows and just paying attention. It’s all very important.” Chingy’s attention span is already starting to pay off for him and his Trak Stars crew, he says, “I’m trying to hit big, like 3x’s Platinum. I’m only 23 and I been doing this for 15 years, since I was like 8 years old.”

Through out the album you can hear the production of Chingy’s hometown squad the Trak Stars. Chaka Zulu, who is a DTP executive, discovered the Trak Stars. Chingy and The Trak Stars were affiliated prior to Chingy signing to the DTP Label but Chaka officially brought them all together and the result is the # 1 hit in the country.

About his musical background Chingy says, “I was inspired by Run-DMC and Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye and a lot of other people. I grew up around music so this is what I always wanted to do. I also grew up in a rough environment.” Chingy grew up in the Walnut Park section of the North side of St. Louis. As a youth he saw all of the things that all of us Inner-city youth see. He maintained a balance of good vs. evil and saw a way out for himself. To achieve that way out he did the simple things that a disciplined kid would do. “I went to school, I graduated and the whole time I was doing shows and staying in the studio.” Simplicity and hard work does pay off.

So what’s Chingy’s ultimate goal? “Longevity and making good music. I wanna have my own record label and start some other businesses. I plan to invest and build something. I’m considering a clothing line and I’ll probably call it Right Thurr cause it just fits so well. I feel blessed that I’m here. I struggled for success. I feel like God got me when the time was just right and I was ready for it. My album is # 2 and my single is #1. You would never think that. I stay a humble dude because there is more to make happen. At the end of it all I just wanna be remembered as a dude who made good music, who was humble and who was appreciated in the World.

[Z the laidback Virus]

chingy is soooooooo damn annoying.And yes,of course he's getting promoted the hell out of him and the media make him out to be great..sad