Hakeem Seriki
(born November 28, 1979), [1] better known by his stage name Chamillionaire
, is an American rapper and singer and CEO of Chamillitary Entertainment and a founder and original member of The Color Changin' Click. He began his career independently with local releases in 2003, including collaboration album Get Ya Mind Correct
with fellow Houston rapper Paul Wall. He signed to Universal Records in 2005 and released The Sound of Revenge
under Universal. It included hit singles "Turn It Up" and the number-one, Grammy-winning hit "Ridin'". The Morning News
followed in 2007.
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Early life
Chamillionaire was born Hakeem Seriki in
Washington D.C. and later moved to
Houston, Texas when he was 4. His father was a Muslim
Nigerian immigrant and his mother was an
African American Christian.
[2] He attended
Eisenhower High School and transferred to
Jersey Village High School to play in its basketball program, which he believed to be better than that of the former school.
[3] He held numerous jobs, including stocking trucks and transporting blood and urine for a medical lab.
[4]
Music career
Beginnings
Chamillionaire stated that he has been recording mixtapes since 1998.
[5] Seriki's stage name Chamillionaire is a
portmanteau of "
chameleon" and "
millionaire"
[6] While self-promoting at an event, Seriki and fellow rapper
Paul Wall met Michael "5000" Watts, a popular mixtape DJ from northern Houston. After proposing to do promotions for Watts's company Swishahouse, Chamillionaire and Paul Wall came to Watts's studio and convinced Watts to allow them to freestyle on an intro to Watts's radio show on Houston hip-hop radio station
KBXX-FM. Watts, who himself was convinced to rap on the record, enjoyed the freestyle so much that he put the verses on one of his mixtapes. Soon, Chamillionaire and Paul Wall became regular staples on Houston's mixtape circuit, appeared on several of Watts's mixtapes, and became permanent members of
Swishahouse.
[7]
Chamillionaire and Paul Wall soon started their own group,
The Color Changin' Click. In 2002, Chamillionaire and Paul Wall collaborated for the album
Get Ya Mind Correct
, would go on to sell over 150,000 copies.
The Source
magazine nominated the album for independent album of the year in 2002.
2005–2006: The Sound of Revenge
Chamillionaire's first major solo release
The Sound of Revenge
was released through Chamillitary Entertainment and Universal Records in November 2005. The album debuted and peaked at number 10 on the
Billboard
200 album chart in the United States.
[8] The album's lead single was "
Turn It Up", featuring
Lil' Flip produced by
Scott Storch, followed by "
Ridin'", featuring
Krayzie Bone of
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony produced by
Play-N-Skillz; "Ridin'" reached number one on the
Billboard
Hot 100.
[9] Its video also was named "
Best Rap Video" in the
2006 MTV Video Music Awards.
[10] In 2007, he won a
Grammy Award for
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
for "Ridin'".
[11] He was previously signed with Michael 5000 Watts'
Swishahouse label.
Comedic performer
"Weird Al" Yankovic made a parody of the song, titled "
White and Nerdy", for his own album
Straight Outta Lynwood
.
[12] The third single from the album was "
Grown and Sexy".
Additionally, the bonus track "Grind Time" was featured in the video game
NBA Live '06
.
[13] The album was certified platinum by the
RIAA, and a
chopped and screwed version, screwed by OG Ron C, was released in February 2006.
[14] Guest appearances for the album included
Lil' Flip,
Natalie,
Krayzie Bone,
Bun B,
Lil Wayne,
Pastor Troy,
Killer Mike,
Scarface, singer Billy Cook, and his brother
Rasaq.
In January 2006, Chamillionaire entered a feud with BCD Music Group, a company that used to distribute his music, as BCD claimed that Chamillionaire was making slanderous remarks about the company in his songs. Consequently, Shila Mitra, a partner of BCD, fueled the feud further with her own diss track.
[15] Later in 2006, Chamillionaire was featured in the singles "
Get Up" by
Ciara, "
That Girl" by
Frankie J, "
Bet That" by
Trick Daddy, "
King Kong" by
Jibbs, and "
Doe Boy Fresh" by
Three Six Mafia in 2007.
2007–2008: Ultimate Victory
To promote his new album, Chamillionaire released
Mixtape Messiah 3 as a prelude to his new album on July 18, 2007 at exactly 11pm Eastern Time on his website. Chamillionaire released his second mainstream album
Ultimate Victory
on September 18, 2007. Ultimate Victory was made without a single profanity said by Chamillionaire. Guest appearances included
UGK,
Krayzie Bone,
Lil Wayne, Famous aka. Lil' Ken, Tony Henry,
Devin the Dude and
Lloyd. The first single was "
Hip Hop Police", featuring
Slick Rick, which both Chamillionaire and Slick Rick performed on the
CBS television network program
Late Show with David Letterman
on September 14, 2007.
[16] The following single is "The Evening News."
Chamillionaire recently signed back to
Chamillitary Entertainment the rapper Yung Ro, a former member
The Color Changin' Click, but released him from Chamillitary Entertainment shortly after. His artist Famous released his debut on Chamillitary titled "Money, Power, and Fame". Chamillionaire will release the Tony Henry R&B project through the label Chamillitary Soul.
[17]
Mixtape Messiah 4
, the fourth title in Chamillionaire's
Mixtape Messiah
series, was initially set for release on December 18, 2007
[18], but was released on August 27, 2008.
[19]
2008–present: Final mixtape, third album
In November 2008, Chamillionaire announced his plans for his third album,
Venom
, for release in early 2009.
[20] His seventh installment in the
Mixtape Messiah
series was to be a "prelude" to
Venom
.
[21] The first single of "Venom" was "Creepin' (Solo)", which featured
The Game and
Ludacris and reached #1 on the
Billboard
Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart. He announced that
Mixtape Messiah 7
would be the final installment of the "Mixtape Messiah" series and that he cancelled
Venom
to create different material for his third album.
[22] [23] Mixtape Messiah 7
Disc 1 was launched on Aug 4, 2009 just after 11:30 pm EST, while Disc 2 was released on August 6, 2009 just after 2:00 am EST. The next day the next Disc 3 & 4 dropped making it a 66 track compilation.
[24]
The first single for Chamillionaire's third album is
"Good Morning".
Other ventures
Chamillionaire co-owns Houston based auto dealer Fly Rydes with a partner, Ernest. He personally owns a tour bus company and his record label, Chamillitary Entertainment.
Discography
- The Sound of Revenge
(2005)
- Ultimate Victory
(2007)
- Untitled Third Album (December 8, 2009)
See also
- List of awards and nominations received by Chamillionaire
References
- Chamillionaire - Biography
- Chamillionaire
- Ain't Nobody Real but Me
- Chamillionaire - Bio
- Chamillionaire - Doing It My Way
- "Not a Criminal" - Review
- Chamillionaire - The Sound of Revenge
- Chamillionaire - Billboard Albums
- Chamillionaire - Billboard Singles
- Underdog Night At The VMAs: Panic, Gnarls, Blunt, Chamillionaire Win Big
- Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
- "Straight Outta Lynwood" - Overview
- NBA Live 06 Soundtrack
- "The Sound of Revenge [Screwed & Chopped] - Overview
- Chamillionaire Sparks Beef with Soccer Mom
- Friday, September 14, 2007 - Show #2816
- ThatsHiphop.com - » CHAMILLIONAIRE: Expanding His Brand
- Chamillionaire Returns with Mixtape Messiah 4
- Chamillionaire.com
- Platinum Rapper Chamillionaire Readies for Third Major Label Release with Chamillitary/Universal...
- Chamillionaire Plans Mixtape Messiah 5 And Venom
- A moment of clarity......
- No retirement...
- Mixtape Messiah 7 Relased Aug 4, 2009