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Chamillionaire
At the 5W Public Relations 2007 holiday party.
Background information
Birth name	Hakeem Seriki
Born	November 29, 1979 (1979-11-29) (age 28) Washington, D.C., USA
Origin	Houston, Texas
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper, record executive, entrepreneur
Years active	1998 – present
Label(s)	Chamillitary/Universal
Associated acts	UGK, Lil Wayne, Rasaq, Paul Wall, Lil Keke, Devin The Dude, Krayzie Bone
Website	http://www.chamillionaire.com

Hakeem Seriki (born November 29, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (pronounced Ka-MIL-yin-air, IPA: /kəˌmɪljəˈnεər/, a portmanteau of "chameleon" and "millionaire")¹ is an American rapper, CEO, singer, & musician from Houston, Texas and the CEO of Chamillitary Entertainment.² He stated that his aim is to prove that the South can produce quality lyricists. He is also a hook writer and usually sings and harmonizes with himself (using multi-tracked vocals) on his own hooks. Chamillionaire is a founder and original member of The Color Changin' Click.² In 2007, he won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for his number-one single "Ridin'", a number-one hit in the United States for two weeks in 2006.³ He is a former artist on Michael 5000 Watts' Swishahouse label.²

Early life

Hakeem Seriki was born November 29, 1979² in Washington, D.C. to a Nigerian immigrant father⁴ and an African-American mother. He moved to Houston, Texas at the age of four. Before becoming a rapper he held numerous jobs, including stocking trucks and transporting blood and urine for a medical lab.⁵

Chamillionaire said that at first lived in a section of Houston zoned to Eisenhower High School and that his parents moved to the Jersey Village High School attendance zone so he could play in a more advanced basketball program; he attended Jersey Village.⁶

Music career

Chamillionaire has stated that he has been recording mixtapes as early as 1998.⁷ While promoting themselves in an event, he and 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 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.⁸ 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.² The Source magazine nominated the album for independent album of the year in 2002.⁷

2005–2006: The Sound of Revenge

Main article: 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 #10 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States.⁹ 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; "Ridin'" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.¹⁰ Its video also was named "Best Rap Video" in the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.¹¹ 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".¹⁰

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, 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 "Dope Boy Fresh" by Three Six Mafia in 2007.

2007–present: Ultimate Victory

Main article: Ultimate Victory

Chamillionaire released his second mainstream album Ultimate Victory on September 18, 2007. Guest appearances included UGK, Krayzie Bone, Lil Wayne, Famous, Tony Henry, Devin the Dude, & 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. He is also planning to tour and is also planning a group album with Famous and Yung Ro called Money, Power, and Fame. Both of them will be working on solo albums to drop in the future after the group album. 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, 2007¹⁸; however Chamillionaire's own website now reads that the recording will be released August 27, 2008.¹⁹. As told first by Chamillination²⁰ Chamillionaire also stated that Mixtape Messiah 5 will drop on November 23, 2008 and his third album Venom in December. Chamillionaire is also starting a live video stream which he can chat with fans on the internet on UStream[1]

Discography

Main article: Chamillionaire discography

• The Sound of Revenge (2005)
• Ultimate Victory (2007)
• Venom (2008) ²¹

Awards

• American Music Awards
  • 2006, Favorite Breakthrough Artist [Nominated]

• BET Awards
  • 2006, Best New Artist [Nominated]

• BET Hip-Hop Awards
  • 2006, Hip-Hop Track of the Year ("Ridin'") with Krayzie Bone [Nominated]
  • 2006, Rookie of the Year [Won]
  • 2006, Hip-Hop MVP [Nominated]
  • 2006, Best Collaboration ("Ridin'") with Krayzie Bone [Nominated]
  • 2006, Viewer's Choice (People's Champ Award) [Won]
  • 2007, Best Hip-Hop Video ("Hip Hop Police") with Slick Rick [Nominated]

• Grammy Awards
  • 2007, Best Rap Song ("Ridin'") with Krayzie Bone [Nominated]
  • 2007, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group ("Ridin'") with Krayzie Bone [Won]

• MTV VMAs
  • 2006, Best Rap Video ("Ridin'") with Krayzie Bone [Won]

• Ozone Awards
  • 2006, Best Video ("Ridin'") with Krayzie Bone [Won]
  • 2007, Best Video ("Dope Boy Fresh") with Three 6 Mafia [Nominated]
  • 2008, Best Video ("Hip Hop Police") with Slick Rick [Nominated]
  • 2008, Best Mixtape/Street Album ("Mixtape Messiah 3") [Won]

• People's Choice Award
  • 2006, Favorite Hip Hop Song ("Ridin') with Krayzie Bone [Nominated]

References

External links

• Official Website - Run by Chamillionaire
• Official Website - Run By Universal Records
• Chamillionaire at the Internet Movie Database
• Chamillionaire at MySpace
• Chamillionaire at Buzznet